Hotel of the Week: A Beloved Montauk Motel Finds New Life on the Harbor
Workshop/APD and Ward + Gray transform a storied 1980s roadside inn into a warm, retro-inspired retreat inspired by the creative beach town’s working waterfront and surf culture
The northern tip of Montauk possesses the storybook charm of a New England fishing village more than the bustling surf beaches and fashionable social scenes that define the East End hamlet’s livelier thoroughfares. Lobster boats still depart nearby docks before dawn, cedar-shingled houses have weathered to a silvery gray beneath decades of salt air, and rocky beaches frame picturesque views across Block Island Sound to Connecticut. This is the quintessential Montauk that artists, surfers, and other creative spirits have gravitated toward for generations, drawn by its working waterfront and unhurried pace. It also provided the setting for Sunset Montauk, a modest roadside motel that opened in 1983 and attracted scores of summer regulars who valued the harbor’s weathered charm over the polished luxury resorts that later transformed much of the South Fork.
That chapter drew to a close last year, when Blue Flag Capital acquired the property and embarked on a comprehensive renovation. This season, it reopened as Hotel Corduroy, the hospitality group’s debut New York property following a string of acclaimed hotels on Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard. Blue Flag reunited with longtime collaborator Workshop/APD, which carefully preserved the motel’s three low-slung buildings through light-touch exterior updates. For the interiors, the company enlisted New York firm Ward + Gray, whose boutique hotels often draw closely from their surroundings. Here, the studio looked to Montauk’s surfing heritage, commercial fishing culture, and rugged shoreline for inspiration.
Unlike the high-octane hotels that have become fixtures of Montauk’s social calendar, Hotel Corduroy embraces a calmer approach. “There are plenty of spots in the hospitality scene catering towards dining and nightlife, but the vision for Corduroy was to serve as a home base where guests can’t wait to return to,” says Blue Flag co-founder and chief development officer Brad Guidi. “Somewhere that feels elevated and approachable, where they can relax.” Those ambitions become clear the moment guests meander onto the spacious central lawn, furnished with fire pits, stargazer-friendly lounge chairs, and woven sofas that evoke the marina’s fishing nets.
Inside, the lobby captures the ambience of a well-lived coastal home enriched over decades. “We imagined the property in the early 1990s, where the simple, roadside motels might have been occupied by surfers, artists, and creatives who came to Montauk because of its wild landscape and relaxed way of life,” explains Ward + Gray co-founder Staver Gray. That sensibility informed nearly every design decision across the property, from the lobby’s midcentury shelving unit chockablock with ceramics, art books, and other collected objects to a kilim-upholstered Swedish armchair that sits beneath a large-scale Matt Albiani photograph portraying a sun-bleached surfer. A compact shop, meanwhile, stocks beach essentials, snacks, drinks, and apparel from Faherty, whose clothing also serves as the staff uniforms.
Ward + Gray carried that same easygoing sensibility into each of the 29 guest rooms. “Our starting point was the idea of uncovering a more authentic version of Montauk,” Ward notes. Throughout the rooms, the studio paired handcrafted furniture with era-appropriate millwork; grasscloth wallcoverings nod to nearby dune grasses, while softened blues and coral tones evoke the Atlantic vista and sun-warmed shells. “We specifically chose materials that will continue to weather and develop character over time, much like the buildings and objects that inspired the concept,” Gray adds. Rather than relying on overt nautical motifs, the studio referenced Montauk’s maritime heritage through pale oak casework, reeded bamboo bedside tables, rattan-wrapped consoles, and custom marine-style bulkhead lights.
Hotel Corduroy further embraces the site’s roadside motel origins by treating breezeways as natural gathering spaces, furnishing them with intimate clusters of tables and chairs. They’re an ideal setting for guests to sip morning coffee alfresco or spontaneously meet for golden-hour cocktails after returning from Sunset Beach or one of Montauk’s many distinguished dining destinations, from classic Mediterranean cuisine at The Crow’s Nest to indulgent seafood towers at the nearby Duryea’s Lobster Deck. “The roadside motel structure felt perfectly suited to the way people want to travel today,” Gray muses. “It naturally encourages a more relaxed, communal experience that feels true to Montauk.”