The Bentley Hotel, Southampton

This place bills itself as an upscale lodging - and charges high-end prices - but in fact it is a pretty crummy motel just off the highway with shabby rooms and abominable service. The best things about it are that the rooms are large, and the beds are comfortable. There is also a nice pool. But the carpets are stained, the paint in the bathrooms is peeling, the pull-out sofas are impossible to sleep on if you weigh more than 80 pounds (and most of them are broken) and, worst of all, the management does not know the meaning of the phrase "customer service." When I complained about the broken sofa-bed (and a missing cot, which I had supposedly reserved in advance for a child), I got a lecture on my attitude from the owner, who then threatened to throw us out because we weren't supposed to have more than four people in a two-room "suite." (I had made our reservations months earlier, carefully explaining that we needed a room for two parents and four children, which adds up to six people, and I was assured at that time that they could accomodate the family with two double beds, a pull-out sofa and a cot.) At $100 a night, this would be a reasonable choice for a budget motel. At over $400 a night - which they charge in high season - it is highway robbery.

the size is great, but there was a mouse in our room, and when i went back to the room i caught the cleaning women putting on my makeup. the management didnt care. it doenst seem very clean. there are many more charming places in the hamptons to stay. all that i can say is the rooms are large