Best Hamptons Hotels 2025: Sag Harbor to Montauk

The best Hamptons hotels this summer run from Sag Harbor's marina to the surf breaks at Montauk, and 2025 is the most competitive season for East End stays in recent memory. A wave of redesigns, new ownership, and culinary investment has reshuffled the list. Here are the properties worth booking, in order of the decisions you need to make first.

If you haven't already started looking at dates, you're behind. July and August weekends at the boutique properties below sell out months in advance, and several of these are opening fresh this season with no track record to slow the initial rush.

Why the Best Hamptons Hotels Are Different This Summer

The Hamptons hotel scene spent most of the 2010s split between two modes: grand old estates that hadn't been touched since the Clinton administration and flashy mega-resorts competing on pool size and DJ bookings. Neither aged well. What's happened over the past two to three seasons is more interesting: boutique operators with genuine design and culinary credentials, the kind who built their reputations in Palm Beach, Nantucket, and the West Village, have started moving east.

Post-pandemic, New York travelers recalibrated what a Hamptons weekend is actually for. The social-performance version of the trip lost ground to something more considered: a well-designed room, a kitchen worth eating in, a beach that doesn't require a reservation. The properties opening and reopening this summer are betting on exactly that shift.

Practically speaking, getting there has gotten easier. Blade expanded its seaplane and helicopter service to Southampton this summer and added flights to Westhampton and Montauk. Montauk Sky, a fixed-wing service, offers a more economical air option between New York and Montauk. For the western villages, the Hampton Jitney from Manhattan remains the most reliable ground option, buy tickets in advance, not day-of.

Peak summer weekends at the boutique properties below sell out months in advance. July and August typically require minimum three-night stays. Late May and early September are the windows that repeat visitors guard carefully: full access to the properties, a fraction of the crowd.

Peer Set Snapshot

1. Hedges Inn, East Hampton, The Reopening to Book First

Reopen date: June 11, 2025. Rates from approximately $700/night; peak July and August weekends will run higher. Book directly with the property, rooms will go fast once early reviews circulate.

The Wetenhalls' track record at the Colony in Palm Beach is the reason to pay attention here. They took a historic Florida property and made it feel current without gutting its character, and then they handed the Hedges Inn redesign to David Netto, a designer known for interiors that feel collected rather than specified. Pattern, color, furniture with a point of view. Applied to a storied East Hampton inn, that's a combination that could produce one of the more interesting hotel interiors on the East End this season.

Hedges Inn is better than most East Hampton alternatives for travelers who want design and a genuine sense of place over amenity lists. It is not the right choice if you want a resort pool or full-service spa, this is a boutique inn, not a compound. But if the Colony in Palm Beach is the reference point, expect a property that delivers on the ground, not just in photographs. The Wetenhalls don't have a track record of the reverse.

June 11 is the date. If your summer calendar has any flexibility at all, put this at the top of the list.

2. Faraway Sag Harbor, The Design-Forward Waterfront Pick

Opening summer 2025, in the former Baron's Cove space on the Sag Harbor waterfront. Rates not confirmed at time of writing, contact the property directly once reservations open.

Faraway has built its following on Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard by doing one thing well: considered interiors and a strong sense of place, without overloading on amenities. Blue Flag Capital, which owns the brand, is bringing that approach to a waterfront site in Sag Harbor that already has the right bones: marina adjacency, a scale that keeps it from tipping into resort territory, and a village that rewards guests who actually want to walk around rather than stay poolside all weekend.

Faraway Sag Harbor is better than most Sag Harbor alternatives for design-conscious travelers who want walkability over resort infrastructure. It is not a substitute for Gurney's if you need an oceanfront pool situation. For travelers who want to move between villages, Bridgehampton and East Hampton are a short drive west, Shelter Island is accessible by ferry, Sag Harbor's central position is a practical advantage the flashier Southampton addresses can't match.

