The Lakeside Inn in Montauk evokes many memories. Not of the many boozy nights spent in its previous incarnation as a hot night club among the young working/holiday Irish kids and those who love them - but as a tween driving out to Montauk with my family on a Friday night the sounds of crickets morphing into a pumping disco beat.
When I read in New York magazine that the Lakeside (once low income housing/club) is now a chic minimalist inn my interest was mildly piqued. I saw many bad user reviews online - but not until our other, cheaper Hotel options fell through did my boyfriend and I decide to plonk down $275 a night for a weekend trip at the Lakeside. We made a reservation a week in advance and were told we would receive a confirmation e-mail. I called midweek and the front desk said that she lost all of our information after we had initially spoke (although they conveniently did not loose my credit card information).
Pulling in late Friday night I was happy to see the bar still intact although considerably quieter than in its heyday (only one other couple ready to party). The bartender had our key - after we surveyed the bare bones but nicely designed room - we dropped our things in room #5 and went in for a night cap - on the house not the complimentary nightly champagne promised on the website, but close enough.
The website also promised an i-pod loading dock which was missing from our room and the bartender said that many guests were stealing them and he was unable to find one. There was no phone in the room, no clock, no TV and no place to put anything other than a PVC/cardboard zip up ikea dresser. One of our windows was covered in layers of cut up thick fabric and stapled into the wall - possibly to block out some of the noise from the adjacent road. But besides the raw, unfinished, work in progress aura that haloed our entire stay the place has potential. The bathroom has a shower equipped with a natural stone floor, teak ceiling, rainfall shower head and partially frosted glass that looks out into the room.
There was a deck practically on top of Fort Pond that was really lovely. You had the option to choose the firmness of your bed which was very comfortable with nice white plush linens. The biggest problem was clearly the lack of management - upon checkout I was told that they did not charge the 50% deposit so I paid the total amount in full of $602. Upon checking my credit card bill I was charged the room total plus the 50% deposit - a total of $900 for a two night stay in a half completed place that was way more hostel than hotel. I have contacted the hotel twice already via e-mail and phone and have not heard back as of yet.