George Clooney may have been playing a somewhat extreme example of a jaded traveller in Up in the Air, but as he nodded at faceless concierge after faceless concierge and swiped his plastic room key into ghastly identical suite after identical suite, he was satirising something real: America's descent into inhuman travel.
There is one great bastion of personality left. The American Hotel on Main Street, Sag Harbor, is a getaway that canny New Yorkers have known about since it opened in 1876. It's in the Hamptons, which means clean air, stunning beaches and freshly-caught sea bream, but Sag Harbor is not about prissy Ralph Lauren lumberjacks getting snippy over parking. Instead, this cool former whaling village — featured in Moby Dick as a den of iniquity - is a bolthole for low-key writers and celebrities. John Steinbeck escaped here in the fifties and the unspoilt high street still has an Art Deco cinema and a 92-year-old barber who won't do kids because they're bad for his heart.
The jewel everyone gravitates to is the American. A distinguished redbrick townhouse with a long, warm, bar where the log fire reflects in vintage whisky bottles, this fantastic hotel feels, well, human. The crowd is funny, sharp and will invite you over for a drink if you arrived alone. The bar staff don't deal in shallow 'Have a nice days', they remember your name and serve a great martini the way you liked it last time. Alcohol is a gourmet pleasure not a crime here — when we asked for a Bloody Mary on Sunday morning over in East Hampton, they stared at us like we'd escaped from jail. Here, the wine list literally thunks when it hits your table. The cellar is one of the most renowned in the States, with thousands of bottles to go with the classiest comfort food you'll ever eat: the American's celebration dinners are famous, with fresh scallops from the bay, flourless chocolate cake and catch of the day from the waves crashing at the end of Main Street. Or just pop in for lunch at the bar, perfect lobster bisque and crunchy bread with a crisp white wine, watching the world go by.
The American is of course a crashingly romantic place to take somebody. The bedrooms feel as though you are staying in someone's country estate. Antique furniture, fat white duvets, a huge Jacuzzi tub, and tellingly, a real key — no plastic. It's also a great place to come with friends, and if you come by yourself, you will leave feeling better than you arrived. It's the exact opposite of antisocial travel. George Clooney might have considered a layover.
The American Hotel, Main Street, Sag Harbor, NY, 11963, USA. (Reservations by telephone only +1 (631) 725 3535; theamericanhotel.com) The Hampton Jitney bus services JFK and LaGuardia, stop outside the hotel. (hamptonjitney.com)
