It’s that time of year when thoughts turn to sunny, lazy days by the water. Whether you are longing for an ocean beach or a grassy riverbank, here are new properties to consider, including laid-back retreats in the Hamptons; a chic hotel on the harbor in Charleston, S.C.; and luxurious resorts in Portugal and Majorca — just in time to plan a summer getaway.
Montauk, N.Y.
More than 40 years old, the Sunset Montauk, about a 10-minute drive from the Montauk Point Lighthouse, has been reimagined for a new generation. Drawing inspiration from the area’s surf culture, it is now the 29-room-and-suite boutique Hotel Corduroy with a retro, breezy atmosphere. Step into the lobby and you’ll find a Swedish armchair upholstered in a kilim rug, lighting from the 1970s and a large photograph of a surfer.
Rooms are spread across three buildings with 1960s-style furniture, including reeded bamboo bedside tables, and other nods to the past, like vintage cassette players. Choose from tapes in the lobby with music by Willie Nelson, Steely Dan, Neil Young, Dolly Parton and the Cars. Ward + Gray worked on the hotel’s interior design. Outside, the bay is almost at your doorstep.
It’s a short drive to the village of Montauk and to Ditch Plains Beach on the Atlantic; a 10-to-15-minute drive brings you to Montauk Point State Park and Camp Hero State Park. The property offers guests access to a private area on Sunset Beach (from June through mid-September), as well as bikes. You can play cornhole and bocce on the lawn, or laze on a sofa or a lounge chair. Rates from $850 a night in June, and from $995 in July and August. Dog-friendly rooms are available for $75 a night per dog.
Hampton Bays, N.Y.
On the water by Shinnecock Bay in Hampton Bays, this casual 18-room-and-suite hotel was once a 1960s motor inn. Today it’s a hideaway in a residential neighborhood with a pool and dock on Penny Pond that has space for guests who bring boats.
Hop on one of the hotel’s complimentary bikes and ride to Atlantic beaches, where you can surf, soak up the sun and check out restaurants. (Popular spots in Southampton, like Cooper’s Beach, are about a 20-minute drive away.)
Part of Lark (a New Hampshire-based boutique hotel company), the Penny Lane provides free breakfast in its airy lounge area. Rooms have mini-fridges and are decorated in white with touches of green and pale wood. Accommodations include king rooms with porches, and one- and two-bedroom suites. Some have water views. Rates from $349 a night, double occupancy. Pets are an additional $50 a night. The hotel is open April through October.
This new 191-room-and-suite escape named for the Cooper River has a prime spot on Charleston’s harbor. Its polished maritime vibe befits its location, with wide-plank oak floors and shiplap wall paneling by the New York-based interior design studio Champalimaud Design. There’s also a private marina where boats, including a Hinckley yacht, are available for excursions.
Stretch out on a daybed or in a cabana at the rooftop infinity pool and sample cocktails and bites from Bar Marti overlooking the harbor. The chef Nick Dugan of Charleston’s Sorelle is overseeing the Cooper’s restaurants, including the Crossing, a yacht-inspired space designed by the New York City-based architecture and design firm Meyer Davis, with teak floors, lacquered blue ceilings and water views. Linger over hummus and baba ghanouj with pita, wood-fired black bass, and crudo and shellfish from the raw bar. Coming this summer: CurrentBurger will serve nostalgic fare like smash burgers, fries and milkshakes. Or stop in at the hotel’s Cooper Coffee & Wine, which will offer coffee and breakfast during the day and transition to a wine bar in the evening.
After exploring, unwind in the 7,000-square-foot spa and, in case you don’t get all your steps in, there’s a 24-hour fitness center. Rates from $895 a night.
Alentejo region, Portugal
About 80 miles south of Lisbon, on the coast of Portugal’s rugged Alentejo region, Sublime Sand — a village-like enclave featuring 43 villas that opened this month — is set amid sand dunes, rice fields and pine forests.
The villas, which have private pools, make it easy for multigenerational families and groups to stay together. Explore forest trails, go for a bike ride or introduce the youngest members of your party to the kids’ club with its own pool. There’s a spa, fitness areas and tennis and padel courts. A gathering space called Aqua has indoor and outdoor pools, a hammam, a hot tub, an Italian restaurant and a poolside bar. And though the property is about four miles from the shore, because of environmental regulations, Sublime offers access to a private beach that you can visit via buggies.
The family-friendly Sublime Sand is across from Sublime Terracotta, a luxurious adults-only getaway; together they are known as Sublime Comporta. Between them there are nine places to eat and drink, including three new restaurants: the upscale steakhouse Beefbar, which originated in Monte Carlo; Davvero Comporta, an Italian restaurant; and Davvero Blu, a poolside bar. After dark, head to the resort’s nightclub, Ruína. Rates for Sublime Sand start at about $1,400 a night.
Also in Alentejo, Atlantic Club Comporta, a real estate development and community inside the Sado Estuary Nature Reserve, is a new collection of 24 villas created by two of the most celebrated names in design: the French interior designer Jacques Grange, whose clients have included Yves Saint Laurent and Valentino, and the American garden designer Madison Cox, known for gardens around the word such as the Jardin Majorelle in Marrakesh.
Each of the villas has several buildings (for example, a main house and a guesthouse) and their owners can rent out one or more. Set on 35 acres, the villas have courtyards and hotel-like amenities, including housekeeping and concierge services. Weekly rates for a house begin at around $15,000, or about $2,143 a night. Inquiries can be made on the Atlantic Club Comporta’s booking page.
Majorca, Spain
Opening June 1, this sun-drenched escape perched above the Bay of Palma in Calvià has 131 rooms, suites and casitas, some with plunge pools or private rooftop pools.
Designed by the Madrid-based firm BG Arquitectura and the interior designer Laura Gonzalez, the property is a short drive or bike ride to the glamorous Puerto Portals marina. Many of the contemporary rooms have sea views; some have balconies or terraces. Beyond your room, there’s a half a dozen places to eat and drink, including Matsuhisa which will have a sushi counter and an outdoor bar with Nobu-style Japanese cuisine and sushi; Leña, a steakhouse by the Spanish chef Dani Garcia, known for the Michelin-starred Smoked Room restaurant in Madrid; and Jacinta, a Mexican taqueria and cantina.
Ditch your phone at the spa with a massage like the Tech Detox. There’s also an indoor pool, two outdoor pools, steam rooms, cold plunges, aromatherapy showers and a fitness center that offers yoga, meditation and circuit-training classes. Stroll the coastline, and hit the clay courts overlooking the Mediterranean for tennis or padel. Rates from $1,839 a night.
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