Although The Hamptons are known for their summer season, the area is a fabulous year-round destination with much to offer visitors in all seasons, minus the crowds and the summer traffic. We stayed and explored the Southampton and Water Mill areas of The Hamptons and fell in love with our Spring stay.
Where To Stay
White Fences Inn
If you have always dreamed of having a gorgeous house in The Hamptons, you will love the White Fences Inn. We stayed at the new luxury boutique bed and breakfast owned by Eric and Liz Brodar and their charming "Ambass-a-dog" Bailey, in late March 2017 and loved the experience.
Guestroom
Located in Water Mill, New York, in the Township of Southampton, White Fences Inn opened in 2015 and has 5 exquisite guestrooms including 2 suites. Elegant, contemporary furnishings and luxurious appointments and amenities, gourmet breakfasts prepared by the talented Liz Brodar, and a secluded outdoor pool make it a perfect getaway.
Guestroom Sitting Area
Luxury abounds in the guestrooms with beds dressed in sumptuous Frette and Matouk linens and an assortment of pillows for sweet dreams, and modern gas fireplaces add a touch of romance. Frette robes, slippers, Nespresso coffee makers, personal refrigerators stocked with an assortment of complimentary beverages and baskets of complimentary create a welcoming ambience.
Luxurious Bathroom
A few of the top of the line appointments in the guest bathrooms include volcanic stone free standing soaking tubs that invite leisurely bubby baths, separate showers with body sprays, luxurious towels, and a plethora of Malin + Goetz amenities.
Dining Room
Location, location, location … Water Mill is located a short drive from the Village of Southampton with upscale shopping, restaurants, museums, and more, and discovering the immediate area is so convenient as the inn is located next door to the Parrish Art Museum, (they have complimentary passes for guests), Duck Walk Vineyard located just beyond the museum, and Flying Point Beach (they have complimentary beach parking passes for guests). It is also perfectly situated to act as a home base if you want to explore further areas of the Hamptons. From the time of check-in to our departure, the White Fences Inn exceeded our expectations.
Swimming Pool
Read more about our stay at the White Fences Inn in the Hotels and Resorts section.
White Fences Inn
371 Montauk Highway
Water Mill, New York 11976
United States
Telephone: +1-631-500-9013
Email: stay@whitefenceswatermill.com
Website: www.WhiteFencesWatermill.com
Facebook: www.Facebook.com/WhiteFencesWatermill/
Exploring the Area
Parrish Art Museum
Parrish Art Museum
The Parrish Art Museum located within strolling distance of the inn is well worth taking time out to visit. Architecturally interesting, the contemporary building designed by Herzog & de Meuron and located on 14-acres, opened in November 2012, and has long benches incorporated into the design than run the length of the exterior. Perfect for outdoor events, parties, and wedding receptions, there is a 6,000-square foot covered Mildred C. Brinn Terrace, 5,000-square foot The Bonnie Comley and Stewart F. Lane lawn, and the state-of-the-art, 2,400-square foot, 200-seat, The Lichtenstein Theatre, for special events, receptions, film screenings, bands, and more.
Parrish Art Gallery
To celebrate their 5th anniversary at their new location (the museum opened in 1898 in the building that is now home to the Southampton Arts Center), the museum has selected works from their permanent collection on display which runs until October 30, 2017. We visited each of their 8 galleries, and especially enjoyed the Picturing Artists exhibition which included evocative photographs by Annie Liebovitz, Renate Ponsold, Cindy Sherman, and Linda McCartney of her husband Paul and the artist Willem de Kooning. There are special programs throughout the year, check the website: www.ParrishArt.org for the event calendar and pricing.
Parrish Art Museum Exhibit
A sampling of upcoming 2017 events: Friday Night Salon Series: April 28 – Clarinetist Yoonah Kim, May 5 – The Israeli Chamber Project, May 12 – Pianist Tanya Bannister, May 19 – Pianist Nicholas King, May 26 – Hopefully Forgiven. Films: April 30 – Citizen Jane, Battle for the City in collaboration with the Hamptons Take 2 Documentary Film Festival, and May 20 – The Diving Bell and the Butterfly in collaboration with the Hamptons International Film Festival
Parrish Art Museum Exhibit
The museum is open year-round, Monday, Wednesdays, and Thursdays from 10:00 am until 5:00 pm, Fridays from 10:00 am until 8:00 pm, and Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00 am until 5:00 pm. The museum is closed on Tuesdays. The Café is open Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday from 11:00 am until 3:00 pm, Friday from 11:00 am until 9:00 pm, and Saturday from 11:0 am until 4:00 pm.
