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Travel + Leisure

This Waterfront Hotel in North Carolina's Outer Banks Just Reopened—With Access to Private Beaches and a Celebrity Chef Restaurant

The Sanderling Resort in Duck, North Carolina, has unveiled new features and a redesigned look in time for its 40th anniversary. The waterfront hotel has updated all of its 123 guest rooms with layered textures, beachy hues, and natural wood furnishings. Theodosia, the hotel's new restaurant, is helmed by James Beard award-winning chef Vivian Howard and serves refined Southern coastal cuisine. Summer guests can enjoy a variety of experiences, including floral arranging workshops, mixology classes, stargazing sessions, and evening ghost crab hunts. Since 1985, The Sanderling Resort in Duck, North Carolina, has been offering its guests prime waterfront views, private beaches, and a casually elegant coastal vibe. Now, just in time for its 40th anniversary, the only full-service luxury resort in the Outer Banks has unveiled a new look. Located between the Atlantic Ocean and Currituck Sound, the hotel spans 12 acres and features newly designed interiors, a restaurant by lauded chef Vivian Howard, an 8,500-square-foot waterfront event venue, and a slate of immersive guest experiences. The Sanderling Resort 'captures the spirit of the quintessential American beach vacation—an inspiring blend of barefoot luxury, culinary excellence, and the natural beauty that makes the Outer Banks a truly one-of-a-kind destination,' Shai Zelering, managing partner and head of hospitality at Brookfield's Real Estate Group, the resort's owner, told Travel + Leisure . 'It's a place designed for active escapes, meaningful moments, and timeless memories.' The hotel's new look comes courtesy of New York City-based interior design firm Ward + Gray, which channeled the welcoming spirit of a chic friend's beach house with layered textures, beachy hues of beiges, soft blues, and sea glass greens, along with natural wood furnishings. In some of the 123 guest rooms, bespoke artwork depicts native birds and local flora in celebration of the region's rich biodiversity, and mirrors are hand-painted with floral designs. North Carolina native and James Beard award-winning chef Vivian Howard is behind The Sanderling's signature restaurant, named Theodosia after the daughter of founding father Aaron Burr. (Theodosia is the central figure of one of the Outer Banks' most enduring maritime legends.) The restaurant serves refined Southern coastal cuisine, featuring dishes such as slow-baked grouper in Frogmore broth, blueberry barbecue duck, and lemon pie with a Ritz cracker crust, enjoyed against the backdrop of the surrounding beaches. Theodosia is open to guests and locals, and joins the resort's other dining outposts: the all-day Lifesaving Station, housed in a restored 19th-century Coast Guard station, and the seasonally open Sandbar and Beach House Bar, both offering casual bites and drinks. The new Sunset Ballroom event venue, which replaces an underutilized indoor pool, features vaulted ceilings, a new outdoor deck, and a wall of windows that frame the Currituck Sound and show off the destination's spectacular sunsets. Lounge chairs lay around the outdoor pool. Conor Doherty/The Sanderling Resort Summer visitors can immerse themselves in classic beach activities like kayaking, stand-up paddleboarding, and lounging by the resort's two swimming pools, including a zero-entry family pool and the adults-only Tranquility Pool. New seasonal programming includes hands-on floral arranging workshops, mixology classes highlighting regional spirits, book clubs, stargazing sessions, gourmet beach picnics, and family-friendly evening ghost crab hunts along the shoreline. The Sanderling also offers plenty of self-guided ways to spend time, from bird watching—the resort is near the 60-acre Pine Island Audubon Sanctuary—to scavenger hunts and exploring coastal trails. Nightly rates at The Sanderling Resort start from $475, and you can book your stay at