Montauk in the Winter: Cozying Up at Gurney’s

I had always thought of Montauk – a beach town on New York’s Long Island – as a summertime destination. But after visiting Montauk in the winter in partnership with Gurney’s Montauk Resort & Seawater Spa, I’ve changed my point of view. Gurney’s is a year-round spa hotel set on a wide stretch of Montauk’s most beautiful beach. Although a lot businesses are closed in town for the season, Gurney’s is open year-round. With its heated indoor pool, luxurious spa facilities and a top notch restaurant on site, a trip to Gurney’s will help chase away your winter blues. Keep reading to find out why you should visit Montauk in the winter.

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Getting to Montauk

Before your weekend of pampering can begin, you have to get to Montauk. We drove from Brooklyn, which took us about 2.5 hours. During the peak summer months, it can take up to 5 hours to get from Manhattan to Montauk due to traffic.

If you are staying at Gurney’s, they offer complimentary shuttle service to the hotel from the train station and Hampton Jitney bus stop. So, you don’t need a car. If you aren’t staying at Gurney’s, I recommend you drive to Montauk in the winter months because taxis aren’t easy to find in Montauk during the off season.

Another option is to take the Long Island Railroad to Montauk. It’s about a 3 hour train ride from Manhattan to Montauk. This is my favorite way to reach Montauk in the summer time months – even if it’s the least luxurious way to get there – because you won’t get stuck in traffic!

A third option is to take a bus from NYC to Montauk. The Hampton Jitney from NYC to Montauk costs $34 each way if you pay on board, or $29 each way if you prebook online. The Hampton Ambassador is a slightly more upscale bus experience and costs $50 each way if you pay onboard, or $45 each way if you book online in advance. A third bus company, Hampton Luxury Liner, doesn’t operate in the winter months.

Finally, if you’re a high roller you can always rent a private seaplane or helicopter to shuttle you to Montauk! But, we couldn’t afford that, so we borrowed a car and drove instead.

Where to Stay – Gurney’s Montauk

Gurney’s Montauk Resort & Seawater Spa (290 Old Montauk Highway, Montauk, NY 11954) is undeniably the most luxurious property in all of Montauk. It is also the best place to stay in Montauk in the winter. Most businesses that operate in Montauk are seasonal, meaning they aren’t open in the winter months. So, if you want a decent coffee, a massage, or to swim in a heated indoor pool in Montauk during the winter, you need to stay at Gurney’s. Gurney’s also has a prime slice of beachfront so that you can watch the sun set over the waves each night while you sit by an outdoor fire pit. With a cocktail in hand, of course. During the winter, Gurney’s also installs temporary igloos on their beachside terrace overlooking the ocean.

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We stayed in an oceanfront room with two queen beds. The room had floor to ceiling windows that revealed a beautiful view of the beach and the Atlantic Ocean.

Our room also opened up to a very large beachfront terrace, which was the perfect place to enjoy a coffee (our room had a Nespresso machine) while watching the sunrise, or a glass of champagne while we watched the colors of the sunset. Cozy bathrobes are, of course, provided for you.

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Throughout our stay, the quality of service that we received at Gurney’s was unmatched. The Gurney’s team made us feel so welcome, and went above and beyond what we were expecting. And we were already expecting great service, since Gurney’s is a luxury hotel!

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Where to Eat in Montauk in the Winter

As I mentioned above, in the winter, a lot of Montauk staples are closed during the winter. For a quick breakfast and a good coffee, Corso Coffee is located in the Gurney’s lobby. All of the other coffee shops in town were closed during our stay, so we were grateful that Corso Coffee was open!

Tillie’s, which is also located in Gurney’s, is an American restaurant that serves both breakfast and lunch. We didn’t have an opportunity to dine at Tillie’s, but were surprised and impressed by how bustling it was during our winter weekend stay.

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If you want to head into town, John’s Pancake House is open year round and serves reliable diner fare (721 Montauk Hwy, Montauk, NY 11954). When we ventured into town on Saturday morning, John’s Pancake House was pretty much the only place that was open in Montauk during the winter!

For dinner during the winter months, Scarpetta Beach at Gurney’s is your best bet. We ate here on a Saturday night and every table was full. We were completely surprised! Considering that the restaurant seats 148 people and it was low season in Montauk, that’s pretty incredible. As far as what to order, you can’t go wrong with pasta and red wine at Scarpetta Beach. My favorites are their spaghetti and the black tagliolini.

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Gurney’s also has its own well-stocked bar on the property.

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What to Do in Montauk in the Winter

Get Your Spa On

The Seawater Spa was my favorite part of our stay at Gurney’s. There’s nothing that feels more luxurious to me than swimming in a heated indoor pool or enjoying a steam room while it’s chilly outside.

The Seawater Spa at Gurney’s has a Roman bath, Finnish rock sauna, Russian steam room, Swiss shower and an indoor, ocean-fed seawater pool with panoramic views of the Atlantic ocean. You must be a hotel guest to enjoy these facilities.

The Seawater Spa at Gurney’s also has an extensive spa menu offering massages, body treatments and anything else you’d expect from a high end spa. We spent most of our weekend enjoying the spa facilities, taking a break, and then enjoying them again!

Check out the Lighthouse

The Montauk Lighthouse (2000 Montauk Hwy, Montauk, NY 11954) is a well-known landmark in Montauk at the very end of Long Island. The lighthouse is closed in Montauk during the winter and usually reopens at the end of March,. But, you can still drive up to catch a view of the lighthouse in the winter.

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Walk on the Beach

Our room at Gurney’s was just steps from the beach. I used to think that going to beach in the winter was crazy, until I married an Englishman. As I’ve learned by marrying into a British family, English people LOVE going to the beach during the winter months. So, after years with my husband, I’ve been converted. I now love bundling up and taking brisk winter walks down the beach. If you visit Montauk in the winter, don’t skip the beach!

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Take a Cocktail Making Class

If you’re staying at Gurney’s, there’s a board in the main lobby that displays all of the activities going on during your stay. During our trip to Gurney’s, Tito’s Handmade Vodka hosted a complimentary afternoon “cocktail making class”. I put cocktail making class in quotes because it was really a cocktail drinking class! The Tito’s rep basically explained how she made three different cocktails and then we got to sample full sized glasses of each. Yes, they gave us each three complimentary full sized cocktails. I learned next to nothing, but we had a great time!

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Enjoy Wellness Activities

Not only does Gurney’s have a full gym onsite, it also hosts fitness classes and other wellness activities year round. During our stay, the hotel was offering a yoga class, pilates and an aqua fitness class.

Even though most of the town of Montauk was shut down for the winter, there was so much to do onsite at Gurney’s that we never got bored.

Checking Out

Checking out of Gurney’s was a breeze. The staff at the hotel were so kind and accommodating during our stay, which truly puts Gurney’s into a class of its own.

If you’re looking for a cozy place to escape NYC during the wintertime months, I absolutely recommend spending a few days at Gurney’s in Montauk. It’s a truly luxurious winter escape.

Although Montauk in the winter is fairly quiet, Gurney’s is open for business all year round. And if you’re planning to head to Montauk and/or the Hamptons in the summer, check out my blog post about summer in the Hamptons here.

xx

Vicki

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