Long Island is where I lived until I was nine. 10 years later, we’re spending the time before continuing our RTW to Europe and Asia in Long Island.
The responsibility was on me to plan the day.
As I was researching, I found out about the Gold Coast mansions. These are large homes built in the 1920s, the era that the Great Gatsby was set in. When I saw the picture of Oheka Castle, I knew I wanted to go there. Thing is, it’s actually a hotel and you can’t visit it unless you make reservations for tours, are a guest or then I thought, we could have lunch there!
After the reservation was made everyone scrambled to put on “country club” attire. I started feeling bad about making everyone dress up… but I had to visit because Oheka Castle is the second largest private home in the US (after the Vanderbilt’s Biltmore Estate) and is one of the Historic Hotels of America.
We drove through the gates of the mansion and were an hour early. So we went inside. This is the entrance which is actually the back of the house.
There is free WiFi which is always a plus! To get to the restaurant, you’ll pass by the library.
And you can also go outside to the garden from the library. It is a beautiful property. There was even a wedding taking place when we were there.
When it was time to eat, we were pleasantly surprised with the food. My mom and I split an Otto Burger- 10 oz. Grilled Angus Chuck, Smoked Gouda Cheese, Port Wine Shallots, Toasted Croissant Roll.
It’s called an Otto burger because Otto is the first name of the original owner of Oheka Castle. The cool name Oheka is derived from Otto’s full name, Otto Hermann Kahn. Smart, right? Kahn was a financier and this was his summer home for him, his wife and four children.
Oheka was built in 1919 and when Kahn died in the 1930s, it became a military academy, was abandoned and then later restored by its current owner and is now a beautiful hotel. There’s also a golf course (too bad my clubs are in Florida!)
All in all, I don’t feel bad at all… everyone expressed how great it was to visit the castle.
Location
Oheka Castle
135 West Gate Drive
Huntington, New York 11743
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