The 7 Best Hotels to Stay at in Brooklyn Right Now

Brooklyn’s buzz started growing long before 2012. But New York City’s most populous borough had few places to stay that matched the style in the shops, restaurants, and art galleries that were drawing people to its neighborhoods. That changed when the Wythe Hotel opened in a converted 1901 factory with loft-like rooms featuring exposed brick, views of the Manhattan skyline, and a custom toile wallpaper illustrated with cheeky urban elements like water towers and milk crates.

Soon after, boutique properties began to proliferate in Williamsburg and adjacent Brooklyn neighborhoods, with smaller brands like the eco-chic 1 Hotels and London’s Hoxton following a few years later. Now even bigger players like Marriott and IHG are planting roots in Brooklyn with stylish and affordable brands like Moxy and Hotel Indigo opening in Williamsburg.

So if you’ve decided to spend your next trip to New York City exploring its second largest borough, AFAR has reviewed the best places to stay in Brooklyn to help narrow down your choices in neighborhoods from Williamsburg to DUMBO and Boerum Hill.

Here are our picks—in no particular order—for the seven best hotels in Brooklyn.

Penny Williamsburg

Photo by Alice Gao

• Neighborhood: Williamsburg
• Why we love it: An art-forward bolthole in the middle of the Brooklyn buzz—but not overwhelmed by it.
• Book now

In spring 2023, the Sydell Group (known for hotel brands NoMad, Line, and Freehand) opened Penny Williamsburg, a hybrid hotel and housing for graduate students at nearby Bard College. The 118 guest rooms—which range from the 200-square-foot Queen to a 700-square-foot loft-style Majesty suite with living and dining areas, a soaking tub, private terrace, and kitchen—are stylish and comfortable, with exposed concrete ceilings, hardwood floors, farmhouse sinks, and plush settees and armchairs. The little things are notable, too: Bellino linens (hypoallergenic and stitched in southern Italy), books (curated by esteemed New York bookstore the Strand), in-room tea and coffee options (a pour-over kettle with Devoción coffee beans from Colombia, but roasted in Brooklyn). Greenery, designed by Brooklyn landscape studio Verdant, also features prominently throughout the property.

Set along a quiet side street on the northern end of Williamsburg, the hotel is a short walk to several excellent bars and restaurants that have helped make the neighborhood a can’t-miss dining destination: The Four Horsemen (for natural wine and small bites), Llama Inn (Peruvian), Fette Sau (dry-rub Texas barbecue), and Bonnie’s (Cantonese American). The hotel’s in-house rooftop bar and restaurant, ElNico, is also worth a stop. Outside, there are panoramic views of the Williamsburg and Manhattan skylines, low-slung couches, and high-top tables. Inside, the view is nearly as good—thanks to floor-to-ceiling windows, colorful shag rugs, dark wood furniture, and greenery galore. Here, chef Fernanda Serrano, a native of Mexico City who has worked in the celebrated kitchens of Pujol (Mexico City) and Cosme (New York), creates small and large plates that are at once inventive, Instagrammable, and fun. Think vegan pink mole with beet, tahini, fennel, kumquat, and pine nut; a tlayuda with tzatziki, pomegranate, sumac, and vegetables; and fried oyster tacos with cucumber mignonette.

>> Read the full review of the Penny Williamsburg

Ace Hotel Brooklyn

Courtesy of Ace Hotel/Stephen Kent Johnson

• Neighborhood: Boerum Hill
• Why we love it: A second NYC location for the design-forward brand with a lobby that doubles as a local gathering space
• Book now

The Ace hotel group opened its second New York City outpost directly across from Downtown Brooklyn’s Hoyt-Schermerhorn subway station in 2021. Built from the ground up, the 13-story building features a brutalist facade and interiors by designers Roman and Williams. Green leather couches, wood paneling, and fiber art pieces add warmth to raw concrete walls and ceilings throughout the 287-room hotel. For the best views of the borough, ask for a south-facing Medium Skyline room on the top four floors.

