Just-sold Shelter Island hotel borrows $17M for transformation

Cape Resorts to make Pridwin Hotel and Cottages full-service, luxury establishment

Curtis Bashaw (Founder & Managing Partner, Cape Resorts), a view of Pridwin Hotel and Cottages from behind (partyslate.com, caperesorts.com)
Curtis Bashaw (Founder & Managing Partner, Cape Resorts), a view of Pridwin Hotel and Cottages from behind (partyslate.com, caperesorts.com)

The largest hotel on Shelter Island is getting a pricey makeover.

Fort Amsterdam Capital, in partnership with Tilden Park Capital Management, have closed on a $17.4 million first mortgage bridge loan to finance the recapitalization and renovation of the Pridwin Hotel and Cottages.

The loan will be used to transform the East End hotel into a full-service luxury resort featuring enlarged guestrooms, a spa and fitness center, a modernized lobby and a 100-seat restaurant and lounge. The renovation is expected to be finished in June 2022.

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Cape Resorts recently acquired the hotel, but remains in partnership with the Petry family, which has owned and operated the business since 1961. It opened in 1927.

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Cape Resorts is also the owner of Baron’s Cove in Sag Harbor and several hotels in Cape May, New Jersey including Congress Hall and the Virginia hotels.

The Pridwin Hotel is located on more than seven acres of Shelter Island’s Crescent Beach, overlooking the Shelter Island Sound. It has 49 rooms and 16 cottages.

In 2019, the Petry family proposed upgrading the hotel through a two-phase project — first the main building, then the cottages. They also proposed an activities center that could accommodate weddings and other events. However, the proposed renovations got some friction from the community and the Zoning Board of Appeals, according to the Shelter Island Reporter.

Shelter Island sits between Long Island’s North Fork and South Fork, accessible by ferry from both sides. A number of investors have purchased and upgraded North Fork hotels in recent years, including the Harbor Front Inn and Menhaden Hotel in Greenport, as the largely agricultural area becomes a bit more like its upscale counterpart to the south.