Checking In at the Hedges Inn, Circa 1774, in East Hampton

You finally have a friend with a Hamptons house and a standing invitation: Sarah Wetenhall and her investment banker husband, Andrew, owners of the triumphantly revitalized The Colony Hotel in Palm Beach, have reopened the historic The Hedges Inn in East Hampton after a thoughtful renovation.

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The Living Room at The Hedges (Photo by Glen Allsop)

The Hedges Inn (Photo by Greg Kessler)

Custom de Gournay wallcovering in the parlor room (Photo by Glen Allsop)

Library at The Hedges Inn (Photo by Glen Allsop)

Swifty’s at The Hedges (Photo by Glen Allsop)

Superior Suite at The Hedges (Photo by Glen Allsop)

Jackson Pollock and Ahab at The Hedges Inn, 1950s

One of 12 guest rooms at The Hedges (Photo by Glen Allsop)

The Hedges Inn signature pink Beach Runner (Photo by Glen Allsop)

“My favorite hotels have always made me feel as though I’m staying with that impossibly chic friend who somehow knows everyone, gets every reservation, has the best recommendations, and always has exactly what you need before you realize you need it,” Sarah says. “That’s really the feeling we’re trying to create at The Hedges.” She tapped designer and erudite writer David Netto, who grew up in the area, to design the charming 12-room inn, which originally dates to 1774 with additions in 1873, to feel more like a home than a hotel.

The home was originally owned by the Hedges family (an amazing aptronym for the land of manicured hedges) and was transformed into a chic inn by socialite Mrs. Harry Hamlin in 1935. She then sold it to French restaurateur Henri Soulé, who turned it into the summer outpost for Le Pavillon, frequented by the bold and the beautiful, from Marilyn Monroe to the Vanderbilts.

“The Hedges already had an incredible foundation: history, intimacy, and a real sense of place,” Sarah says. “David immediately understood that our job was not to reinvent it, but to reveal the most beautiful version of what was already there.” Marking his first hospitality project, Netto turned to commercial-grade wallpaper and outdoor fabric but otherwise treated the project like a home. He worked with Pierre Frey to recreate the wavy plaid wallpaper, a pattern reminiscent of what he remembers from friends’ kitchens in the 1970s, on durable vinyl.

Netto included personal touches in the project, including a work of art by his godfather, fabric designer Alan Campbell, that hung in his parents’ house close by for 40 years and is now on loan to The Hedges, displayed proudly in the front room. Netto’s own unique home in the town of Napeague has a soaking tub in the bedroom, an idea he incorporated into a suite at The Hedges that is papered in toile with Americana furnishings yet has a modern tub floating in the room.

For another guest room, he tracked down a Guild Hall 1977 Lichtenstein screen print that has lived in his memory for years. Underfoot are yards upon yards of Woodard Weave rugs, an American heritage rug brand Netto bought and rescued from near extinction. Antiques and vintage furnishings sourced by Netto from the UK, Maine, and Brimfield Antique Flea Market in Massachusetts are mixed with custom furnishings and upholstery. Linens and terry are by American heritage brand Matouk with bathroom fixtures from Waterworks.

While the inn’s design is very East Hampton, the studied eye will notice flickers of The Colony. The de Gournay mural in the sitting room (aka lobby) at The Colony has become its own main character of sorts, so Wetenhall and Netto worked with de Gournay to create a site-specific hand-painted wallcovering for the parlor of The Hedges depicting East End landscapes, landmarks, and architectural character with a few hidden motifs and personal details, including the Wetenhalls’ family dogs, their own Sag Harbor home, and a secret talisman: decorator Tom Scheerer’s mother’s house (Netto’s personal favorite East Hampton home). “For me, the most successful hotel design creates a sense of belonging; the mural helps accomplish that,” Sarah says.

As is The Colony in Palm Beach, Swifty’s in-house restaurant with its Schumacher linens and Lewis Miller flowers is the hottest ticket in the Hamptons. Reservations are hard to come by unless you’re a guest in the hotel — what better reason to book a weekend. The 24-hour text concierge — a mascot dog dubbed Ahab after Jackson Pollock’s pooch that roamed the Hamptons in the 1950s — offers a beach butler who handles everything from transportation and set-up to French 75 cocktails at beautiful Main Beach, around-town transport in electric Volvos, nightly in-room dining from Swifty’s, and salon services with Paul Labrecque.

Wetenhall has created a place where guests and the community can connect with Conversations at The Hedges, a salon talk series with fascinating speakers; and Sunday Trivia at Swifty’s.

Rooms start at $799 a night at the Hedges Inn.