Beach at Gurney’s Montauk Resort.
Beach at Gurney’s Montauk Resort.

Summer has a few constants year after year: People want to be outside, the beach is a popular destination and traveling to the East End from New York City is a must. However, new this year is the leadership at Gurney’s Montauk Resort & Seawater Spa. The oceanfront resort recently welcomed a new general manager who will guide the resort into its next phase. Michael Nenner, an accomplished hospitality industry veteran with more than 15 years of luxury resort and hotel experience, is the new GM.

Nenner will oversee the resort’s multi-year renovation and recently helped launch five new food-and-beverage outlets on property. The revamp began in 2014 with 38 new guest rooms, a new look for the Beach Club, and an update on the ocean-fed saltwater swimming pool. Luxury advisors should direct any queries to Nenner at [email protected].

One of the hotel’s new king rooms.
 
One of the hotel’s new king rooms.

Thanks to the new Sea Jitney, traveling to the East End this summer just got easier. This weekend ferry service was launched May 22 to connect travelers with the Hampton Jitney bus, according to the New York Post.

The new high-speed ferry claims to be able to shave an hour off the trip to the East End if there is heavy traffic. The trip to Southampton via the ferry and bus is estimated to last three and a half hours. Another ferry route will connect Bridgeport, CT, to Port Jefferson, taking one hour. The Hampton Jitney will pick up travelers in Port Jefferson and make stops in Calverton, Southampton, Sag Harbor and East Hampton.

Travelers can start their vacation off right with Wi-Fi service and a full bar on the ferry, which will run through September 9. Friday departures leave New York at 9 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. There is a Saturday departure at 9 a.m., and Sunday/holiday departures at 9 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m. The Sea Jitney will cut any VIP’s travel time down, but all reservations should be made by phone at 631-283-4600 or online at reservations.hamptonjitney.com.

For those who want to take a car to their beach getaway, black car service GroundLink has launched Hamptons Private Driver, a new, scheduled car service that will operate fixed-priced transportation between New York City and The Hamptons, offering pre-booked door-to-door transportation. One-way, per-person rates start from $58 (based on six passengers riding in an SUV).

For a little more room to stretch out, travel from New York City in a three-person luxury sedan to and from Southampton will be priced at $249 (each way) and at $275 (each way) to and from Montauk and East Hampton. Tips, tolls, taxes and gratuity are additional, but are shown in the final price prior to booking. And don’t worry about the Fourth of July — the company has also promised never to charge surge prices or increase rates during peak periods. Reservations can be booked easily on the company’s mobile app, at www.groundlink.com/hamptons, or by calling its 24/7 reservations line at 855-231-9684.