BROOKLYN — The hotel business is booming in Downtown Brooklyn.
The neighborhood is set to nearly double its number of hotel rooms, with five new lodgings bringing approximately 1,200 new rooms — spurred by the arrival of the Barclays Center and the surging student population, according to Downtown Brooklyn Partnership.
The area was home to only one hotel in 2004 and now boasts six full-scale hotels with approximately 1,500 rooms.
Partnership president Tucker Reed attributed the surge to the arrival of Barclays Center, new homes for Theatre for a New Audience and BRIC Arts.
There are also 10,000 more students at area schools like NYU Polytechnic, Brooklyn Law School and Long Island University. Some schools have added facilities, like NYU's School of Engineering.
Demand for hotel rooms has greatly increased in recent years because more people are visiting and living in Downtown Brooklyn, he said.
"Hotel operators are looking at the performance of the existing hotels and seeing that on most nights they are at 100 percent occupancy," he said. "It's difficult to find a room."
Many of the area's hotels have distinctly Brooklyn features, like floor-to-ceiling murals painted by local artists, rooftop bars that serve locally brewed beer, mini-bars stocked with chocolates and wine made in the borough and coffee by Red Hook's Brewklyn Grind Coffee Roasters.
DNAinfo New York rounded up the area's hotel offerings along with a list of hotels that are currently under construction.
Planned Hotels
The Woods Bagot-designed hotel will be eight stories tall and have 119 rooms, while an adjacent apartment tower will have 32 stories and 381 rental units, according to plans recently filed with the city’s Department of Buildings. There will also be commercial space.
Plans indicate the new hotel, from developer Thomas Aschmoneit of 203 Jay St. Assoc LLC, will have a workout room, bike storage, a public plaza and a rooftop terrace.
A seven-story office building is being fully demolished in the lot. It is not clear when the project will be finished.
Permits were filed on July 9 for a 13-story hotel, 285-room hotel. According to the Commercial Observer, it was slated to be an Ace hotel, but that has not been confirmed.
The architect on record is Stonehill & Taylor, which also designed the Ace Hotel in Manhattan, which boasts “event spaces, a gourmet coffee-roasting operation and a destination restaurant.”
It was not clear when the hotel will be finished.
Rockwell Hotel Tower, 95 Rockwell Place
The Rockwell Hotel Tower is a 200-room, 30-story glass and metal structure that will feature "dramatic asymmetrical fractures in the façade, reinforcing a notion of Brooklyn as ‘multi-faceted’ and ‘modern,’” according to LEESER Architecture, the firm that designed the building.
The hotel is part of the boutique "Marriott Autograph Collection," according to city records and will be home to a rooftop bar, swimming pool, banquet hall and a ground-floor restaurant that will overlook an outdoor arts plaza.
Construction started in May and will be complete in 2015.
Holiday Inn Brooklyn Nevins Station, 300 Schermerhorn St.
This 90,000-square-foot, 246-room hotel will have 15 floors with more than 3,000 square feet of meeting space, a ballroom, sauna, steam room, indoor pool and a Jacuzzi, according to an InterContinental Hotels Group statement.
The property, worth $80 million, is owned by K.K. Mehta and his son Sanjeev Mehta, who also own Staybridge Suites hotel in Times Square.
The hotel is currently under construction with an expected opening in early 2015.
EVEN Hotel, 320 Schermerhorn St.
The 13-story Even hotel is currently under construction and will have 204 rooms plus a full bar, restaurant and gym, according to a statement by Even Hotels owner InterContinental Hotels Group.
A rendering of the hotel can be seen on architect Gene Kaufman’s website.
The hotel is expected to open mid-2015.
Current Hotels
Hampton Inn Downtown Brooklyn, 125 Flatbush Avenue Ext.
The Hampton Inn Downtown Brooklyn opened its doors last week on the corner of Flatbush Avenue Extension and Tillary Street near the entrance to the Manhattan Bridge. The 13-story, 117-room hotel offers a lobby area with full bar and fireplace, fitness room and free hot breakfast buffet.
Single rooms start at approximately $169 a night.
This four-story boutique hotel opened in July 2008 with 93 rooms. Many of the loft-like rooms were hand-painted by local artists, some with floor-to-ceiling murals. The hotel also has a fitness center, restaurant and bar and pet-friendly rooms. Some quirky details include bunks beds, hammocks and mini-bars stocked with local wine and spirits. Prices start at approximately $206 a night.
Sheraton Brooklyn, 228 Duffield St.
The Sheraton opened in May 2010 with 321 rooms on 25 floors. There is also an indoor pool, fitness center and club lounge. Prices range from approximately $259 to $759 a night.
aLoft Brooklyn, 216 Duffield St.
This 176-room, 24-story hotel opened in June 2011 and has a rooftop terrace bar, restaurant, backyard, yoga classes and fitness center. Prices start at approximately $169 a night.
Hotel Indigo, 229 Duffield St.
Opened in September 2013, this upscale boutique hotel has 128 rooms and 19 floors. There is also a fitness center, restaurant and bar. Room prices range from approximately $189 to $426 a night.
