{"id":33471,"date":"2021-09-03T12:39:03","date_gmt":"2021-09-03T12:39:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/?post_type=articles&p=33471"},"modified":"2021-09-03T12:39:03","modified_gmt":"2021-09-03T12:39:03","slug":"in-with-the-inn-crowd-the-maidstone-east-hampton","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/in-with-the-inn-crowd-the-maidstone-east-hampton\/","title":{"rendered":"In With The Inn Crowd: The\u00a0Maidstone in East Hampton"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Courtesy: The Maidstone<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

East Hampton was the first English settlement in the state of New York.\u00a0Before it was called East Hampton it was, in fact, known as\u00a0Maidstone,\u00a0having been named for the county seat of Kent, England.\u00a0The name was later changed to Easthampton\u00a0to mirror the\u00a0names of its neighbors\u00a0to the south and west, but in\u00a01885\u00a0it\u00a0was split into two words\u00a0to coincide with the way the local newspaper,\u00a0<\/span>The<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span>East Hampton Star<\/span><\/i>, decided to spell it.\u00a0Who knew the naming of the town was an editorial\u00a0decision?\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Well, the town\u2019s official historian Hugh King,\u00a0also known as the East Hampton\u00a0town\u00a0crier,\u00a0would.\u00a0I called King to talk to him about his recollections of the hotel in town called\u00a0The\u00a0Maidstone.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhich one are you talking about?\u201d asked the delightful 80-year-old gentleman. \u201cThe\u00a0inn?\u00a0That one burned down in the 1930s.\u00a0Even I\u2019m not old enough to remember that one.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d\u00a0I told him.\u00a0\u201cI\u2019m talking about\u00a0The\u00a0Maidstone, the first thing you really see when you drive into town across from Town Pond,\u00a0the Greek Revival that almost seems painted there, the one with that perfect porch.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

King laughed.\u00a0\u201cWell, I\u2019m old enough for that one but I\u2019m not rich enough,\u201d\u00a0he said.\u00a0\u201cNever had the money it takes to stay there.\u00a0I did go to the tree-lighting ceremonies that they used to have there at Christmas with all the candles.\u00a0Then\u00a0they\u2019d\u00a0have\u00a0a dinner\u00a0and give the proceeds to the food\u00a0pantry\u00a0in town.\u00a0Those were the\u00a0previous\u00a0owners.\u00a0There are new ones now.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The\u00a0\u201cnew\u201d\u00a0ones,\u00a0Jonathan\u00a0and Jenny Baker, have been\u00a0the owners since 2008\u2014a Bakers\u2019\u00a0dozen\u00a0of years, come to think of it\u2014when they reimagined the iconic hotel to reflect art collector Jenny\u2019s keen curatorial eye and movie producer Jonathan\u2019s appreciation of mise-en-sc<\/span>\u00e8<\/span>ne.\u00a0Jonathan thinks of\u00a0\u201cthe Hamptons as the epitome of the American version of\u00a0<\/span>La Dolce Vita<\/span><\/i>,\u201d\u00a0citing the Fellini film for its title\u2019s translation:\u00a0<\/span>The Sweet Life<\/span><\/i>. There is, indeed, a kind of sweet swagger to that film that the Bakers have translated into the tranquil moxie of their hotel, a manifested characteristic of East Hampton itself. Many of the stars attending the Hamptons International Film Festival each year insist on staying at The Maidstone because its old-school, old-shingled Hamptons elegance now elides with the sophisticated serenity that is the result of the updates that the Bakers have put into place.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Courtesy: The Maidstone<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Before settling in for a visit\u00a0with\u00a0the Bakers,\u00a0let\u2019s\u00a0circle back to\u00a0<\/span>The<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span>East Hampton Star<\/span><\/i>\u00a0for a bit more history of the place from Mayra Scanlon, the East Hampton Library\u2019s archivist for its Long Island Collection.\u00a0In a column\u00a0titled \u201cThe Maidstone That Remains,\u201d she wrote of the Osborne family history that is so much of the Maidstone\u2019s own.\u00a0When Thomas Osborne arrived in East Hampton from Connecticut, he\u00a0bought the property from\u00a0Robert Bond\u00a0somewhere between 1650 and 1660. Six\u00a0subsequent\u00a0generations of Osbornes ran a tannery business\u00a0from here.\u00a0In 1840, William Osborn\u2014who lost an \u201ce\u201d\u00a0along the\u00a0way\u2014built the main\u00a0structure\u00a0which still stands today. He soon\u00a0opened the place to lodgers\u00a0and renamed it Osborn House.\u00a0Maybe\u00a0that\u00a0\u201ce\u201d just\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0fit on the\u00a0sign that\u00a0was the hotel\u2019s first attempt at branding.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

