I Reset My Mushy Pandemic Brain at the Sweetest Hotel in Amagansett
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Over the course of the pandemic, my boyfriend and I have watched approximately 72 movies and 15 TV series together. We’ve become masters at making variations on “toad in the hole” for breakfast and decided which celebrities his dogs would sound like if they could speak.
Things have been pretty mundane, but compared to the great losses that others have faced over the past year—whether it be loved ones, employment, or childcare—we recognize that we are extremely fortunate to only have lost very little. A few months apart and weakened social skills are things that can be backfilled and mended.
Like most couples, we look forward to rediscovering life by traveling safely, spending time with friends, and making memories with each other that don’t necessarily involve watching the Lord of the Rings trilogy in two consecutive days. (I love you, Matt, but that was a lot of Sméagol to process at once.) So when The Reform Club in Amagansett offered to host us for a weekend in a setting where we could practice social distancing, we immediately said yes and enthusiastically packed our bags for the first time in a VERY long time.
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Amagansett is a sight for sore eyes.
The Reform Club is a quaint property located in Amagansett welcoming guests in seven unique suites (where we stayed!), three cottages, and one drool-worthy private home. On our first night, we were greeted by the generous staff, who kept us well fed and comfortable (read: spoiled rotten) the entire weekend.
Our sweet little two-story nest had a wood-burning fireplace on each floor, a king-size bed, and a marble bathroom bigger than most apartments in New York City. We’re talking about a spa-style shower area equipped with two showerheads, a claw-foot tub, and L’Occitane bath amenities. I’ll abandon decorum to say that we fully lost our shit at this shower palace.
They treated us to cookies, wine, and a crackling fire—the perfect start to an evening. Our dinner was catered by the Main Street Tavern. We highly recommend gorging on the short rib empanadas, the fish tacos, and the Tavern burger. At the end of our cocktails (we ordered an El Diablo and a Hello, Old Friend!), we experienced what medical professionals refer to as “the warm fuzzies.”
The property has no business being this beautiful.
The next morning, I ran a few miles on the treadmill at the gym (yes, I’m a monster who wakes up early and works out on vacation) and returned back to the suite where Matt was sleeping as peacefully as a woodland Disney character in our yacht of a bed. We ate breakfast on the patio, which we ordered on an iPad and received via no-contact delivery. Then we took a tour of the grounds with the lovely property manager, Iran.
All the accommodations at Reform Club are thoughtfully designed to encourage tranquility, whether it’s achieved with loved ones or in solitude. In the suites, you might enjoy a nap on the patio or share croissants in bed with your boo. In the cottages, you can curl up in a nook and read or play a board game with others in a common room for hours.
We gasped one million times while walking through the 21 House, Reform Club’s elegant four-bedroom private home. I touched the most beautiful marble island that I’ve ever laid eyes on and resisted the urge to roll across it. The tremendously high ceilings, pristine linens, and colorful pops of art were only foreplay to the opulent tub room situated on the lower level of the home featuring a fireplace and, yes, a massive soaking tub. No tub will ever be that tub.
Don’t just wind down—get around.
One of the highlights of our trip was borrowing beach cruisers from the hotel and riding them to the beach. After being confined indoors so much over the past year, it was an absolute delight to feel the fresh breeze on our faces (and our masks) and ogle over homes we could never afford. Ha ha ha. 😭
We parked the bikes at the entrance of the beach and walked along the sand. I tried to jump over a wave rushing ashore because I forgot how waves work. Matt laughed at me and my shoe was soggy but my stupid smile felt bigger, was bigger than any space I had inhabited over the past year.
You ever catch a foggy day at the beach when the shoreline and the sky blend into one infinite, depthless abyss? The kind that forces you to experience the present with all your senses—taste the salt on a kiss, step in the tracks of a four-legged stranger—and remind you that there’s so much out there yet to explore? I hadn’t known that feeling in a while, and it returned at just the right time. At the end of a period of global trauma, it’s helpful to be reminded of all that there still is to see and feel and marvel at and mistakenly jump over.
After a while, we sat on a bench and zoned TF out. A little boy with a mop of blonde hair gave his mom a lecture on why it was not time to go home yet. Thank god for the return of people-watching. That evening, we enjoyed dinner from Wölffer Kitchen in a private garden dining space and capped off the day with s’mores by the fire. Our marshmallow-coated, wine-stained lips were upturned at the twinkling stars above our heads.
A stay at the Reform Club is an investment in self-care, with rooms starting at $605 per night. Expect to splurge a little throughout your weekend getaway as well—you’re in the Hamptons, baby.
Make sure to stop at Hamptons Chutney for massive and delicious dosa, Cavaniola’s Gourmet for a hunk of the butteriest brie your piehole has ever experienced, and Carissa’s for exceptional pastries. By all means, do not google where Ina Garten lives, drive down streets that match her aura, and shout, “How easy is that?!”
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