EAST OF EDEN
Find Japanese Zen at the Hamptons’ newly expanded spa hotel
WELL, well, well . . . look what the Hamptons dragged in. Back in 2019, free-spirited entrepreneur Amy Cherry-Abitbol opened the Hamptons’ first Japanese-inspired wellness sanctuary, Shou Sugi Ban House
— SSBH to the hip — (ShouSugiBanHouse.com), with one of the most extensive spa menus on the East Coast. Think 55 pages of woo wonders like crystal healing, sacred sound journeys and energy balancing, plus traditional interventions like Pilates classes.
It was interesting timing. Yes, there was a pandemic, but one whose upshot was the much talked about — and somewhat overstated — new “year-round” scene on the East End. Homes sold at record rates. Hotel occupancy went radioactive. Sant Ambroeus swung. Suddenly, it wasn’t just health nuts knocking down their doors. People needed rooms and here they were. SSBH had quietly become one of the best hotels in the Hamptons and a hot spot in its own right.
All the while, the minimalist Eastern-influenced retreat — located behind a massive Buddha statue in Water Mill central, directly next door to the Parrish Art Museum — was growing. What was 13 suites and a communal dining room is now a fullfledged hotel. During the pandemic, SSBH bought the White Fences bed-andbreakfast immediately next door and gave the oldschool digs an upscale Asiatic aesthetic, adding five more rooms to its offerings. A large adjacent house was also acquired to give big groups serenity now. Today, guests can avoid competitive luncheons and skip out on charity balls from the comfort of a campus that includes a Healing Arts Barn, a tea bar, a heated pool, a large hydrotherapy circuit (a k a sweaty saunas and icy plunge pools), treatment rooms, a roof deck, vegetable gardens, a fitness center, a tennis court and a “ceremonial fire circle.”
No need to fear the kitchen either: You won’t find new-age gruel or starvation regimens. SSBH has tapped chef Mads Refslund, a cofounder of Copenhagen’s hautest restaurant Noma, to advise the kitchen. Meals are chicken-, fishor vegetable-based and prix fixe. The motto is “Chef knows best,” and he does. Expect three to five courses of grilled purple cabbage, fish steamed in miso butter and avant-garde desserts served fireside in a multipurpose room.
You might be saddened by the alcohol-free menu (a license may be in the works) but come on: It’s a health resort and we all know you need to dry out.
Rates for the “custom stay,” a la carte retreat start at $1,235 per night in January.
After a tortuously weird two years, it’s probably time to shake up your chakras.