In short… A rejuvenated 1950s beach retreat on the North Fork with a private sandy beach, exceptional food—and open year-round.
The surroundings… Unlike the Hamptons across the bay, the northeastern tip of Long Island has never really had a hotel that matched its low-key, maritime soul—until Silver Sands Motel & Beach Bungalows reopened in June 2023. Three hours from New York by train (less by car, traffic depending), the property sits on a quiet crescent of Pipe’s Cove, facing Shelter Island. Arrive by train and you’ll be picked up in a mint-green vintage Jeep Wagoneer, a perfect prelude to the lodgings’ throwback charm—turquoise painted shingles, the original neon Silver Sands MOTEL sign glowing overhead, and scattered white and yellow beach shacks and bungalows, most with nostalgia-tinged screened porches. To the rear, an 18-acre salt marsh buffers any noise pollution, while in front, all the rooms are stumbling distance from a 1,400-foot private beach. Silver Sands also stewards an offshore oyster farm in partnership with Oysterponds Shellfish Co, supplying its three restaurants and embodying the owner’s approach to responsible restoration connected to place. Native plantings, an osprey nest, a Purple Martin colony and frequent visits from egrets and cranes keep the place feeling alive and in harmony with its setting.
The backstory… When proprietor and creative director Alex Perros acquired Silver Sands from the Jurzenia family—who opened it in 1954, cultivated generations of loyal guests, and shuttered it during the pandemic—he made a clear decision: “We didn’t want to make a retro hotel. We wanted to rejuvenate it—to stay true to its roots,” he told me on a tour of the grounds. For Alex, a veteran real-estate developer with a focus on design-driven projects, that meant interpreting the ’50s through a modern lens: updating materials, softening the color palette, and adding comforts while keeping the spirit intact. He also bought a neighboring bungalow colony from the ’30s as well as a couple more recent builds on the lot, and merged it all into one 33-key property. The turquoise and Pepto-pink motel exterior was painted in more palatable versions of the hues, but the red geraniums in window boxes found their way back into the design— “a little consistency for longtime guests,” he said. Alex’s reverence for the place runs deep. Soon after buying Silver Sands, an older guest stopped by, saying she’d vacationed with her family in the same cottage for three decades. She recounted how her father had once glued seashells to a lamp, which her mother had rendered in an oil painting that had hung in the cottage for years. When Alex took her to the cottage—stripped bare during the reno—there was the painting, sitting on the mantel. “By the end, we were both in tears,” he said.
The vibe… Silver Sands’ design feels fresh, not retro-kitch. The interiors mix California beach house with East Coast cottagecore, and include playful nods to the past like the motel’s original room numbers painted on seashells, now framed in glass in the lobby. The former reception desk is now a bar (and the site of Friday and Saturday oyster shuckings), while the seating area under a pink ceiling is stocked with books and board games. When I stayed in mid-September, the beach chairs along the cove were mostly empty, but I can picture summer days being full of swimmers and sunbathers. Come winter, the rooms must be quiet and appealingly cozy places to hole up.
The rooms… We stayed in Plato’s Beach House, the largest on property, with 3 bedrooms, 3 baths and direct access to the sand (with an adjacent annex it can expand to 4 rooms). Designed by Alex’s wife, Anna, the interiors felt unfussy and bright—lemon and flower-print fabrics (coincidentally by my friend, the artist Wayne Pate, for Studio Four), seagrass rugs and rattan furniture, a mustard couch with piping and dust ruffle, and a touch of whimsy: a large black-and-white photograph of a woman reading Jaws. Bathrooms nod to the ’50s with pastel checkered tile and a large tub, but firmly planted in the present with soft Frette robes and Flamingo Estate products. The Smeg fridge and pantry were stocked with the preferences I’d listed before arrival—unsweetened iced tea and Diet Cokes—as well as a delicious homemade olive-oil cake, a fruit bowl with local grapes and sun-gold tomatoes, and snacks from local producers (Tate’s cookies, Bjorn Corn). Morning coffee arrives (on request) with The New York Times and the view of a quiet cove. Alex let me peek into Casa de Buddy, the other Beach House which has a very different vibe with ’70s flair, centered around a De Sede modular sofa, palm tree lamp, and giant photograph from Harper’s Bazaar shot there decades ago—Silver Sands and its nostalgic decay for years served as the backdrop for many a photo shoot. Unfortunately there was a corporate retreat on property during my stay, so I couldn’t lay eyes on the 2 2-BR bungalows, 8 white shingled beach shacks, or 20 motel rooms during our stay, but they all share similar bright and clean cottage vibes.
