Why haven't Montauk hotels done a Miami Beach-like conversion yet? We've discussed this topic at cocktail parties for years.  The decor is so dreadful at Gurney's that you can barely find interior shots of the hotel on their own Web site. It's been a long time since the first boutique hotels came to the Hamptons (Atlantic/Capri) and then to Shelter Island (Sunset Beach).  Well the seismic shift to the boutique hotel is now underway in Montauk. 

Earlier this summer, the Shepherd's Neck Inn was purchased by an investor group that owns hotels and residential properties including Sole on the Ocean in Miami Beach. They already have made modest upgrades to the restaurant and some of the rooms. This winter there will be a full-scale renovation; the property will debut next summer as Sole East, a condo hotel. We hear that Ralph Lauren visited the bar last weekend. Also this summer, the Panoramic View changed hands. It too, is slated for a big renovation and conversion to a boutique condo hotel.  Pretty spiffy for Montauk. 

Soon the pools and beaches of Montauk will be populated with 'outdoor salons' filled with oversized mattress-seats. Inevitably nostalgia will kick in and someone will proclaim that it's a shame to lose Montauk's true character - the lobster trap ceiling decor and dusty ships' wheels.