William\u2019s son Burnett ran the\u00a0Osborn House for 32 years.\u00a0In 1924, the place was taken over by the Hamptons Hotel Corporation and renovations ensued, including that perfect porch.\u00a0On September 21,\u00a01938,\u00a0however, the Long\u00a0Island\u00a0Express\u00a0Hurricane\u00a0that left 150 Montauk\u00a0fishermen\u00a0homeless and swept an entire movie theatre out to sea\u00a0in Westhampton,\u00a0drowning the projectionist and 20 matinee-goers, severely damaged the hotel.\u00a0Reconstruction began\u00a0and bettered the\u00a0battered\u00a0place\u00a0which\u00a0gave the porch a sturdier appeal to match its aesthetic one.\u00a0In\u00a0a town\u00a0where the first English\u00a0settled and a hotel can have such a history, even a porch can be generational.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe hotel changed hands twice more, the owners including, for many years, Rita Reiswig and her husband, the late Gary Reiswig, before being purchased by its current owner, Jenny Ljungberg, in 2008,\u201d Scanlon\u00a0wrote, winding\u00a0up her column\u00a0in\u00a0<\/span>The East Hampton Star<\/span><\/i>.\u00a0\u201cThe reopening of the\u00a0Maidstone\u00a0featured\u00a0a new look\u00a0and feel with Scandinavian influences. Today, the\u00a0Maidstone\u00a0features modern amenities such as morning yoga, a restaurant serving Swedish cuisine, and distinct red bikes for guests, which can be seen throughout town.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Josef Frank Bedroom (Courtesy: The Maidstone)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The influences mentioned in archivist Scanlon\u2019s column, influences for which\u00a0The\u00a0Maidstone\u00a0is now known since the Bakers became its innkeepers, are described by Jenny as\u00a0\u201cScandinavian cozy.\u201d\u00a0When I first heard the\u00a0term, I thought\u00a0of Liv Ullmann\u00a0in a pair of old slippers wearing a moth-eaten cashmere turtleneck handed down from her mother that she sleeps in and\u00a0doesn\u2019t\u00a0take\u00a0off on Sundays.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u00a0sounds brilliantly specific!\u201d\u00a0says Jenny.\u00a0\u201cSince I\u2019m Swedish, my interpretation of\u00a0\u2018<\/span>Scandinavian\u00a0cozy<\/span>\u2019\u00a0is\u00a0intrinsically linked to my lifelong memories. What I intend with the term is a feeling of perfect visual balance that exudes easy\u00a0sophistication. I would like our guests to feel\u00a0comfortably\u00a0at home at\u00a0the\u00a0Maidstone;\u00a0yet,\u00a0I want them to live the best version of their lives.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That led to this question for her husband, who is not only a movie producer,\u00a0but also the founder of Jonathan Baker Beauty,\u00a0whose products can be found in\u00a0The\u00a0Maidstone\u2019s\u00a0rooms.\u00a0Since telling a story is important to\u00a0him, what story does he\u00a0want\u00a0The\u00a0Maidstone\u00a0to tell?\u00a0O<\/span>r,\u00a0is\u00a0<\/span>it\u00a0more of a setting for the narratives that others bring to it as\u00a0his\u00a0guests?<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI would love to think that sometimes the setting is the main\u00a0character\u00a0and\u00a0The\u00a0Maidstone\u00a0is the perfect set to tell love stories,\u201d\u00a0he says.\u00a0\u201cFrom newlyweds to fugitive lovers, from families to friends, our property has been an integral part of people\u2019s memories.\u00a0What makes me happy is the diverse cast of characters that have walked our halls and stayed in our rooms,\u00a0and the overall history of the hotel depicts a story of inclusivity and celebration.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So,\u00a0whose signatures would be on his fantasy guest register?\u00a0\u201cQuentin Tarantino, Truman Capote, Bruce Springsteen, Alec Baldwin, Warren Beatty, Jackie Onassis, John F. Kennedy, Tom Cruise, Charlize Theron, Meryl Streep, Al Pacino, Diane Keaton, and Woody Allen.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Springsteen was the only rock star mentioned.\u00a0To see more of those, you can visit\u00a0The\u00a0Maidstone\u00a0to see the latest exhibition on its walls which Jenny has curated.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Courtesy: The Maidstonee<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWe are featuring a wonderful exhibition from photographer, festival producer,\u00a0and artist\u00a0Roger Sichel, whose prolific creative career documents the\u00a0\u201960s and\u00a0\u201970s music lifestyle of communal living, particularly those heralded during the Woodstock era,\u201d\u00a0she tells me.\u00a0\u201cThe exhibit includes unforgettable moments captured from that\u00a0historic period,\u00a0featuring Joe Walsh, Janis Joplin, PG&E, Paul Butterfield, Johnny Winter,\u00a0and others, plus photos unique to the events and lifestyle of the generation and the times.