The food & drink… The food here punches far above its weight, thanks to 27-year-old executive chef Finn O’Hara, formerly of The Four Horsemen in Brooklyn. His North Fork roots show in a menu that feels grounded in the place—fresh, unfussy, and wildly flavorful.
Breakfast is at Nookies, the on-site retro diner, which can be delivered to your room—we had a perfect omelet, hash browns piled with smoked fish and sour cream, and blueberry pancakes.
The most competitive reservation is Eddie’s, the seasonal Mediterranean-inspired beachside restaurant with a raw bar, pizza oven, and tables scattered on a little bluff. We were lucky to catch it on closing weekend in September, and loved the local greens with fennel pollen, butterfish with capers and mint, and coconut ceviche served in its own shell—the sweet coconut meat offset the bright and spicy ceviche so well. And clearly Eddie’s hot dog with fennel relish is famous for a reason.
At Nookies for dinner—which was fully booked—we sat at the counter watching the kitchen turn out playful riffs on comfort food, elevated way above usual diner fare: tempura-battered green onions with anchovy dressing (“Bloomin Onions”), roasted corn manicotti, and tilefish in brothy beans with cilantro and leeks. It was fun to have a front-row seat to the activity, and the staff behind the counter was so friendly.
And finally, the newly opened Boathouse, in a rustically preserved wooden structure next to Eddie’s, opened the week after we left, and will now be a year-round restaurant with its own menu that honors the local fishing tradition—all weathered wood, salvaged buoys, and old nautical charm.
The wellness… I didn’t get to try the Salt Marsh Wellness Sanctuary, but it includes a steam room, sauna overlooking the marsh, cold plunge, and a treatment room. Guests can also borrow kayaks, paddleboards, and bikes for the easy ride into Greenport.
Is it kid-friendly? Very. The cove’s calm water makes it perfect for young swimmers, and the grounds are easy and safe enough for kids to roam independently—just the kind of freedom that makes family vacations so much easier.
Be sure to… Book a tour of the Pipe Cove oyster farm, the largest in New York State. (Greenport was once the oyster capital of the East Coast, home to 14 factories at its peak in the 19th century.) I went out on the bay with Brian Tuthill of Oysterponds Shellfish Co., who described how they cultivate up to three million oysters a year—seeded in their Greenport nursery, then raised in metal cages across 15 acres of water. The farm has helped spawn wild oysters throughout the bay which, in turn, has helped clear the water (in that way that bivalves do) until it’s almost glassy. Now they’re collaborating with Cornell to help bring back the bay’s legendary scallops, which have mysteriously disappeared over the past decade.
If you can, follow the tour with an oyster tasting (or a Fri-Sat 5-7pm shucking night)—I got a tutorial from Phil Mastrangelo, founder of Oysterponds, who taught me how to slurp “naked” oysters properly: chew slowly with your molars, breathe through your nose, and you’ll start to taste the bay itself in the “merroir”—the sea vegetables and the minerality. The experience is paired with a pour from McCall’s Winery, which is worth a visit on its own.
Set in Cutchogue, McCall’s is a family-run vineyard on a former potato farm saved from development by Russ McCall and the Peconic Land Trust. A Francophile at heart, Russ and his wife planted pinot noir—everyone said it couldn’t grow here, but the North Fork’s cool sea breezes and sunny days proved them wrong. Today the 140-acre property produces elegant pinot, cabernet, and sauvignon blanc, all farmed regeneratively. They also raise white Charolais-Wagyu cattle, whose tender beef stars at their summer burger nights on Thursday and Friday evenings. I did a tasting in their beautifully restored 1787 barn, with nibbles from Russ’s fine-foods company—cheeses, charcuterie, dried fruit. 10/10 recommend!
Parting words… I have been to the Hamptons countless times and somehow—inexplicably and inexcusably—had never made it to the North Fork. Silver Sands was the perfect conduit to Greenport and the surrounding area, which feels vibrant with businesses that are drawing on local traditions to shape sustainable products and experiences for the area’s future. Honestly, I can’t wait to go back.
Date of stay… September 17-19, 2025
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