If Faraway applies the same editorial restraint it's shown on the islands, this becomes the default answer for where to stay in Sag Harbor. Book as soon as reservations open.

3. Barlume Beach, Montauk, Best for Oceanfront Club Energy

19 rooms, oceanfront, open summer 2025. Rates not confirmed at time of writing, contact LDV Hospitality directly.

LDV Hospitality's track record at the Maidstone in East Hampton, a property that manages to be simultaneously social and comfortable, is the signal here. Barlume Beach is leaning into the club dimension of a Montauk stay without sacrificing the hotel side. Nineteen rooms keeps it intimate enough that the property doesn't become a scene in the way that larger Montauk resorts can. Oceanfront position at that scale is not a given in Montauk, which makes the address meaningful.

Barlume Beach is better than Hotel Cordorouy for travelers who want energy and a bar scene alongside ocean access. It is the right choice if you want the Maidstone's sensibility transplanted to Montauk. If you want quiet and lawn space instead of club energy, see Hotel Cordorouy below. Blade's expanded Montauk flights make the journey from New York significantly more manageable on a peak Friday, worth pricing against the three-plus hours on the Jitney.

4. Hotel Cordorouy, Montauk, Best for Low-Key Oceanside Stays

29 rooms, opening summer 2025 at the former Sunset Montauk site. Rates not confirmed at time of writing, contact Blue Flag Capital directly once reservations open.

Blue Flag Capital's second Hamptons bet, after Faraway in Sag Harbor, takes a deliberately quieter approach than Barlume Beach. The pitch is a sprawling lawn, yard games, and a property that feels relaxed rather than compressed. Twenty-nine rooms gives it slightly more inventory than Barlume Beach without tipping into full resort scale.

Hotel Cordorouy is better than Barlume Beach for travelers who want to be near the ocean without the club energy, and better than Gurney's for travelers who find full-service resorts overwhelming. It is not the right choice if you want spa infrastructure or a buzzing bar scene. For guests arriving via Montauk Sky or Blade, the property will require a short car transfer from the landing point, factor that into logistics.

Blue Flag Capital running both Faraway Sag Harbor and Hotel Cordorouy simultaneously suggests a deliberate long-term strategy for the East End rather than a single opportunistic opening. That kind of operator commitment tends to result in properties that improve season over season.

5. Gurney's Montauk, The Reliable Full-Service Benchmark

Open year-round. Rates from approximately $800/night in peak season. Book via Gurney's directly or through preferred partner programs.

Gurney's is the established oceanfront resort standard in Montauk and the property against which the new openings will be measured. The seawater spa, the oceanfront rooms with four-poster beds and direct water views, and the on-site dining give it a full-service infrastructure that Barlume Beach and Hotel Cordorouy, both new and smaller, can't yet match.

Gurney's is better than the new Montauk openings for travelers who want a known quantity with spa access and reliable service infrastructure. It is less interesting than Barlume Beach or Hotel Cordorouy for travelers who find large resort properties anonymous. At $800/night peak season, it's priced at the top of the Montauk market, but it consistently delivers the experience it sells. Shoulder season rates drop meaningfully, and early September at Gurney's, warmer ocean, empty beach, full property access, is one of the strongest value propositions on the East End.

6. Canoe Place Inn, Hampton Bays, Best for the Culinary Itinerary

Open summer 2025 with a new culinary program. Rates from approximately $400/night, making it the most accessible entry point on this list.

Canoe Place is bringing in British chef Matthew Woolf to run Good Ground Tavern, and that hire is the tell. A named chef taking the reins at a Hamptons hotel restaurant signals that Good Ground Tavern is meant to be a reason to visit, not just a convenience for in-house guests who don't want to drive. The specificity of the hire matters: this is a kitchen positioning itself as a destination.

