Zey Hotel

Zach Erdem's art-forward 10-room boutique in Southampton — the opposite of the chintz-and-shell-print Hamptons hotel norm. Zey is what happens when a hospitality operator with a long Hamptons restaurant CV decides the village finally needs a small hotel that's interesting to look at.

It's small. Ten rooms. The art on the walls is real. The bar is the kind of room where a Friday-night drink turns into staying for the burger.

The setting

Southampton Village sits at the western end of the South Fork of Long Island — older money than Montauk, denser-restauranted than Bridgehampton, with a Main Street that's mostly walkable in summer if you've found a parking space. The hotel is in the village proper, a short walk to Jobs Lane and the village shops, and a five-minute drive to the ocean at Cooper's Beach.

The wider Hamptons map opens out east from here: Sag Harbor's harbor and main street are twenty minutes northeast, Bridgehampton fifteen, the East Hampton ponds another fifteen past that. The Long Island Rail Road station is a few minutes from the property.

The building

A reimagined motor-lodge-era building rebuilt as a boutique — the bones of a smaller mid-century structure, the interiors now closer to a downtown art gallery than a beach hotel. The material palette is velvet, brass, lacquered wood, and statement light fixtures. The art program is worked into the building rather than hung as an afterthought.

Public spaces include a bar that does serious cocktail work, a lounge that doubles as gallery, and a small outdoor terrace.

The rooms

Ten rooms across a few categories — standards, larger queens, and a couple of suites. Bed configurations are queens and kings; bathrooms are tiled, brass-fixtured, and built around walk-in showers. Furnishings carry the bohemian-theatrical mood through: velvet headboards, textured wallpaper, vintage finds mixed with custom pieces. Rates open around $375 in shoulder season and climb hard on summer weekends.

Food & drink

There's a restaurant on site — Erdem-operated, in line with his other Southampton venues — with a Mediterranean-leaning menu open to the public on a reservations basis. The bar program is the property's social engine, particularly on Friday and Saturday nights in summer. Breakfast is included for guests, served in the lounge or on the terrace.

On the property

A small property with a focused, social amenity stack.

• On-site restaurant and bar, both open to the public
• Curated art program throughout the building
• Small outdoor terrace
• Walking distance to Southampton Village's Jobs Lane
• Five-minute drive to Cooper's Beach
• Open year-round

Who it's for

• Couples doing a Southampton weekend who don't want a chintz-and-shells hotel
• Art-set travelers who notice the program on the walls
• Repeat Hamptons visitors who've cycled through the larger inns and want a boutique
• Anyone whose ideal weekend is a short walk to dinner and a bar that holds up

Who it's not for

• Families with young kids — the property is adult-pitched and the rooms are small
• Travelers who want a beach club, pool, or full-resort amenity stack
• Anyone price-shopping the Hamptons at the $250 mark

Nearby

Cooper's Beach — the village's main ocean beach, regularly named one of the best on the East Coast — is five minutes by car. Jobs Lane and Main Street's shops are walkable from the front door. The Parrish Art Museum, in Water Mill, is fifteen minutes east and one of the South Fork's better art stops. Sag Harbor's Long Wharf, the American Hotel bar, and the Sag Harbor Cinema are twenty minutes northeast for a half-day out. Out the South Fork, the East Hampton ponds and Montauk are an hour east in summer traffic. The North Fork's wineries are forty-five minutes north over the Shelter Island ferries for a full day out.