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Coastal Chic

In Duck, North Carolina, The Sanderling Resort and Spa is a civilized alternative to the big cottage scene

5/26/10 5:07 PM

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Richard Ernsberger Jr.

Duck, North Carolina, on the northern end of the Outer Banks, is renowned for being a civilized beach enclave. That’s what I’d heard about the place, for years, and a recent visit validated its reputation. It’s a fairly quiet place—especially in May. There are a few shops in the town of Duck, and a few restaurants scattered along Route 12, the coastal stretch also known as Duck Road, but the area does not have much commercial development. What Duck does have, of course, is beach cottages—thousands of them, in a near-uniform (and aesthetically pleasing) shade of gray. A large number of the summer homes are enormous, five- to 10-bedroom shingled palaces built specifically to be rented to small armies of people. No wonder Duck Road is jammed with traffic in the peak summer months.

The Sanderling Resort

The Duck cottage scene is sweet, to be sure, but if you prefer a more intimate and refined beach holiday, there is an alternative—the Sanderling Resort and Spa, which this year is celebrating its 25th anniversary. Tucked on a narrow strip of land between the Atlantic Ocean and Currituck Sound, the Sanderling is an inviting place for a two- to four-day respite. With 88 rooms spread over three low-slung cedar shake buildings with generous porches (an attractive main inn plus north and south wings), it is just the right size—big enough to offer an array of amenities (two restaurants, an indoor pool and full-service spa, tennis, fitness and walking/biking) yet small enough to be both charming and relaxed. With a spacious deck behind the main inn, a semi-permanent tented area on the sound and a sizeable gazebo, the Sanderling is a popular place for largish private gatherings, especially weddings, about 50 of which have been booked for this spring, summer and fall.

Wendy Coulson Murray, sales and marketing director for the Sanderling, describes the resort as “coastal chic.” If by that she means upscale in a quiet, understated way, Murray is spot-on. The main inn’s first- and second-floor common areas have fireplaces and plenty of polished pine, along with comfortable sitting areas around which, in bookcases, can be found an impressive selection of books. In the morning, guests will find coffee, tea and newspapers in the second-floor sitting area; in the afternoon, tea and cookies.

The Sanderling, as one might expect, has an outdoor-themed décor—think shore birds and ducks, in keeping with the area’s history. The marshland north of the resort, toward the Virginia border, was once a top waterfowl hunting area. In particular, the Sanderling has one of the rare and original copies of the naturalist and painter John James Audubon’s Birds of America, arguably the best picture book ever produced. (It is under glass.) In addition, there are many bird sculptures—by such notables as Grainger McKoy and Gunther Granget, among others; ceramic bird figurines; and birding prints, including at least one by Bob Havell Jr. (the principal engraver of Audubon’s classic book).