Canoe Place is better than any other property on this list for travelers whose trip is organized around eating well rather than beach or design. At approximately $400/night, it is significantly more accessible than Gurney's or the new boutique openings. Hampton Bays sits west of Southampton and is less fashionable than the villages further east, but that's a social distinction rather than a quality one. If Woolf's menu lands, Good Ground Tavern will be worth the drive from anywhere on the East End regardless of where you're sleeping.

How to Book the Best Hamptons Hotels Before Summer Fills

The practical reality of the Hamptons hotel market in summer is that the properties worth staying in sell out first. Barlume Beach at 19 rooms and Hedges Inn post-renovation have limited inventory by design. Once early reviews circulate, July and August weekends will close fast.

For July Fourth weekend and the last two weekends of August, assume you need to be in the system by late spring. For new openings, Hedges Inn on June 11, Faraway Sag Harbor, Hotel Cordorouy, contact the properties directly as soon as reservations open. Initial availability on new openings moves faster than the property's own marketing suggests.

Shoulder season is the move that experienced Hamptons travelers don't advertise. Late May and early September offer the same properties, the same beaches, and the same restaurants at lower rates and without minimum-stay requirements. The ocean temperature in early September is warmer than June. A September weekend at Gurney's, or a late-May opening-week stay at Hedges Inn, will outperform a peak August booking on almost every dimension except the social calendar.

On transportation: for the western villages, the Hampton Jitney is reliable and Blade's Southampton expansion makes air access practical. For Montauk specifically, price out Montauk Sky against the Jitney, the time savings on a Friday afternoon are significant enough to affect how you feel when you arrive. Oceanfront properties like Gurney's and Barlume Beach require a short car or taxi transfer from the Montauk train station.

One structural note: the East End runs roughly 35 miles from Westhampton Beach to Montauk, and the villages are distinct enough that choosing the wrong base can mean spending your weekend in a car. Sag Harbor suits travelers who want walkability and a marina scene. Southampton and East Hampton suit travelers who prioritize dining and a more structured experience. Montauk suits travelers who want ocean access and a less formal atmosphere. The new openings this summer are concentrated at both ends, Sag Harbor and Montauk, which is where the market's energy is moving.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the best Hamptons hotels opening or reopening in summer 2025?

The most notable new and reopened properties for 2025 include Faraway Sag Harbor (in the former Baron's Cove space), the redesigned Hedges Inn in East Hampton reopening June 11, LDV Hospitality's 19-room Barlume Beach in Montauk, Blue Flag Capital's Hotel Cordorouy in Montauk, and Canoe Place Inn in Hampton Bays with a new culinary program under chef Matthew Woolf.

When is the best time to book Hamptons hotels to avoid crowds?

Late May and early September are the windows that repeat visitors guard carefully, offering full property access with a fraction of peak-season crowds. July and August typically require minimum three-night stays, and boutique properties sell out months in advance for peak summer weekends.

How do you get to the Hamptons without driving?

Blade offers seaplane and helicopter service to Southampton, Westhampton, and Montauk, while Montauk Sky provides a more affordable fixed-wing option between New York and Montauk. For the western Hamptons villages, the Hampton Jitney from Manhattan remains the most reliable ground option, purchase tickets in advance.

Who redesigned Hedges Inn in East Hampton?

Designer David Netto was brought in by the Wetenhalls, the ownership team behind Palm Beach's Colony hotel, to redesign Hedges Inn. The property reopens June 11, 2025.

What is Faraway Sag Harbor and why does it matter?

Faraway is a design-focused coastal hotel brand with existing properties on Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard, known for considered interiors and a sense of place over amenity-driven hospitality. Its Sag Harbor location takes over the former Baron's Cove space, bringing a waterfront marina address to a brand that has already built a following among design-conscious travelers.

What is the most affordable option among the best Hamptons hotels?

Canoe Place Inn in Hampton Bays starts at approximately $400/night, making it the most accessible property on this list. With British chef Matthew Woolf now running Good Ground Tavern, it's also the strongest case for a stay organized around eating well rather than beach access or design credentials.