The Reform Club covered in snow, another off-season Hamptons perk
The joys of traveling off-season are well documented by this magazine. Hotels and airlines slash their rates and you get to hang out with the locals instead of joining tourist hoards in the two-hour line for the Uffizi, or rising at dawn to grab the last lounger by the pool.
But weekending in the Hamptons in the dead of winter is taking the off-season thing a bit far, right?
Wrong. I spent last weekend in Amagansett and discovered there are many benefits to wintering on the South Fork.
The first boon: the Jitney. It arrived early, which never happens between Memorial Day and Labor Day. Tina Brown and Sir Harold Evans, founder of this magazine, were onboard, which, along with the free party mix, lemonade and WiFi, added to the excitement.
Second, while not cheap by any stretch of the imagination, our suite at the Reform Club cost half what it does in summer. As well as his-and-hers marble showers (a strange, but attractive-looking concept) it had an open fire, which we kept ablaze throughout our stay. You wouldn’t do that in July.
Because the branches of the trees were bare, there was huge celeb shingled mansion snooping potential (Gwyneth Paltrow, Paul McCartney and Jerry Seinfeld have properties in Amagansett).
The beach was deserted and icy, the sky brilliant blue, reminding us of the wonderful Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind in which Kate and Jim frolicked in snowy Montauk a few miles east. It was certainly bracing, but bracing was what we needed after that fireside red the previous night. And much as I like gawping at the scenesters in summer, I prefer my ocean view uninterrupted.
Finally, Catherine Malandrino in East Hampton had a 60 percent off sale. So if I do make it back to Long Island this summer my maxi dress and I will fit right in.
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