About this episode

Sarah Wetenhall discusses her journey from hotel guest to hotel owner, detailing her experiences with The Colony Hotel and The Hedges Inn.

Sarah Wetenhall had never worked in hospitality when she and her husband decided, almost on a dare, to buy The Colony Hotel in Palm Beach. She joins me to talk about turning decades as a guest into two of the most in-demand boutique hotels in the country, and what it took to build The Hedges Inn in East Hampton next. (00:00) Introduction (02:00) The Colony: family history & buying in with zero experience (06:39) Deciding to buy The Hedges (09:00) Opening The Hedges & bringing Swifty's east (11:22) Inside the guest experience (13:35) Local recs: restaurants, shops & hidden gems (27:24) The Ina Garten story (29:43) Best times to visit East Hampton (32:00) What's next for Sarah and Andrew (34:25) Community programming: Conversations at the Hedges (39:10) Wrap-up Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

People in this episode

Host: Leslie Heaney

Guest: Sarah Wetenhall

Topics covered

• hospitality
• boutique hotels
• entrepreneurship
• guest experience
• local recommendations

Keywords

• hospitality
• The Colony Hotel
• The Hedges Inn
• East Hampton
• boutique hotels
• guest experience
• local recommendations

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The Colony Hotel, The Hedges Inn, Swifty's

Places: Palm Beach, East Hampton

More episodes of Duologue with Leslie Heaney

• The Unsung People Who Made Presidential History with Jean Becker & Tom Collamore · June 24, 2026 · 47 min
• Interior Design, A House in Maine, and the Secrets to a Room That Lasts with Nina Campbell · June 17, 2026 · 1h 6m

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Duologue with Leslie Heaney podcast page.