Amagansett - Sitting on just over two acres of land in Amagansett, just west of the village on Windmill Lane, is a inn quite unlike any other here on the East End. Operating under an innovative re-visioning of the standard hospitality model, The Reform Club's stated mission is to provide guests with the ultimate in relaxation and enjoyment, with the goal of "reforming" the way their guests unburden their minds and rest their bodies.

One of the bedrooms in the large cottage. Each cottage comes equipped with a kind-sized bed and indoor-outdoor fireplace.

Almost two-and-a-half years in the making, The Reform Club first opened for business on July 1 and hit the ground running, fine-tuning their operations on the fly. "The feedback has been really good," said co-manager Noelle Franey, "This summer for us is really about testing out things, seeing how systems work and really get things going."

The Reform Club, which is on the land that was formerly the Milgarth Inn, consists of seven individual units in the main building (which was built green and features a brand new geothermal system for heating and cooling) and three outlying cottages, one large cottage and two smaller ones, which Franey explains can operate as their own little self-contained units should the guests want to have a quiet weekend alone. "We wanted to make the cottages so they could be self-sufficient if you wanted it to be, so if a guest wanted to come and be super private and just get away they can." There is a wet bar, there is no kitchen, but there is coffee and tea service, indoor and outdoor fireplaces, a private workout area and a washer and dryer, "so again, if you want to come out here and be self-sufficient you can do it all yourself," Franey emphasized. "My favorite thing is that all the cottages have steam rooms with a rain shower so you can work out and then have a steam or rinse off."

Noelle Franey, one of the co-managers at The Reform Club, demonstrating the in-room entertainment system and iPod dock. Photos by Colin M. Graham

All the cottages and rooms have only one king-sized bed each, ideally made to lodge one couple per unit, which Franey explains is part of the allure. "When you come out here it's supposed to be super peaceful, very relaxing, not a lot of noise. We don't want to be a trendy spot, or a loud spot, or party spot. It's more about couples with only two people per room staying over." But, she explains, the two per room is not a hard and fast rule. "There are always exceptions to the rule," she points out. "We don't have any cots on the property, but we don't want to say 'no kids the first year,' or 'don't do this - don't do that.' Right now we really take it on a reservation by reservation basis so if there aren't any rooms and a couple is coming with a baby, it's not that big a deal."

As an example of how The Reform Club can accommodate different needs depending on the circumstances, Franey offers an example of a family of four who were looking for accommodations. "We had a mother call the other week looking for rooms for herself, her husband and her two teenage sons. I told her we don't have any cots on the property, but we do have adjoining suites. She said that her boys were in their mid-teens and probably wouldn't sleep in the same bed so I got the spare cot that was in our office, and I said in this case we can make the exception. This summer we're trying to be really flexible and figure it out as we go versus having all these rules set in place."

The common area inside the main house has a pool table, dart board and two televisions, one cable and one with a satellite feed.

The whole model behind The Reform Club is to make it feel as little like an inn as possible; especially for guests in the cottages, staying there is more like renting a house for the weekend, except for the fact that the facilities come with guest services that you wouldn't find at a private home. "I don't think of myself as an innkeeper, but more of a den mother or something like that," said Franey. "It's having guests come and stay at your house and we treat our clients more like good friends or houseguests. We didn't want people to feel like they're staying at an inn, we'd just rather have them feel like they were staying at a friend's house as a guest."

While Franey said that they were thrilled to make it through the permit process in time to start taking reservations for their planned July 1 opening date, there are still some unfinished odds and ends that guests can expect to see functioning by next season, like the Jacuzzis next to the outdoor fireplaces in each cottage and a license to be able to prepare food for guests on the property.

While they can't cook for you - Franey does point out that there are seven great chefs across the street at Meeting House and Mezzaluna AMG, both of which provide takeout services to the inn - the main building does have a full kitchen and guests are free to cook for themselves if they wish, which is something you wouldn't find in other accommodations. "Guests can come down here at anytime - day or night - and help themselves to snacks, sodas or coffee, all complimentary. You could even hire a private chef to prepare meals in the kitchen, we're working on developing that to a higher level."

The well equipped kitchen located just off the common area in the main building is open to guests 24 hours a day. While The Reform Club doesn't have the permits yet to cook for their guests, guests are free to use the kitchen as if it were their own, making a stay there more like being at a friends house than staying at an inn.

As you would expect, there is certainly no lack of the kind of high-end amenities travelers vacationing in the Hamptons desire - each room has an iPod dock wired to in-room speakers and the inn can provide guests with one of several house iPods that come preloaded with comprehensive playlists for suiting any musical taste. The common room in the main building, which is open 24 hours a day, has a dart board and pool table, along with two TV's, one with cable hook-up and the other with satellite so they can get all the international sports games and programs for foreign guests. It is also where they serve continental breakfasts in the morning with muffins and pastries from Mary's Marvelous on Main Street. "We also do little picnic baskets that we can bring to your room with the paper."

There is even an embroidery machine in the housekeeping room. "We do all of our own embroidery on our towels and robes and things," says Franey. "It's really my pride and joy, of all the things I thought I'd never learn this was one of them." That allows them to do custom embroidery and personalizing items for guests. If a group were to rent The Reform Club for a wedding, the inn could, for example, put the names of the guests in the wedding party on the robes. It's just another example of the bespoke touches and level of detail they provide their guests to give them a truly unique experience.

Topping it all off is the sunken garden space on the south side of the property designed to function as an event space, and is compartmentalized from the rest of the property by triple hedges so that if people not staying at The Reform Club want to host a cocktail party there, it won't disturb the guests.

The sunken garden on the south side of the property is ideal for entertaining and was designed with exactly that in mind. When finished, the area will be complete with a custom tent that will cover the sunken area of the garden.

"You can fit about 140 people here without a dance floor and we're having a custom tent made by Sperry Tents in our colors, which will cover the whole garden," explained Franey while perusing the area. "On the far side of the hedge is where the catering area is. We installed grass blocks, which are plastic grids that you can plant grass in that allows you to drive trucks and things over it without hurting the grass; so caterers and event companies can have their staging area right here, but be separated from the party and from the rest of the property."

With all of these plans already in motion, the guest experience at The Reform Club can only get better as the year goes on with the hope that by early fall, most of the remaining pieces will be in place. "I feel like everything here has been a very organic process, it was never cut and dry or black and white," said Franey. "It has been a great learning experience for us."