After all the news about boutique hotels opening in Brooklyn, here's something that goes back to the days of places where rooms rented by the hour and came with free bodily fluids. The hotel in question is a Sheepshead Bay classic, the Windjammer Motor Inn. Neighborhood blogger Sheepshead Bites went looking for some reviews of the place, and they are, uh, interesting, starting with this literary gem:
For an all too brief moment of rekindled passion, I delved into the wondrous caverns of your nether region, and dug deep to unearth the core of divine ecstasy itself. It had been three months since you left. On this night, you showed up at my door, speaking the language of aged scotch and false promises. I was only too happy to accommodate your deceitful ways.
We always knew that Philadelphia would be the New Brooklyn, but we never knew that it would literally be the case. Yesterday, we noted the opening of the Nu Hotel on Smith Street, across from the Brooklyn House of Detention. What we didn't notice then, but a Curbed commenter did, is that one of the images used on the hotel's website was a little strange. That's a screencap of it on top with the, uh, Philadelphia skyline instead of the Brooklyn one. The image of the Nu Brooklyn has since been updated with one of the the Un-Nu Brooklyn that includes the Brooklyn Bridge.
· Brooklyn Hotel Wars Begin: Nu vs. Le Bleu [Curbed]
· Nu Hotel [nuhotelbrooklyn.com]
Today is the quiet start of an era in the Brooklyn hotel wars, with the Nu Hotel having its soft opening and ratcheting up the competition in the once hotel starved market. Yes, there have been Comfort Inns and Holiday Inns and there's even a growing Gowanus Hotel District, but the Nu, despite being across the street from the Brooklyn House of Detention is aimed at a more upscale, cool market. (You have been put on notice, Andre.) One floor of Nu is open (with a full opening planned in August) with the room rate being $349 and an introductory rate of $199. Le Bleu, meanwhile, which is on Fourth Avenue, seems to have come down a bit in price again, with rooms ranging from $279-$389. (But, do check out the "Serenity Package" for $499/night.) Le Bleu offers "uber chic glamor and luxurious living" nestled between a taxi depot and staple. The Nu Hotel "blends high style and luxury with New York City flair" across from the Brooklyn House of Detention. Le Bleu has dramatic glass showers in the room; Nu has hammocks. Also, they rhyme.
· Bklyn's Nu Hotel Schedules Soft Opening for Monday [Brooklyn Eagle]
· Nu Hotel [nuhotelbrooklyn.com]
· Nu Hotel Ready to Face Off Against Ye Olde Hotel on Smith St. [Curbed]
One thing that can be said about the Nu Hotel, which is supposed to be opening in July on Smith Street in the same building as the 75 Smith condo, is that some guests will be able to lounge in hammocks and that many will have picture postcard views of a different kind of accommodation. Also some of the rooms at the Nu will apparently have bunk beds, just like the jail across the street. It doesn't look like the Nu Hotel has set prices yet, as the reservation page just produces error messages, but it's safe to say that it'll be a lot more expensive than its friend across the street from which checking out was always a lot harder. The hotel's website says that "Nu Hotel is a lifestyle hotel in the heart of downtown Brooklyn that is designed with physical comfort in mind – like wearing your favorite t-shirt with a beloved pair of jeans. The Nu Hotel will have 93 rooms, be operated by Hersha Hospitality and probably have much better room service than its neighbor, protests about whose pending reopening and expansion are ongoing. The Hersha website said it will open in July but the hotel's site just says "Summer."
· Nu Hotel [nuhotelbrooklyn.com]
· The Shock of the Nu, Hammocks Included [Brownstoner]
· Nu Hotel [hershahotels.com]
A week ago, a tipster pointed out that developer Jed Walentas had filed an application to convert an old industrial building at N. 11 & Wythe Avenue in the Burg to a hotel. Today, reports are circulating that the hotel has already been "rejected" by the Department of Buildings. Hotel Walentas, we hardly knew ye! Err, not exactly. Indeed, the applications are marked as "disapproved," but building plans (at least the ones that aren't self-certified) can be "disapproved" a dozen or more times before final permits are issued. The DOB website, in fact, shows that the reason the Hotel Walentas has been "disapproved" is that some documents necessary for approval (including "test boring" results) weren't submitted by a June 11 deadline for this particular possible approval. (The street tree survey got in just under the wire, though, probably because there was nothing to survey around the building.) So, while it's a little premature to head over to Travelocity to book at the Hotel Walentas in the Burg, it's might be early to say that there's a problem. In other news, room rates at the Burg's one open hotel--Le Jolie--for next week are (please sit down) $399-$429 a night. Le Jolie, for those that are unfamiliar, is next to the BQE on bleak edgy Meeker Avenue.
· Two Trees Chopped Down [Brooklyn Paper]
· Williamsburg Getting a Hotel Walentas! [Curbed]
After all the news about boutique hotels opening in Brooklyn, here's something that goes back to the days of places where rooms rented by the hour and came with free bodily fluids. The hotel in question is a Sheepshead Bay classic, the Windjammer Motor Inn. Neighborhood blogger Sheepshead Bites went looking for some reviews of the place, and they are, uh, interesting, starting with this literary gem:
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