This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Kerry Feeney, a 44-year-old director of hospital administration from Rockaway, New York. Feeney won one of three nights auctioned off by StayMarquis. The essay has been edited for length and clarity.
I’ve been watching Bravo for years. I think it started with “The Real Housewives of New York” back in the day. Every new one gets better and better.
I’ve watched “Summer House” from the beginning. I love it. When I was first out of college, I had a house in the Hamptons for the summer. It brought me back to my own Hamptons experience: the drama, the partying. It made me feel like I was in my 20s again.
I knew my friends were just as big Bravo fans as I was. We all grew up in Rockaway, for the most part, and have been friends since we were kids. Everybody went their separate ways, and now everyone’s back in the neighborhood again as adults. I’d have no problem getting 15 other people to come with me to the house.
The week prior, we couldn’t be at the house, but one of our friends owns a bar. We met up there and had a watch party. We had a private room in the back area, ordered food, and watched the show. We stayed for drinks and discussion afterward.
We bid $3,500. I knew that wouldn’t be too big a deal to split up the cost among friends and family.
We carpooled in multiple cars. One of my friends was in Long Island, so we picked her up along the way. The drive was two hours, during which we talked about the show. (Pretty much everyone is very anti-Amanda.)
When we arrived, we first made sure the door didn’t stick. On the show, they have a very hard time getting in and out of that.
We all arrived at different times, but my group arrived first. We put our bags down, brought in all the alcohol and food that we had for the night, and we went on a little tour by ourselves. We went through the house like little kids, going through every inch.
Kyle and Amanda’s bedroom is 10x bigger than it appears on TV. The bathroom has a heated toilet seat. I know! Every time anybody came in after us, we made sure that they went and tested out the toilet.
We brought some chips and appetizers. My one friend made baked ziti. We all brought wine or Surfsides, and the place was stocked with a cooler full of Loverboy. I think we drank every single one.
Because I was the one who did the bidding, I got to pick first. I obviously picked Kyle and Amanda’s room because of the bathroom, and because it had the biggest bed. It opened right up into the backyard.
People picked rooms as they showed up. Everyone was so happy to be there, so nobody was fighting over accommodations. Then, we made some drinks and hung out by the pool.
Another surprising thing about the house that you don’t see on the show is that there’s a movie theater room. It had recliner seats and a huge TV. There were 16 of us, so we thought it would be better to watch it in the living room.
It started at 8 p.m., and nobody was allowed to talk until there was a commercial. There was a lot of shushing. We didn’t want to miss anything.
During the commercials, it was heated, but it wasn’t a debate. It was: “We can’t believe what’s happening or what they’re saying.” There were reactions to some of the one-liners from Ciara and Lindsay, and Amanda and West were insufferable.
We discussed it for the rest of the night. Then, we put on some music, went outside, had some drinks, and hung out. It was a beautiful night. There were staggering bedtimes. I think the latest group stayed up ’til around 4 a.m. We were joking that we could have our own version with a cast of 40-something-year-old women.
The following day, some people had to get back to work, but a couple of us went to lunch in Sag Harbor.
It was absolutely worth it. It was even better in person, just because of the memories attached to it. It’s easy to understand how the cast has so much fun there every summer. We did a lot of laughing, reminiscing, dancing, and staying up late. It’s a chance to relive our youth.
The best part was being able to share it with my friends, who are also such big Bravo fans. We’ve watched it together over the years and have spoken about it so much that celebrating it in the house made it feel that much more special.
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