Just a quick hop on the subway and you will find yourself in Brooklyn. There are so many great finds across the East River, I simply could not leave Brooklyn out of this New York City guide.
Stay
A natural sanctuary located at waterfront on Brooklyn Bridge Park, 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge stands right beside the East River and 5 blocks west of the Brooklyn Bridge Promenade. Set in a 10-story building, the hotel offers 195 guest rooms and 28 suites. While the hotel is great for work; there is 20,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor meeting spaces, fully equipped with built-in sound and connectivity. The hotel is suitable for play as well. The 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge has Harriet’s Rooftop Bar & Lounge complete with a plunge pool and unobstructed views of the East River and Manhattan skyline. Looking to completely recharge? The Bamford Wellness Spa is devoted to nurturing the mind, body and spirit through a holistic approach to treatments.
In 2022, Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighbourhood welcomed Penny. The newest addition to the Sydell portfolio – creators of NoMad, Freehand, and LINE brands – Penny is the portfolio’s younger artist sibling with colorful interiors and a distinctive art collection by local neurodivergent artists. Penny is small in size, at 118 rooms but big at heart. The namesake is Sydell CEO and Founder, Andrew Zobler’s small chihuahua with a big personality. The rooms at Penny Williamsburg offer homey comfort with hardwood floors, kitchenettes, pour-over coffee systems with complimentary coffee, unlimited free filtered water (my necessity!) The hotel shares a building with beloved NY institution Bard College classrooms and dorms.
Located near the Metropolitan Avenue subway station, you will find the Hotel Indigo Williamsburg. Kutnicki Bernstein Architects and Cl-oth Interiors drew from the surrounding culture to create a welcoming space within the ultra-contemporary structure. Artists, Fernando “Ski” Romero and the team at Flyrite Tattoo added their own touch to the property with bright murals and restaurant signage. Amenities include complimentary bicycles, a 24-hour fitness center and seasonal pool. Start your morning at the Lobby Coffee Bar and enjoy a fresh, local pastry and a hot coffee or tea. End your day overlooking the Manhattan skyline while enjoying Polynesian/Samoan inspired light bites on the fourth-floor terrace, Tatau.
Opened in March 2023, The Moxy Brooklyn Williamsburg is a 216-room boutique hotel overlooking the Williamsburg Bridge and the Manhattan skyline. The bright, airy rooms emphasize natural materials and space-saving design solutions, a large backyard garden provides a spot to unwind alfresco, and flexible co-working and meeting studios serve the needs of Brooklyn’s creative class. Food and beverage options include Mesiba, a festive, Tel Aviv–inspired restaurant serving Levantine cuisine; Bar Bedford, a destination cocktail bar and all-day café; Jolene Sound Room, an energetic lounge with a custom sound system; and finally LilliStar, an indoor/outdoor rooftop bar.
Nu Hotel, located in Downtown Brooklyn’s vibrant Boerum Hill neighbourhood on Smith Street and Atlantic Avenue, is surrounded by Brooklyn’s premier cultural, retail and tourist attractions. The hotel offers 93 art-inspired rooms and suites, a fitness centre, lobby lounge featuring the NU Marketplace, complimentary daily continental breakfast and more. Special note – the Unban Suite comes complete with an in-suite hammock.
See
Parachute Literary Art’s Coney Island Poetry Map is a free public poetry installation, featuring 25 original poems, created by Amanda Deutch, whose family lived in Coney Island for several generations. Founded in 2009, Parachute Literary Arts is a Coney Island based community arts organization.
Brooklyn Museum houses a huge permanent collection categorised by culture, as well as visiting exhibitions, with a current exhibition on Pablo Picasso (fifty years after his death) through a ‘critical, contemporary, and feminist lens’. While It’s Pablo-matic: Picasso According to Hannah Gadsby, is set to close on Sept 24, the Spike Lee: Creative Sources exhibit opens on October 7. The Brooklyn Museum is situated next to the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, and visitors can purchase discounted passes that allow them to tour both in the same day.
The Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) is a multi-arts centre located in Brooklyn, and has been the home to adventurous artists, audiences and artists for 150 years. Returning after three years, the Next Wave Program returns, featuring some of the most fascinating artists in film, theatre, dance, opera and the visual arts. Check out all three different locations (Peter Jay Sharp, BAM Fisher and BAM Strong) for work celebrating both emerging and seasoned artists.
Shop
A luxury home fragrance brand inspired by the unexpected beauty found in life’s simple pleasures. Founded in 2011 by Chrissy Fichtl, APOTHEKE is defined by craftsmanship and guided by passion, offering scents that are thoughtfully blended to elevate the everyday. Chrissy is self-taught in the beauty of essential oils and soap making, having begun by sourcing essential oils directly from farms and being “discovered” while selling at the famed Brooklyn Flea. 12+ years later, the candles and bar soaps remain handmade and poured in Red Hook, Brooklyn at their factory and flagship location with clean ingredients ensuring all products are sulfate and phthalate free, non-GMO, and vegan.
Rue Saint Paul is Brooklyn’s sustainable closet, offering new, rental, and pre-owned sustainable fashion. The first in Brooklyn. Kelly Wang, founder of Rue Saint Paul, is committed to helping reduce the fashion industry’s environmental footprint, promote ethical manufacturing, and drive responsible and circular consumption. Kelly’s hope is that one day sustainable fashion will just be fashion.
The Catbird flagship shop has remained a longstanding Williamsburg neighborhood staple since 2004. Alongside Catbird’s signature jewelry including Forever Bracelets, shoppers can also find special home and beauty products too. Stop by for complimentary jewelry styling during your next Brooklyn visit.
Les Aimants is a Brooklyn-based contemporary bridal designer with deep French roots. The collections are designed with a minimalist mindset creating timeless pieces for the modern bride. By using unique 3D technology, Les Aimants enables the customer to customize their design using the online builder and eases the bridal experience with accurate body measurements which removes the need for alterations and additional fees which so many brides experience.
This Brooklyn-based luxe women’s fashion brand is the epitome of laid-back vacation dressing with a street edge. Consisting of beachy color palettes and vibrant palm prints, these pieces effortlessly capture the tropical tranquility of white sandy beaches and the bold hues of blue water.
Launched in February of 2014, from the founder Michelle Aran’s bedroom in NYC. Within months, the brand became a viral sensation across social media as people everywhere fell in love with their never-before-seen phone cases. Since then, they have grown into an amazing team based in Brooklyn, NY where they work consistently to release new styles and drops every month of phone cases & accessories such as phone grips, charms, air pod cases, battery packs and more.
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