WILLIAMSBURG—McCarren Park just got its wealthiest neighbor yet.
The Hotel Williamsburg, on 160 N. 12th St. by the park, was bought for a record-breaking price this month, according to its new owner.
The chain King & Grove said it bought the luxury complex for $33 million, or $520,000 per guest room, the most expensive price ever for a Brooklyn hotel.
The "urban retreat," as King & Grove's website dubbed the space, includes 64 guest rooms, an outdoor saltwater pool, a restaurant, and a rooftop bar with a view of McCarren Park.
The whopping price tag put on the hotel hardly shocked some neighbors, who claimed the development from Kent Avenue to Union Avenue has been recently spiraling out of control.
"Nothing surprises me anymore," said one Bedford Avenue long-timer, Leona Dassro, who has lived in North Williamsburg over 70 years.
And Maria Badia, 30, who has lived in the area the past four years, also linked the sale to the local changes she'd watched.
"It looks like SoHo now," she said of the blocks by the hotel. "There are very few spots where you can take advantage of actually living in Brooklyn here."
Still, the Brooklyn location is what draws some hotel guests, who claim the spot is more affordable and relaxed than Manhattan.
"It's more affordable to stay here than in Manhattan," said Toby Schmid, 31, outside the Hotel Williamsburg Friday, after six nights staying in a room there. "And if you compare it to prices in Germany," he said of his native country, "it's less."
Schmid said he had gone out every day on Bedford Avenue, which he called "hip, cool, and trendy," and said the hotel was a well-rounded mix of guests young and old.
"I've stayed in WIlliamsburg before," he said, "I really like it here."
And the hotel will be near even more attractions in upcoming months, as McCarren Park Pool opens for swimmers this summer (and ice skating this winter), and outdoor concerts begin a few blocks away at 50 Kent Avenue. The recent rash of bar burglaries and residential heists in the area has seemed to meet unfazed developers.
King & Grove already owns hotels in Miami and Montauk and recently began managing the Hotel Chelsea. The group purchased Hotel WIlliamsburg Mar. 8.
