What’s happening with refurbishment of the Tryst Hotel on Fire Island?
Tristan Schukraft responds to critics of his hotel refurbishment on Fire Island
Mark
Some lovers of Fire Island have been questioning what’s happening with the development of the Tryst Hotel in the Pines Commercial District.
In 2024, it was announced that Tryst Hospitality, owned by Tristan Schukraft, had acquired a 75% stake in the district. This included The Pavilion nightclub, The Blue Whale, the Canteen, a non-operational hotel (formerly known as Botel) which is set to be relaunched as The Tryst Fire Island, and retail shops.
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At the start of May, Tryst Hospitality issued an update on what the 2026 summer season had in store. This included details about Tea Dances at the Blue Whale and Pavilion, pool service at The Tryst Pool Club, and special events around 4th of July and other key dates.
As for the Tryst Hotel, a press statement at the time said, “Development of The Tryst Fire Island hotel continues to move forward as we work through the permitting process with the Town of Brookhaven. In the meantime, guests can expect ongoing upgrades across the Waterfront this season, including enhancements like a new awning at The Blue Whale and refreshed bathrooms throughout the property.”
Rumors
It appears some people have been complaining that the hotel still resembles a construction site.
Schukraft is the multi-millionaire owner of the Abbey in West Hollywood, several queer-oriented Tryst Hotels, plus the telehealth company, Mistr, among other business interests.
Tryst Hospitality is also the new owner of the Crown & Anchor in Provincetown. It announced the acquisition last fall, and it was hoped it would reopen under the Tryst branding for this summer season.
However, after the sale took longer than expected to complete, only certain sections reopened for summer 2026. Tryst Hospitality will now undertake the majority of the Crown & Anchor’s refurbishment during the off-season. It will fully reopen for next summer.
Waiting for permits
Schukraft has now provided an update on what’s happening at the Tryst Hotel on Fire Island. He recently talked to Spencer Macnaughton of Uncloseted Media. Schukraft said he felt a heavy responsibility when restoring beloved venues with a long LGBTQ+ history – despite what some critics from within the community may think.
“Fire Island has not had any money invested in it in years,” Schukraft said. “Like I thought, OK, we’re going to do this and do that. And maybe I was a little quick with my inspection because it was the middle of winter and I was not prepared for how cold Fire Island is in December. I’m like, I don’t recall that wall being so crooked when I did my inspection. I mean, that place really eventually will be torn down and completely rebuilt, right?”
Macnaughton said he’d recently been to Fire Island and found some people “annoyed”.
“Are they annoyed?” responded Schukraft.
“Yes, from the hotel not being done there,” said Macnaughton. “They’re like, ‘It was supposed to be done at the beginning of the summer. Where is it?’ So can you provide those listening with an update?”
“Yeah, you know, it is not by any lack of enthusiasm on our part,” said Schukraft. “It is very frustrating. You know, when I went there, everybody said, ‘Oh, we’re going to get these permits to you in weeks,’ but you have a lot of different organizations there. It is a natural reserve. It’s in a floodplain. You got the state, you got the city or the town. And so, you know that whole New York minute thing. I don’t believe in it anymore. I think it’s a falsehood. It’s just a matter of permits.
“Some people say, oh, I ran out of money,” he continued. “I did not run out of money. I’ve not changed my mind about doing it. It is really permits. I mean, I have doors and windows and all sorts of other building materials sitting in a warehouse in Long Island for over a year. We got the construction documents, everything, but we don’t have the permit.”
Aiming to open in 2027
As for when the Tryst on Fire Island will open, Schukraft said, “I’m pretty confident next season. So we’re getting very close. But there’s so many moving parts. If I literally wanted to open up the hotel and put some paint on it, we could have had it open a while ago, but that’s not my intention. Tryst is a five-star luxury brand, and I’m building something that will last generations.”
GayCities reached out to a spokesperson for Tryst Hospitality. They also told us, “We completed every improvement we committed to making for the 2026 season. The larger projects are still waiting for the necessary permits and approvals.”
So, it’s all still happening, subject to permits. Look forward (with a little patience!) to grand reopenings for the 2027 summer season, both in Fire Island and Provincetown.
You can watch the whole Uncloseted interview below.
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GayCities sat down with Tristan to discuss his recent takeover of multiple queer icons and his plans for the future.14 fierce photos from this year’s Pines Party on Fire Island
The annual Pines Party took place on Fire Island at the start of the month.
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