Hampton Bays is not East Hampton or Southampton. It is wider, calmer and considerably less performative. Lark Hotels’ first Hamptons property makes a strong case for staying in the less obvious part of Long Island’s East End.
The Hamptons have a reputation that precedes them, and not always in a way that makes them sound particularly appealing. East Hampton and Southampton carry the weight of that reputation most heavily. Hampton Bays, a few miles west along the South Fork of Long Island, has always been something else: wider beaches, sport fishing, waterfront restaurants without the theatre, and a residential ease that the more famous villages long since traded away.
The Penny Lane opened here on 22 May, bringing 18 rooms and suites to a canal-side site just off Shinnecock Bay, about two miles from the Atlantic. The property is the Hamptons debut for Lark Hotels, the New England-based boutique hospitality group with properties across Massachusetts, Maine and coastal California. The building was originally a classic motor inn; the renovation leans into that heritage with a coastal palette of pale neutrals, green accents and wood furnishings, kept light and unfussy throughout.
The 18 rooms and suites are spread across several low-slung buildings. Cottage Deluxe King rooms have private covered porches; a cluster of rooms near the pool and water includes one- and two-bedroom suites with living areas suitable for families or groups. Three rooms in the Main House share a living area and can be booked separately or together — a useful configuration for travelling groups who want proximity without sharing. There is no full-service restaurant, but the Main House breakfast lounge, with greenhouse-style windows overlooking the pool, handles mornings well with a daily spread.
The waterside setting is the real draw. A pool overlooks the canal, dock space is available for guests arriving by boat or leaving one on site, and complimentary bikes are available to ride to the beach or into the village for dinner. The hotel is pet-friendly and operates seasonally from April through October.
Lark Hotels CEO Peter Twachtman has described the location as offering a quiet reprieve from the rest of the Hamptons, which is a fairly straightforward way of saying it is for people who want Long Island’s coastline without the production that surrounds it. That is a reasonable and specific proposition, and in summer 2026, quite possibly exactly what a significant number of people are looking for.
Rates from $349 per night. More at larkhotels.com