\u00a0All of\u00a0Sichel\u2019s pieces tell powerful stories captured through his signature eye on the front\u00a0lines of an era so deeply rooted in rock\u00a0and\u00a0roll and that\u00a0exemplify\u00a0the lifestyle of tumultuous times that draws several parallels to\u00a0the\u00a0<\/span>modern\u00a0day.<\/span>\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The modern-day\u00a0Maidstone\u00a0has been curated\u00a0further\u00a0since recently becoming a\u00a0part of\u00a0the Life House portfolio of boutique hotels, which\u00a0ties in much of what we have been discussing in its mission\u00a0statement, describing\u00a0the\u00a0properties\u00a0it virtually runs as\u00a0\u201ccontextual hotels with narrative, substance, and locally-rooted restaurants and bars\u201d\u00a0which are\u00a0\u201cartfully\u00a0designed to bring meaning to life.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>The Bakers will remain a creative front-of-the-house presence while \u201callowing Life House to oversee day-to-day hotel and restaurant operations,\u201d wrote Berkshire Hathaway Business Wire when reporting on the addition of the Maidstone to Life House\u2019s lineup of boutique hotels.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>I asked Life House\u2019s\u00a0Founder\u00a0and\u00a0CEO,\u00a0Rami\u00a0Zeidan, if, in fact, curation were the correct way to consider how he chooses the hotels with which he works, thereby\u00a0redefining\u00a0the term\u00a0\u201cefficient\u201d\u00a0as\u00a0\u201cgraceful.\u201d\u00a0He agreed.\u00a0\u201cFor our Life\u00a0House-branded hotels, we certainly think of it as a curated collection. That said, some hotels\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0need to be rebranded into a Life\u00a0House as they have their own existing strong brand story, and\u00a0The\u00a0Maidstone\u00a0is certainly that.\u00a0In that spirit, we are certainly intentional with which hotels we select based on the strength of that story.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"
Courtesy: The Maidstone<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The rooms and cottages themselves are\u00a0curated\u00a0at\u00a0The\u00a0Maidstone, even narratively so.\u00a0They each center around a celebrated Scandinavian\u2014among them Finnish\u00a0architect and designer\u00a0Eero Saarinen, Swedish\u00a0chemist\u00a0Alfred Nobel, Norwegian\u00a0artist\u00a0Edvard Munch, and Danish\u00a0author\u00a0Karen\u00a0Blixen,\u00a0who\u00a0also\u00a0was\u00a0known as Isak Dinesen.\u00a0\u201cBlixen wrote in\u00a0<\/span>Out of Africa<\/span><\/i>,\u00a0<\/span>\u2018<\/span>God made the world round so we would never be able to see too far down the road,\u2019\u201d\u00a0I tell Jenny.\u00a0\u201cWhat do you see not too far down the road?\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI see a beautiful world coming back together again,\u201d\u00a0she says.\u00a0\u201cWe are ready to celebrate togetherness with art, design, good food\u2014and a lot of love.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29575,"featured_media":33532,"template":"","format":"standard","categories":[38,16],"yoast_head":"\nIn With The Inn Crowd: The\u00a0Maidstone - GRAZIA USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"East Hampton was the first English settlement in the state of New York.\u00a0Before it was called East Hampton it was, in fact, known as\u00a0Maidstone,\u00a0having been named for the county seat of Kent, England.\u00a0The name was later changed to Easthampton\u00a0to mirror the\u00a0names of its neighbors\u00a0to the south and west, but in\u00a01885...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/in-with-the-inn-crowd-the-maidstone-east-hampton\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"In With The Inn Crowd: The\u00a0Maidstone in East Hampton\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"East Hampton was the first English settlement in the state of New York.\u00a0Before it was called East Hampton it was, in fact, known as\u00a0Maidstone,\u00a0having been named for the county seat of Kent, England.\u00a0The name was later changed to Easthampton\u00a0to mirror the\u00a0names of its neighbors\u00a0to the south and west, but in\u00a01885...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/in-with-the-inn-crowd-the-maidstone-east-hampton\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Grazia USA\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2021\/09\/7e842a53-10ae-482e-9684-4c53638fe4af.jpeg?fit=1609%2C905\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1609\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"905\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/in-with-the-inn-crowd-the-maidstone-east-hampton\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/graziamagazine.com\/us\/articles\/in-with-the-inn-crowd-the-maidstone-east-hampton\/\",\"name\":\"In With The Inn Crowd: The\u00a0Maidstone - 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