Gurney’s Montauk Resort & Seawater Spa

Gurney’s Montauk is located at the tip of Long Island’s east end, beyond the last (East) Hampton, about 120 miles east of Manhattan. It’s reachable by train, jitney, private plane or car. Because it’s about a 90-minute drive from my home, Gurney’s Seawater Spa was the first spa resort I ever visited, some decades ago, and a perennial multigenerational family destination. (It remains the only true thalasso center in the continental United States.)

When our first grandchild was born, she joined us and we each booked spa appointments between babysitting stints. Young guests find pails and shovels to build sand castles and toy-stuffed whales in their rooms. While the ocean and heated indoor pool are enough for many kids, options abound: games, activities, water sports (kayak, paddle boarding, from age 5), plus outdoor movies. In summer, the Kids Club operates every day; the year-round Saturday activities include baking cookies with the chef. And, The Seawater Spa welcomes tweens from age 13.

Gurney’s Montauk Bed. Photo: Gurney’s Resorts

As always, guests can fall out of bed and on to the soft, 2,000-foot, lounge-studded beach or walk beyond the hotel property passing private homes and public parks. For us, the joy of long walks at the ocean edge on sparsely-populated sand and swims in the indoor, heated, Olympic-sized, ocean-fed saltwater pool have always been the major enticements. Happily, since the resort’s recent extensive refurbishment, renovation and upgrade, it’s also a truly luxurious venue, with all newly redone accommodations and special dining outlets: Scarpetto Beach; Corso, the coffee shop; Tillie’s, for casual fare; and The Beach Club.

Gurney’s Montauk Bedroom Ocean Front. Photo: Gurney’s Resorts

There are one-, two- and three-bedroom cottages. The largest, a secluded 1,478-square-foot standalone boasts private parking, a kitchen, fireplace and terrace. This year, they unveil 30 new oceanfront guestrooms, including four signature suites and four beachfront cottages. Beach grass brushes against the steps leading down to the Atlantic Ocean from the oceanfront cottages and the deck provides a limitless view of sand, sea and sky, giving guests the sense of being in their own private beachfront home. The Residences at Gurneys offer spectacular views; here, one-bedroom suites include a queen-sized sleeper sofa to accommodate four, and have a full kitchen. The recently refurbished former timeshare lodgings are spacious and chic with king or two queen-sized beds, a kitchenette and oceanfront terrace.

Cottage Living Room. Photo: Gurney’s Resorts

Many families venture into Montauk, with its 5,000-acres of parklands, for a multitude of summer pleasures. Fly a kite at nearby Hither Hills State Park, climb 137 steps to the top of the Montauk Point Lighthouse commissioned by George Washington, charter a fishing boat or go whale watching, sign up for surf camp, eat a freshly caught lobster outside on Gosman’s Dock, board a ferry for a daytrip to Block Island, sail a catamaran, ride a horse at Deep Hollow Ranch, golf at Montauk Downs State Park, play miniature golf, go to a workshop at Montauk Library or see a show at Montauk Playhouse Community Center.