One of New York’s hottest hotels. Plum in the middle of Williamsburg (AKA hipsterville), it spans 14 floors of Brooklyn’s most stylish new building. There is a huge outdoor pool deck, groovy rooftop bar with 360 views, two top chefs and futuristic rooms have a balcony and cinematic views of Manhattan.
The William Vale sits between McCarren Park and the waterfront on the quieter end of New York’s trendiest neighbourhood, Williamsburg. The hotel is a short walk to Billyburg’s stores, restaurants and music venues (Music Hall of Williamsburg, Brooklyn Bowl, Knitting Factory) and the Nitehawk Cinema (a dine-in cinema). In summer check out the outdoor Smorgasburg food market on the East River State park. Citibikes can be rented nearby for short hops to neighbouring hoods; Greenpoint, Bushwick and Dumbo. The L and G subways to Manhattan are five minutes walk away as is the N6th St ferry to Manhattan.
Staying at the William Vale can feel like you are on the set of 2001 A Space Odyssey. Sliding white glass doors edged with black open into the bathroom, and in the evening the bathroom glows like a giant cube. There are futuristic glowing edge details on the balcony and even the wardrobe with its zig zag doors eerily emits light.
The star of each room is the huge private balcony with chairs and a table for eating, sunbathing or viewing the sunset over the East River. There is a large flat TV, phone dock, Frette linens, L’Occitane en Provence toiletries and a fridge you can have custom filled with your favourite drinks and snacks.
This hotel has food and drink for every mood, curated by two of the city’s top Michelin-starred chefs. Andrew Carmellini provides the room service and runs Leuca, a modern Italian restaurant. Breakfast options include house-pressed juices ($8/£6), pastries (from $3.50/£3), and dishes like mushroom, herb and cheese frittata or lemon-ricotta pancakes with pine nut butter (both $15/£12). Enjoy dinner casually in the extensive bar area or feel a bit more glam in the moodily-lit dining room. Dine on the likes of wood-fired pizzas (from $15/£12) to wood-fire-roasted lobster ‘in purgatorio’ ($44/£35). Finish the night with sweet treats like Sicilian pistachio cake with ice cream ($11/£9).