Chef Camille Becerra, formerly of De Maria and Navy, joined the hotel’s team in summer 2023 to revamp the menu at As You Are, the all-day restaurant located on the ground floor. Dine on multicultural dishes like masa fritters and chicken Milanese served with puffed quinoa and summer vegetable–sorghum succotash under the restaurant’s focal point: a large-scale work by American mosaic artist Isaiah Zagar, a graduate of nearby Pratt Institute.

Like other Ace properties, the expansive lobby is a popular hangout for both hotel guests and locals. In the morning, the wooden communal table in front of a large gas fireplace fills up with people working on their laptops and snacking on pastel de nata, gluten-free banana bread, and coffee from the bakery counter. By the evening, the lobby’s low-slung leather couches and oversize armchairs are the place to be for cocktails like My Goddess (mezcal, green juice, and ginger) and bar snacks, including cheesy kimchi toast and chicken nuggets with plum katsu sauce.

Moxy Williamsburg

Photos by Michelle Heimerman

• Location: Williamsburg
• Why we love it: A hip new place to use hotel points in a decidedly noncorporate setting
• Loyalty program: Marriott Bonvoy
• Book now

The first Brooklyn hotel from Marriott’s hip Moxy brand opened in March 2023, on the corner of Bedford Avenue and South Fourth Street in Williamsburg with interiors by Basile Studio in collaboration with Lightstone Design Studio. The warehouse-like lobby opens up to a lively all-day cafe, Bar Bedford, with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Bedford Avenue. During the afternoon, you might run into local artists collaborating over coffee or a visiting couple sipping spritzes and contemplating whether they’re going to take the ferry or the subway into Manhattan.

Like any New York apartment, the hotel’s 216 rooms are small but thoughtfully designed with under-bed storage space and fold-down wall hooks and desks. The floor-to-ceiling windows provide uninterrupted views of sunsets over Manhattan and the Williamsburg Bridge and help the space feel larger than it is.

An even more impressive view of the skyline is available at the rooftop bar, LilliStar, an indoor/outdoor space that is part Indo-Aussie beach vibe, part Brooklyn, and serves tropical cocktails. For dinner, try the Tel Aviv–inspired restaurant, Mesiba, where chef Eli Buli serves up contemporary Levantine dishes. Highlights include mushroom shawarma with jerusalem artichoke and pickles and fluke crudo with red cardamom and carrot consomme. If you’re not ready to crash into bed, stop at the hotel’s Jolene Sound Room, where the state-of-the-art audio and light systems make it one of the best late-night party options in the neighborhood.

Wythe Hotel

Photo by Matt Dutile

• Location: Williamsburg
• Why we love it: The original boutique hotel in Williamsburg
• Book now

If Williamsburg was Brooklyn’s anointed arbiter of cool in the early 2000s, the Wythe Hotel became its poster child when it opened in 2012 after a five-year renovation that transformed the former textile factory into one of the borough’s first boutique properties. It’s the little details in its 70 rooms that stand out, like the concrete floors with under-floor heating and the use of reclaimed wood from the building’s original timber in the 13-foot-high ceilings and custom-made bed frames. The spacious lofts are particularly noteworthy for their floor-to-ceiling views of the Manhattan skyline and stand-alone pedestal tubs.

Though the hotel’s restaurants and bars have gone through several iterations in the past decade, visitors and New Yorkers alike are fans of the most recent versions run by the team behind Greenpoint’s beloved Chez Ma Tante. The rooftop Bar Blondeau offers natural wine, Mediterranean-inspired seafood, and unobstructed views of Manhattan, while the ground floor restaurant, Le Crocodile, has an all-day brasserie menu serving French and American fare.

