The Maidstone

1) very small 225 sq ft incl bathroom 2 small drawers in one nightstand, so just ok for an overnight with carryon luggage No vanity in bathroom for toiletries, No vanity lights Shower diverter valve defective so  it’s a surprise if the waterfall shower is on or off when faucet opened Bathroom window doesn't close so it’s draughty ( don’t stay in wintertime!) Bedroom windows closed but are single pane and ill- fitting with condensation even at 50F … imagine in the wintertime No safety bar in shower/tub nor anti slip treatment on tub floor Broken floor tiles w/o grout Bathroom Floor level is 2” higher than bedroom floor  with no transition in the black threshold - a broken toe waiting to happen No easy access to the few plugs at floor level to recharge devices No noise insulation at all - restaurant in the courtyard is noisy until 11pm, street noise from motorcycles, etc, hallway noise from inconsiderate guests after dinner, etc New owners LDV promoted a “cosmetic” upgrade, which is barely what they did, as even our dirty upholstered headboard is probably from the last century Continental breakfast has very limited options and on the second morning, a very grumpy waiter had not even put out the small signs to identify what was offered- were those bowls of white stuff cream cheese or yogurt or what? PLUS, housekeeping was mopping the floors with a strong cleaner while we were having breakfast!!! LDV is basically a restaurant management company, and maybe they should stick with that. And they never sent a post-stay survey, so a Trip Advisor review is necessary. For the same $1400, we suggest to go to another local inn like The Baker House for a more pleasant experience.

I will preface this review by saying we travel a LOT. We love historic hotels and we will gladly pay money for a nicer hotel and the experience and service that comes along with it. With that said, we just left our week stay at The Maidstone. The good things about our stay - charming and historic atmosphere, located near East Hampton village and the staff member Will - he was incredible. Every business owner should be lucky enough to have such a hardworking, conscientious employee like Will. However the joy stops there. Our room was extremely overpriced for what it was. You might say “welcome to The HAMPTONS”, however we visited a few other hotels in the area and for the same price and sometimes even less, the rooms and environment at the other properties were FAR SUPERIOR. For example, our room had no dresser drawers for clothes. Let me repeat - no dresser for clothes. And there was a cheap half circle table that could be removed and a dresser would have fit in the location. The bathroom had one pedestal sink with very little space to put toiletries. There was no magnifying mirror. I would advise to bring your own hairdryer as what they provided was a joke. They claim to be a 4 star hotel, however we would rate them a 3 star at best. The maintenance in the room and property was poor. For example part of our closet door was broken and you couldn’t slide it open to access the full closet, the climate control remote fell off the wall - and throughout - generally the upkeep of the property was poor. They pride themselves on the restaurant but the rest of the property and grounds is definitely underwhelming. You don’t get a feel of cleanliness or care. When we visited the other Inns nearby, they all had TV’s in the rooms - the Maidstone did not. The other properties were very well maintained. The furnishings in the rooms at the other hotels, the cleanliness and care was excellent. The Maidstone is clearly taking advantage of the supply and demand of the HAMPTONS summer season by charging exorbitant prices for what they give you. For 6 nights we paid over $10,000 for a mediocre experience. As we left, we tried to reach someone to help us carry our luggage down from our 3rd floor location. No one answered the main number. It offered an emergency extension which we tried out of curiosity and no one answered that either. I walked downstairs and the girl at the front desk had to go hunt down a guy to carry our luggage down - he left it at the front door. He didn’t even take it out to our car.

This place had a lot of buzz over the summer, so we were happy to get a reservation for a celebratory dinner last night. We live nearby and it's always exciting when a new place comes to town. We were particularly looking forward to LDV because we love Scarpetta Beach in Montauk (same ownership), but it's a bit of a haul from East Hampton. Unfortunately, the whole experience left us flat. The room itself was lovely and our corner table was intimate and romantic. We started with a cocktail and the complementary bread basket was amazing. Our first course was a kale salad an a burrata with grilled peaches. The salad was great, if a little basic. The buratta itself was fine, but the peaches were rock-hard unripe and uncooked; and whole thing sat in a dessert sweet peach reduction. I'd had salad with delicious ripe peaches at Elaia Estiatorio in Bridgehampton just a few days earlier, so perhaps the comparison made it worse. This may be the first dish I've sent back in ten years. This is where things took a weird turn. Our server, while apologetic, seemed more concerned with having me try something else than with the dish being displeasing. A few minutes later, a gentleman in a suit appeared at our table and asked about the dish. He never introduced himself so I have no idea who he was, but he was completely unapologetic and vaguely confrontational...he did say he'd 'tell the kitchen' and it was taken off the bill. My main course was a squid ink linguine with crabmeat and urchin. The seafood was delicious, but the pasta was a homemade fettuccine (not linguine) that was so overcooked it was not 'twirlable.' My wife's dover sole was also slightly overcooked. Also a little strange that this place is walking distance to the Atlantic Ocean but all of the seafood appears to be flown in ‍. To be fair, we did not complain about our mains because we were having a nice evening and wanted to avoid any further conflict. And they weren't bad, just not particularly good. Dessert was delicious, a lemon granita (described as a sorbetto on the menu) with bits of lemon custard served in a hollow frozen lemon. This said, we got the distinct impression that our server was trying to talk us into a second dessert even after we told him we wanted to share one. I might even have considered it, but it involved fresh strawberries...after the peaches I was sceptical about any other fruit selected by the chef. We dine regularly at Saint Ambroeus just a mile or so down the road and tried this place for a change. Next time we are in the mood for la dolce vita in East Hampton we'll skip LDV and stick with our go-to. I'd have likely given it three stars were it not for the weird and unapologetic interaction around the burrata.

Summer pop up restaurants come and go every Summer in the Hamptons. I was tempted to think this was another as "Scarpetta" made the trek out East to establish "LDV" in the iconic location of the Maidstone Inn. I expected it to be noisy, serving average food and full of staff, there for just a Summer and not focused on customers. Wrong ! Upon entry, one is greeted by Chloe at from desk who charming and welcoming. The ceiling is low over the bar but the pre-dinner drinks were were swiftly prepared and excellent. Our Server (Katey), while a Summer student was very knowledgeable and explained the menu. The food is excellent - The Yellowtail Crudi is light and delicious as were the oysters. Spanish octopus was a delicious appetizer too. Pastas as an intermediate course were all beautifully prepared. Particularly recommendable was the Spring lamb cavatelli. Portion sizes reasonable. The whole branizino for two was amazing and again perfect for two people. Indeed the size of the portions (ie not too large) facilitates the diner to peruse the menu and try multiple dishes. Best of all was the Sommelier Sergio, charming and delivered recommendations that were good value and very drinkable. Really good. Indeed, the food is brilliant but the service is better. Despite having just opened, this is the best dining experience in East Hampton

I have stayed here about 6 times a year for 3 years. The place has been taken over and was hoping for better management. My room -998 a night - was so noisy with noise from the yard and the restaurant. I always book a room far from the noise but they don’t do that anymore. Management said they were booked and maybe they are but no explanation about why I could not choose a room 2 months ago. Again the place is fine but for this price point I expect better management. I don’t think it’s worth the money and they aren’t very caring about customers summary: Management still sub par and care about money not customers