Parrish Art Museum Exhibit
Admission: Adults: $12, Seniors: $9, Students with ID: Free, Children Under 18: Free, Members: Free, Guests of Members: $5. There is also a special Blue Star Program: Active duty military personnel, including the National Guard and Reserve, and their families receive free admission to the Museum. Docent-led tours are offered free with Museum admission Wednesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays at 2:00 pm.
Parrish Art Museum
279 Montauk Highway
Water Mill, New York
Telephone: +1-631-283-2118
Website: www.ParrishArt.org
Captain Albert Rogers Mansion
To appreciate the history of the Village of Southampton, incorporated and established in 1640, and the oldest English settlement in the State of New York, we visited the Captain Albert Rogers Mansion, part of the Southampton Historical Museum.
Entrance to Southamptom Historical Museum
Built in 1843 for whaling Captain Albert Rogers, and later owned by Samuel Parrish and his wife, the mansion is architecturally stunning. During our visit, the mansion was beautifully decorated with furnishings from the Parrish family, the last owners of the house before it became a museum in the 1950s. (Watch the video clip). There was also an interesting exhibit entitled, Hunting the Whale: The Rise and Fall of a Southampton Industry, which runs until December 2017.
Watch video clip from Captain Albert Rogers Mansion on YouTube: https://youtu.be/N3LRPAQj3G4
Captain Albert Rogers Mansion
Located in Southampton Village, in addition to the mansion, there are 12 smaller interesting period buildings on the property, including a one-room schoolhouse, blacksmith shop, notions shop, cobbler, and more, that are also part of the museum, which we enjoyed seeing.
Antique Piano
The museum, founded as The Southampton Colonial Society in 1898, and incorporated in 1910, consists of the Captain Rogers Mansion, and the Pelletreau Silver Shop, located at 80 Main Street, built in 1686, one of the oldest structures on the East End, which is the oldest continuously operating trade shop. The French artist jeweler Eric Messin continues the art of silversmithing there, Tuesday through Saturday, from 11:00 am until 4:00 pm.
Period Building on Display at Property
Another interesting part of the museum is the Thomas Halsey House, located at 249 South Main Street, built in 1648 by Thomas Halsey. It is the oldest house in the Village of Southampton and the oldest English-style house in New York State. (The Halsey House is open June through October, Saturdays from 11:00 am until 4:00 pm, or by special appointment by calling the Rogers Mansion at +1-631-283-2494).
The Captain Rogers Mansion museum and research center is open year-round, Tuesdays through Saturdays from 11:00 am until 4:00 pm. Admission: $4.
Captain Albert Rogers Mansion
17 Meeting House Lane
Southampton, New York 11968
Telephone: +1-631-283-2494
Email: info@SouthamptonHistoricalMuseum.org
Website: www.SouthamptonHistoricalMuseum.org
Facebook: www.Facebook.com/pages/Southampton-Historical-Museum
Southampton Arts Center
There is always something interesting happening at the Southampton Arts Center which is also open year-round. As examples of the diversity of their cultural offerings, during the weekend we were there in late March 2017, they had a spoken-word performance with Michael Holman on Friday, a Jazz concert featuring Grammy nominated Nilson Matta’s Brazilian Voyage Trio on Saturday, a family photography workshop, and a gallery tour with the artists from A Sense of Place on a Sunday.
Nilson Matta
We thoroughly enjoyed seeing the gallery collections, as well as attending the Jazz concert, Nilson Matta’s Brazilian Voyage Trio, consisting of Nilson Matta on upright bass, Oriente Lopéz on piano and flute, and Mauricio Zottarelli on drums. Read about the concert, Nilson Matta’s Brazilian Voyage Trio in the Performances section.
Watch video of the concert at YouTube: https://youtu.be/sqcR_fKlpNA
Nilson Matta’s Brazilian Voyage Trio
A sampling of upcoming 2017 programs: April 14 – May 29 – East End Collected3 curated by Paton Miller, April 21 – Screening of the film SONITA by Rokharsareh Ghaem Maghami, April 22 – Hector Martignon with Randy Brecker.
The galleries are open Thursday until Sunday from 12:00 pm until 6:00 pm, gallery admission is free, however there is a fee for special events.
Southampton Arts Center Exhibit
With its diverse programs and gallery exhibits, the Southampton Arts Center is a treasure trove of possibilities that will appeal to adults as well as to families.