Hotel Indigo Williamsburg

Courtesy of Hotel Indigo Williamsburg

• Location: Williamsburg
• Why we love it: A calm retreat in the middle of Brooklyn’s most popular hangout
• Loyalty program: IHG Rewards Club
• Book now

This 187-room hotel, part of IHG’s boutique Hotel Indigo brand, is located on the corner of Metropolitan and Union avenues directly above the historic Kellogg’s Diner in the heart of Williamsburg. Far from the buzzing urban vibrancy outside these doors, the high-ceilinged lobby is a calming space with terrazzo floors, globe lights, and clean-lined furniture in a soothing palette of grays, pinks, and greens—squint and you might be reminded of the colors of New York City’s unofficial mascot, the pigeon. Many rooms have large balconies with Manhattan skyline views and some feature bi-level lofts, a nod to the neighborhood’s former life as an industrial hub. New York City makers take pride of place throughout the property: You’ll find colorful rugs by Alex Proba in select suites and a more than 100-foot-long mural on the fence out front, commissioned by graffiti artist Fernando “Ski” Romero.

Those visiting during New York’s sweltering summer months will appreciate the fourth-floor terrace pool, which has a full lounge and bar featuring tropical bar snacks like tamarind wings and escovitch lobster tacos. (Psst: Locals who want in on that pool deck without booking an overnight stay can purchase a day pass to the pool via ResortPass for $65.)

1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge

Courtesy of 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge

• Location: DUMBO
• Why we love it: A sustainable leader in the hotel space with picture-postcard views of lower Manhattan and the Brooklyn Bridge
• Book now

Part of the sustainability-minded 1 Hotels, this 195-room property just south of the Brooklyn Bridge is certified carbon neutral. Among the many eco-conscious measures here that have led to LEED Gold certification are an electric Audi house car, low-energy LED lighting, and interiors filled with native plants and upcycled materials: Think green glass water carafes made from old wine bottles, cardboard hangers, and heart pine beams rescued from the defunct Domino Sugar Factory just up the river.

This being DUMBO, the main event is the view of the downtown Manhattan skyline and the Brooklyn Bridge, visible through the floor-to-ceiling windows in many of the rooms—and at the rooftop pool. The hotel has four types of suites, including the 2,000-square-foot, two-bedroom Riverhouse. Order a spritz at the rooftop bar, and when it’s time to venture out, the revitalized waterfront Brooklyn Bridge Park is steps from the front door. But you don’t have to go far to enjoy some of the borough’s renowned food and drink: The hotel is home to Neighbors, which serves locally roasted Variety Coffee with breakfast; Harriet’s Lounge, where many of the signature cocktails are zero-waste; and the Osprey, chef Dan Churchill’s ode to Australian ingredients, where dishes include finger-lime-topped raw oysters, lemon myrtle hummus, and sea bass in eucalyptus oil.

The Hoxton Williamsburg

Courtesy of the Hoxton

• Location: Williamsburg
• Why we love it: A chic place to sleep, with restaurants that locals go out of their way to get reservations at
• Book now

Nodding to the London-based hotel chain’s Shoreditch roots, the Hoxton opened its first stateside property in equally hip Williamsburg in 2018. Located on the site of the former Rosenwach Water Tank Company factory on Wythe Avenue, the 175 guest rooms have a midcentury-meets-urban vibe, courtesy of design team Ennismore and Soho House. Details include locally made ceramics, brass accents, jewel-tone velvet headboards, and subway-tiled showers. Though the rooms range from an ultra cozy 170 square feet to a slightly roomier 240 square feet, they all come with king-size beds with built-in drawers for smart storage solutions. (For those who don’t want to share, some rooms come with an option for two twin beds instead of the king.)

After a recent revamp, the hotel’s restaurants are some of the buzziest places to dine in New York City. Chef Mike Solomonov’s rooftop Israeli skewer house, Laser Wolf, opened in 2022 to rave reviews for its meat and vegetable skewers cooked over a charcoal grill, served alongside hummus, pita, and vegetable salatim. If you’re looking for breakfast or lunch, K’Far, the lobby-level restaurant in the building’s original brick carriage house, serves Israeli fare all day inspired by Solomonov’s hometown of K’Far Saba.

Additional reporting by Katherine LaGrave, Michelle Heimerman, Nicholas DeRenzo, Erin Lindholm, Jessica Colley Clarke, Sarah Buder, and Nicole Schnitzler.