Daunt's Albatross In Montauk Opens After Renovation

Daunt’s Albatross, a year-round hotel in Montauk, has undergone a renovation to modernize the hotel, with a nod to the aesthetic of Old Montauk.

Leo Daunt, 29, the owner of Daunt’s Albatross, said he wanted the renovation to create a “retro feel, but really elevated.”

“We are excited to be back open and be part of the fabric of the community,” he said.

The new aesthetic of the motel is clean and cool, with a relaxing vibe and spots of warmth in the warm wooden furniture and textured art in the room.

“We didn’t want to be this beach chic, exclusive place,” Daunt said. “We wanted to lean into who we were as a property and a family-owned business and design around that.”

Daunt worked with Brooklyn-based design firm Home Studios for the renovation and interior spaces. He said he was meticulous about choosing the right company to help with the design, since many were focused on creating a hyper-modern, beach boutique hotel — but he wanted the history of the hotel recognized.

Oliver Haslegrave, the owner and creative director of Home Studios, described the themes of the renovations in the design plans as “the rugged beauty of untouched nature, the collected warmth and family history, and the comforts of a modern sanctuary.”

“I wanted it to be this place that renovated and still felt like it was old Montauk,” Daunt said. “And felt authentic and felt like you could come in your board shorts and a regular T-shirt, and you didn’t feel like it was a scene that you needed to be Instagrammed at. I wanted it to feel like an authentic family, cozy place.”

The hotel features 23 rooms and the Koda suite, which has a full kitchen, a king bed, a full bed and two bathrooms, including amenities like a claw-foot tub.

The suite is named for Daunt’s golden retriever, Koda, who greets guests with her tail wagging as they enter the lobby.

The rooms feature a mix of flooring, some having flagstone, others featuring tile in shades of blue and gray. The furniture in each room is a mix of vintage — found on sourcing trips and among family heirloom pieces — and knotty alder custom beds.

The hotel renovated its courtyard space to feature fire pits that are lit nightly at 5 p.m. and provides complimentary s’mores kits to guests.

Daunt’s Albatross was originally purchased by Leo Daunt’s grandparents Frances and Rich Daunt in 1977. They decided to buy a hotel after spending years hosting visitors at their home in Montauk.

His grandparents had the opportunity to purchase the restaurant alongside the hotel in the 1970s but opted to only purchase the hotel, since Rich was working full time as a Nassau Country Police officer in the bomb squad, while also running the hotel. In 1999, Leo’s father, Jimmy Daunt, took over the business.

Leo Daunt took over the business in 2020, and in 2022 became co-president of the Montauk Chamber of Commerce.

“I am very appreciative of the people around me who helped us open,” he said.

This year, he also purchased The Bird on the Roof Cafe across the street from the hotel.

“The other thing that makes us unique is that we are open year-round, so we hope to kind of be the local boutique hotel and restaurant that everyone can kind of rely on and call it their own in Montauk,” Daunt said.

He admits that he originally had no plans to take over the hotel until he came home from studying at SUNY Cortland and started working with his dad.

“I just fell in love with the idea of one day what could the Albatross be,” Daunt said. “I also heard the story of them potentially being able to do Bird on the Roof 40 years ago and this dream.”

Daunt decided to take over the hotel and purchase Bird on the Roof to fulfill the dreams of his grandparents from decades ago: “I’m going to make it a great story of a recombination of these two businesses and renovate them both to be beautiful.”

Bird on the Roof has a similar vibe while also being “fun and quirky,” according to Daunt, who said he is excited to begin collaborating between the two businesses, having guests order coffee or breakfast to their rooms during their stay.

Bird on the Roof has both a walk-up coffee bar, where drinks can be ordered to go, and also offers sit-down dining, both indoors and outside on their patio.

The dining room features a menu designed by chef Marcos Martinez Perez with elevated classics like fish tacos and pancakes and trendy dishes like Perez’s favorite dish, shakshuka, stewed tomatoes and pepper with egg and goat cheese on sourdough bread, and a warm grain bowl of wheat berries with turnips, mushrooms and avocado.

Perez designed the brunch menu to be different from a traditional brunch menu with inspiration from Puerto Rico, past restaurants he has worked at and his attention to detail.

“I am a clean cook — I like the vegetables to shine,” Perez said. “Every little detail about the menu, even like the arugula in the egg sandwich, I don’t just throw arugula in there, I dress it with olive oil and lemon. Every little detail is special,” he added.

“Our menu, in general, is definitely unique from different breakfast places in Montauk,” Daunt said. “We are less diner-style and each dish is carefully prepared instead of being more like classic old-school breakfast.”

Bird on the Roof is in the process of applying for a liquor license to be able to offer elevated brunch cocktails.

For the future of the hotel, Daunt is focused on making sure that the operations make guests stay relaxed, and he is excited for the next phases of the design, including the pool and lobby, and beginning to host events.

“I’m excited for everyone to come in that has experienced it before and experience this new updated version of who and what we are,” Daunt said.