Southampton Arts Center
25 Jobs Lane
Southampton, New York 11968
United States
Telephone:+1-631-283-0967
Website: www.SouthamptonArtsCenter.org
Facebook: www.Facebook.com/SouthamptonArtsCenter
Twitter: #SouthamptonArtsCenter
Beaches
For us, no matter what the season, and we have experienced The Hamptons in all four seasons, a trip would not be complete without visiting its famous beaches. Southampton alone has 11 beaches, although some are for residents only. Parking permits or day parking passes are required at the beaches from May 24 – September 1. Some beaches require resident permits and do not have daily parking passes.
Flying Point Beach
Even though it was late March, and early Spring, with cold winds blowing, we went to two of the Hamptons’ stunning beaches, Flying Point Beach and Coopers Beach to enjoy their natural beauty.
Sand Dune at Flying Point Beach
Flying Point Beach located in Water Mill in the Township of Southampton, is a short 2.8-mile drive from White Fences Inn, and is a beautiful beach with sand dunes and a long beautiful stretch of sandy beach meant for strolling and playing in the waves. As the day was very cold and windy, the beach was pristine and desolate except for a few hearty souls like ourselves, who came to enjoy nature.
Fish Sign
Note: White Fences Inn provides free parking passes for its guests at Flying Point Beach as parking permits are for residents only and daily passes are not available. There are lifeguards in season as well as facilities.
Flying Point Beach
1055 Flying Point Road
Water Mill, New York
Coopers Beach, located in Southampton Village, rated the number 1 beach in America by "Dr. Beach" (Dr. Stephen P. Leatherman) in 2010, features a stunning long sandy stretch of beach and rolling waves. Although the weekend we visited was bright and sunny, it was still cold and windy which did not deter a few hearty surfers in wetsuits who braved the chilly waters in the hopes of catching a few great waves, and a handful of people like ourselves who could not resist the beauty of strolling the beach.
Cooper’s Beach
Watch the video clip at Coopers Beach on YouTube: https://youtu.be/CeQedQG5rEs
Parking during the season is $40 per vehicle. There are lifeguards in season as well as facilities.
Coopers Beach
268 Meadow Lane
Southampton, New York
Shopping
Shopping abounds in Southampton Village on Jobs Lane and Main Street where upscale and luxury boutiques beckoned and we heeded the call. Although some of the shops are only open during the summer season, there were enough shops open for us to do some serious shopping.
Vineyards
The Hamptons has a wealth of vineyards to experience, however for this trip we concentrated our time nearby to White Fences Inn and "rediscovered" Duck Walk Vineyard, founded in 1994, and owned by Dr. Herodotus "Dan" Damianos and his son, Alexander Damianos. Duck Walk Vineyards has 2 locations, Duck Walk Vineyards South in Water Mill, and Duck Walk Vineyards North, located in Southold, on the North Fork of Long Island.
Wine Tasting with Michael Krummenacher
During our visit to the Water Mill location, we tasted many delectable red and white wines with Tasting Bar Manager Michael Krummenacher including their 2015 Sauvignon Blanc, which offered lovely grapefruit and lemon on the palate, a 2010 Reserve Merlot, a big, bold and beautiful red with lots of dark fruit on the finish, and a 2014 Pinot Meunier, which was light and luscious with raspberry and cherry notes. We also tasted two of their dessert wines: their Boysenberry Fruit Wine, 19% alcohol and scrumptious, and their 2014 Blueberry Port, made with 100% small mountain blueberries that was gorgeous.
Varied Selection of Wines
Duck Walk Vineyards is open year-round for tastings from 11:00 am until 5:00 pm. There is live music inside on Saturday afternoons during winter/early spring, and live music outdoors on Saturday and Sunday afternoons from Memorial Day until the end of October on the Patio overlooking the vineyard.
Duck Walk Vineyards South
For more information on Duck Walk Vineyard please visit their website: www.DuckWalk.com
Duck Walk Vineyards South
231 Montauk Highway
P.O. Box 962
Water Mill, New York 11976
United States
Telephone: +1-631-726-7555
Fax: +1-631-726-4395
Email: info@DuckWalk.com
Website: www.DuckWalk.com
Facebook: www.Facebook.com/pages/Duck-Walk-Vineyards
Although we visited The Hamptons in the spring, no matter what season you decide to visit, you will fall in love with its beauty, its ambience, and exciting and vibrant charm.
Read other articles from our Spring Weekend in The Hamptons in the Hotels and Resorts and Performances sections.
Come and enjoy Southampton
For more information on Southampton Village, please visit the website: www.SouthamptonVillage.org
For more information on Southampton, please visit the website: www.SouthamptonChamber.com
Follow Luxury Experience on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/LuxuryExperience to see more photos and videos.
Follow Luxury Experience on Twitter at www.twitter.com/LuxuryPair
© April 2017. Luxury Experience. www.LuxuryExperience.com. All rights reserved.
