Gurney's Montauk: A Peek At A New Re-Do

Michael Nenner, general manager of Gurney’s Montauk Resort & Seawater Spa for the past 14 months, nods to the frothing ocean from the comfort of the Regent Room at the 90-year-old international vacation spot, and notes with a smile that the water pounding up the sand may be the only blue-and-white color combination that guests will see in this totally renovated luxury complex.

Gone is what for decades was known as classic blue-and-white Hamptons style. “Reno” Gurney’s Montauk is guided by muted, beach mode variegated naturals. Well, except for the yellow-and-white umbrellas that will dot the beach, “giving the resort a kind of St. Tropez look,” Mr. Nenner says.

Inside, the past lives on in materials from the older Gurney’s Inn, especially in cedar planks from former structures re-purposed as planking for ceilings, and reclaimed oak made into hardwood floors. And, in the lobby, old cedar siding has been wrapped in oak beams, giving the entrance a warm, welcoming look. There’s also a fireplace—“which now works,” Mr. Nenner adds.

Although reconstruction brought an occasional surprise—such as the discovery of 90-year-old seaweed insulation—the overall theme of the renovation, Mr. Nenner says, is: “It’s not just the ocean anymore,” though the ocean was mainly in mind for Michael Kramer of Michael Thomas & Co., who led the renovation design team.

The hanging macramé off-white room dividers in the main dining room, for example, with their undulating pattern, were intended to mimic the undulation of the sea, and the “dip dye blue ombré drapery” in the guest rooms—the only bold color in the rooms’ earth-toned textured decor—was meant to invoke “water gently receding back into the ocean after a wave hits.”

The idea, Mr. Kramer emphasizes, was to keep the eye drawn to “the breathtaking view outside.”

Another idea, Mr. Nenner points out, was “compression,” the collapsing of former extended areas into adjustable smaller ones throughout the public spaces in order to create a sense of intimacy, especially in the Scarpetta Beach Restaurant. (All five ocean-view eating areas at Gurney’s Montauk are under the provenance of LDV Hospitality, whose initials stand for “La Dolce Vita.”)

The guest rooms, including the recently renovated final 42 of the total 109, comprise 20 different design types, Mr. Kramer notes, so that a guest “could stay in one room one weekend and have a completely different experience the following weekend.” The four main living quarters, moving west to east—Flying Bridge, Chart House, Promenade and Forecastle—have been completely remodeled, with the first two retaining their original structure, and are either ocean-view or ocean-fronting.

With few exceptions, bathtubs are gone, replaced by glassed-in showers complemented by back-splash matte “subway” tiles, carrara marble counters and period brass fixtures. A bathtub can be seen in a Chart House suite, however, which features a mahogany staircase (wainscoting under each stair) leading to a downstairs bedroom. The suites are, of course, the more luxurious quarters and open onto the ocean. A few come with access to a recessed private patio, a Kramer “favorite” that allows for wind-sheltered areas “drenched in wisteria, hydrangea and juniper.”

The typical accommodation, as Mr. Nenner observes, is a one-bedroom unit with a built-in closet, a restructuring that now accommodates king-size beds. All rooms, regardless of size, are lavish with details intended to bring together outside and inside, vintage and modern—for example, handmade oak mobiles that “resample” a summer bonfire, or pieces of charred wood strung together with nautical rope and old, iconic photos of Gurney’s and Montauk that would set a nostalgic mood.

And, of course, there is—simply—the magnificent beach.

“When I saw it,” Mr. Nenner says, “I knew immediately this was the place for me, and I was delighted to accept the new owner George Filopoulos’s invitation to come aboard.”

As East End residents may recall, last December Gurney’s bought the nearby PanoramicView Montauk. Both facilities will operate under the Gurney’s umbrella. Though 20 of the residences at Panoramic will remain individually owned and not be for sale, guests in all rooms will have access to Gurney events and activities.