Castlegram
The Voice of the Manor
Fall 2021
Dear Homeowner,
Fall is in full color on the East End and Thanksgiving is almost upon us. Montauk Manor’s “official decorator,” Bellman Patrick Lane is already making preparations to once again transform The Manor into a Christmas wonderland. It is always worth a trip to Montauk Manor during the holidays just to see the decorations.
The Board of Managers met by conference call on October 30th to plan for the resumption of the restoration projects over the winter. Board Vice President and Director of Construction, Don Kershan, gave a detailed report prioritizing the work to be done. Most important is to complete and re-open the indoor swimming pool. The pool is being completely renovated. New everything. Some units may be briefly out of the rental rotation due to construction noise when work is being done near them. Every effort is made to keep this at a minimum. Over time all units are affected equally. The complete construction report as well as the General Manager’s Report, Rental Program Report, Treasurer’s Report, and Meeting Minutes can be viewed on the Manor Website (homeowner’s login, password: manor).
Looking back at this past summer, The Manor once again surpassed all previous summer seasons for the number of rooms rented and rental income. We hosted a number of wedding parties, one of which took forty rooms. This summer also saw the trend continuing of younger vacationers at The Manor who in years past probably would have stayed in The Hamptons. A variety of different groups were also guests at The Manor this summer. Notably, a contingent of U.S. Navy Seals who were involved in a fund raising event at Navy Beach plus a few corporations who plan to have business conferences at The Manor this winter. Our guests often remark on how clean the rental units are. Credit goes to our Director of Housekeeping (who also became a grandmother this summer), Berqui Tavaras and her staff. Cleanliness is of key importance to our guests at this time when COVID is still a very real threat.
As we all have experienced, every summer the restaurants in town are crowded and diners sometimes have to wait an hour or more to be seated. One of the many reasons for The Manor’s popularity, especially with families, is the ease of dining. The newly expanded seating capacity of the Hilltop Restaurant now offers 85 seats with inside or outside dining and a fireside cocktail lounge. They expect to stay open through the Christmas Holidays. We also have the two barbecue areas which were upgraded this season and offer a choice of gas or charcoal grilles. Most important, every rental unit has a full kitchen.
Units in the rental program with outdoor spaces such as patios and balconies will be replacing worn or damaged outdoor furniture for the 2022 season. Some homeowners have already replaced the original outdoor furniture. All outdoor furniture must be approved by the management before being put into service. Over the winter, Rental Program Homeowners will receive information on what replacement furniture meets the safety and appearance requirements of the condominium. Basically, outdoor furniture must be heavy enough not to blow off a balcony in a strong wind, plus must be beige (like the pool furniture) or dark green (like the original furniture) or teak (like our benches). Owners of non-rental units will also be invited to replace furniture at that time and receive any discounted rates we may be able to obtain by a large purchase volume.
Your Board of Managers has been meeting regularly by conference call throughout the pandemic and will meet again on December 11th. It is always a busy time at The Manor over the winter. Members of the Rental Committee will be inspecting all rental units to make certain they all are being maintained according to the standards of the program. Construction crews will be doing all the repairs and restoration necessary to maintain our unique status as the one of a kind, gilded age, “Castle On The Hill.”
The Board of Managers, The Management, and The Staff of Montauk Manor wish all of our homeowners and their families a very Happy Thanksgiving and Happy Holiday Season!
Sincerely,
The Board of Managers