In the House

The number of great hotels in New York’s outer boroughs lags behind Manhattan by quite a bit. With recent openings like Ace Hotel Brooklyn, that could be changing.

Brooklyn and Queens are so entrenched as ideas we forget that, as global tourist destinations, they’re still emerging markets. Sure, they’ve been iconic characters in American history since the Revolution, and especially throughout the 20th century, but it’s only been a decade or so since travelers desired not just to visit the outer boroughs, but to sleep in them too. While that means the hotel stock isn’t quite as robust as, say, Midtown — that’ll take some time — the dining, neighborhoods, and culture are as rich and rewarding as anywhere in Manhattan.

I’ve lived in Brooklyn for nearly 20 years and I’m enjoying it more than ever. I often say that if I could take my neighborhood and separate it a little bit, carve it out of the surrounding sprawl, it’d be perfect — diverse and friendly and walking distance to museums and parks and my pick of global cuisines. If getting out of Brooklyn wasn’t such a chore, I’d have nothing to complain about. In it, I’m always finding new joys. Including the Ace Hotel Brooklyn, which opened a couple years ago only a handful of blocks from my apartment.

Some city hotels create an oasis of calm — not just in the rooms, but also the public spaces. Then there are city hotels that make the city a main character, and make themselves a place to have a properly urban experience. The Ace is the latter, and a lot of it stems from the lobby. The rooms are as tranquil as you need, outfitted with custom local furniture, fully soundproofed, and hidden behind comically solid metal doors. Seek something rear-facing on an upper floor for endless views overlooking the brownstones of southern Brooklyn. Then get your butt back downstairs.

During a recent staycation at Ace Hotel Brooklyn, I spent most of my time in the lobby. It’s a fantastic place to work remotely from, with cushy chairs and alcoves that are great for making calls without bothering or being bothered. There’s a long table with plenty of lamps, reminiscent of the great library reading rooms, and clearly designed for heavy laptop usage. You’ve also got a restaurant, bakery, two bars, and the Garden, a greenhouse-inspired space filled with plants, a fireplace, and a ceiling made entirely of skylight.

The aesthetic is modern Ace, which translates to an amount of sculpted concrete that proves Brutalism was no passing fad. Brooklyn has proved it’s no passing fad either. The borough is booming. Residents are moving across the river to Manhattan to save money. There are bidding wars for rentals. Bidding on rent! A neighbor of mine got 50% over asking for a basement-level apartment they’re renting out. It’s bananas. But it’s worth it.

And with that, here are the best boutique hotels in Brooklyn (plus two honorary entries that might as well be).
 

Ace Hotel Brooklyn

Brooklyn, New York

Leave it to Ace to find a way to put a novel spin on the idea of a Brooklyn boutique hotel. Ace Brooklyn finds itself not in Williamsburg but in rapidly evolving Boerum Hill, in an arresting new building by Stonehill Taylor. What’s familiar is what’s inside: modernist-inspired industrial-romantic interiors by Roman & Williams, who are on our short list for the world’s most influential boutique-hotel designers.

1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge

Brooklyn, New York

1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge stands at the edge of Brooklyn Bridge Park, looking across the East River at the Lower Manhattan skyline. There’s no more fitting location for 1 Hotels’ eco-luxe aesthetic, with its salvaged materials, stylish design, and low-impact construction than here in Brooklyn, alongside the lush green park that’s been reclaimed from the city’s post-industrial waterfront.

Wythe Hotel

Brooklyn, New York

Williamsburg has been a big deal for a while now, but from a boutique-hotel perspective this neighborhood is just getting started. And while the Wythe Hotel may not have been the first, it’s the one against which all future Brooklyn boutiques will be measured. Not because it won’t ever be topped, necessarily, but because it’s rare for a hotel to so completely exemplify the character of the neighborhood it calls home.

The William Vale

Brooklyn, New York

In Williamsburg, whose high-rise buildings tend towards the nondescript, the William Vale is an immediate eye-catcher. The building, by Albo Liberis, is unmistakable, leading you to expect big things from what’s inside. And, in what has to be considered a leap forward for the Brooklyn hotel scene, the William Vale delivers — Williamsburg’s finally got the modern-luxe boutique hotel it was always destined to have.

The Box House Hotel

Brooklyn, New York

From the outside, Box House could easily be mistaken for another warehouse-turned-apartment-building in its Greenpoint neighborhood. The inside is just as true to form. The sunny, high-ceilinged rooms are fitted with large kitchenettes, dishware and all. By New York standards, they could just about pass as full kitchens, with more than enough counter space to sit on a stool and tear into some boxes of take-out.

Penny Williamsburg

Brooklyn, New York

Long before it was a nightlife destination, much less a hotel hotbed, Williamsburg was Brooklyn’s creative capital — and it’s this aspect of the neighborhood that the Sydell Group aims to honor with the Penny. The concept is the classic North Brooklyn apartment, done properly: rooms include kitchenettes, hardwood floors, and a carefully curated selection of artworks and art books. There’s an in-house art gallery as well.

Henry Norman Hotel

Brooklyn, New York

Set in Greenpoint, the next neighborhood up from Williamsburg in North Brooklyn, the Henry Norman Hotel is a modern boutique hotel with an old-school inspiration. It’s set in a 19th-century textile warehouse, and its studios, suites, and penthouses offer loft-style living complete with hardwood floors, exposed brick walls, and, in many cases, a terrace or even a roof deck.

The Hoxton Williamsburg

Brooklyn, New York

Shoreditch, the East London district that was home to the original Hoxton Hotel, became the hippest neighborhood in town right around the same time Williamsburg became New York’s own capital of cool. So it’s only fitting that the first Hoxton in the United States should set up shop here. The Hoxton, Williamsburg occupies a modern building, but it’s a loving tribute to the neighborhood’s industrial heritage.

The Rockaway Hotel

Queens, New York

Rockaway Beach is in Queens, we’re aware, but it’s mighty close to Brooklyn, and its eponymous hotel was no doubt inspired by some of the examples above. Designed by the same Morris Adjmi responsible for the Wythe Hotel, the Rockaway Hotel brings a bit of hip downtown style to this ocean-facing stretch of outer Queens. And while summertime is when its beach-and-pool scene really shines, it’s relevant as a year-round local getaway.

Collective Governors Island

Governors Island, New York

Again, not Brooklyn. Technically Manhattan. But who are we kidding? Glamping has Brooklyn DNA all over it. On an island in New York Harbor, just across the Buttermilk Channel from Red Hook, Collective Governors Island’s tents and shelters offer a unique urban camp experience, accompanied by cooking classes, meditation and yoga sessions, live entertainment, and cocktails on the Sunset Terrace. All that plus unparalleled views of the city skyline.