Imagine yourself chillin' in your hammock this summer, breathing in the fresh air and checking out the great views around you.
Then imagine that hammock is indoors, and those great views happen to be of the jail. Also? You're in Brooklyn.
Sounds appealing, right?
We know, we know: not so much. But despite the strikes against it, we think Brooklyn's upcoming Nu Hotel sounds kind of cool and can't wait to check it out when it opens, er, "this summer."
Summertime...hot dogs, apple pie, and...baseball! In New York, there are literally hundreds of hotel choices giving you easy access to the subways and trains to get to Yankee and Shea Stadium.
We've rounded up some good hotels near MLB Stadiums
but what about the minor league for a serious taste of the working man's ballgame? You can take the Staten Island Ferry for free to see the Staten Island Yankees, but trust us, you don't want to stay overnight on "Stranded Island."
Then there's the Brooklyn Cyclones, the borough's nod to its Dodgers history, and just as popular (the park reports attendance has already surpassed two million attendees).
Brooklyn has limited hotel crashpads, but the hotel closest to the action is Hotel Le Bleu in Park Slope. This small hotel, with 48 rooms, is as near to the diamond as you can get, and an underhand toss to the local subway that gets you out to Keyspan Park.
Hilton's Homewood Suites is coming to New York City for the first time and it's just five miles from midtown Manhattan! Wait, what?....Yeah, that's what it says on the press release but these peeps are actually talking about Brooklyn. Still, nice try. We're sure someone in Fargo bought that.
Anyways, the 100-suite property at 313 Gold Street, is in Downtown Brooklyn near Manhattan Bridge, likely affording guests some killer views of the city's famed skyline.
The groundbreaking, which will be part of a joint new build with a Hilton Garden Inn, is expected to start this September and be completed a year later. The hotel will sport all of the amenities Homewood Suites is known for, like the Suite Start breakfast, Welcome Home Reception and free Internet.
We're guessing the hotel will appeal to cost-conscious travelers who aren't afraid to navigate New York's subways, because anyone who's attempted to go to Brooklyn from Manhattan via taxi knows how often cab drivers refuse to go there.
One suggestion to Homewood Suites Brooklyn: Don't put an advert for Grand Theft Auto on the side of your building. Or pictures of the Twin Towers on your website for that matter either.
It's admittedly kinda trendy to beat up on Brooklyn hotels. (At least the ones not charging by the hour, that is.) But when they make it so easy, it's hard to let 'em slide.
But now we're not so sure after seeing this giant banner ad for Grand Theft Auto IV on the side of the hotel. Needless to say, it's taking the class level down a few notches. And Curbed can't decide which is better: the video game ad or the abandoned gas station next to the property.
We'll say neither after looking over Le Jolie's newly functional website. Among the "snapshots" of great things to see in NYC is a photo of the Brooklyn Bridge at night. There's no doubt that's a wonderful landmark, but couldn't the hotel find a photo of the bridge without the World Trade Center in the background????
If you've never ventured far from the streets of Manhattan, it's time that you do. One of the trendiest new neighborhoods is Williamsburg, Brooklyn, with a bevvy of restaurants, bars and lounges, and art houses galore. And you'll want to stay at the new Hotel Le Jolie in Williamsburg, where guest pampering also is an art.
Situated near the East River just minutes to Manhattan by subway or Williamsburg Bridge, this boutique property offers 54 rooms including two Jacuzzi suites, ultra-modern amenities and complimentary breakfast -- at nearly half the cost of a pricey midtown hotel. Rates start from $179.
In your room you'll enjoy a ergonomic night's sleep on the orthopedic mattresses, with plump, allergen free goose down comforters, pillows and Egyptian linen. You also get FREE dual Wi-Fi & cable high speed Internet, 42-inch plasma TV, iPod docking station, dual line phone with private voicemail, minibar, refrigerator, complimentary coffee/tea, and refreshing custom botanicals in the bath.
The New York Times follows our lead (again) this week with a stay at a property we've been obsessing over. This week, Fred Bernstein checks into Hotel Le Bleu and comes away with a not-too-pleasant review of Room 604, which is just down the hall from the unit we checked out in September.
Thing is, Bernstein seems to miss the point of Hotel Le Bleu. Saying it doesn't offer much lower prices than Manhattan doesn't ring true: A room of this quality across the river would cost hundreds more. And while this stretch of Fourth Avenue isn't that nice, the bubbly, yuppie epicenter of Park Slope is but a couple blocks away; guests who can stand to be more than 100 yards from a Starbucks should manage to live through a stay.
None of these strange observations, though, compare to his bizarre room layout demands:
Oddly, the room was designed so that there is no way to see Manhattan from the bed, which faced the wrong direction.
We're not sure what other direction the bed *could* face, given the room layout. And if you're staying anywhere in Brooklyn, hotel or not, you'd be lucky to catch a glimpse of the Statue of Liberty at all, let alone the full Manhattan skyline. (That's the thing about NYC, it's, like, full of tall buildings.)
Bernstein was right to criticize the service, though, even if it was just a hiccup:
The hotel's Web site says "Our motto is: `Ask, and consider it done.'" But I was denied the one thing I asked for: a second plastic chair, so my partner and I could eat our Thai food somewhere other than the bed. A bellhop told me he wasn't allowed to enter any of the empty rooms to fetch a chair.
It may be cheaper than Manhattan, but for $309 a night, an extra chair is definitely a reasonable request.
Now that Hotel Le Bleu has finally opened in Brooklyn, we'd like to direct our attention to some other hotels in the area. Recently, the NY Daily News reported that (like the rest of the NYC metro area) Brooklyn will soon be getting an influx of hotels, bumping the number from 1,200 hotels to 3,000 in just a few short years.
We were beginning to think Hotel Le Bleu would turn into Brooklyn's Six Columbus with delay after delay.
But GM Robert Gaeta wrote in to confirm rumors that the hotel opened over the weekend:
Hotel Le Bleu, Brooklyn's first luxury boutique hotel is now open as of 4PM Friday. The Department of Buildings gave us our Certificate of Occupancy. We had our first guests check in today. Guests from Virginia...Next big story: When the top floor restaurant and roof lounge Vue opens.
Hey, that will be a big story. Last we heard, it'll be opening sometime next year.
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by Jenna
Hilton's 
If you've never ventured far from the streets of Manhattan, it's time that you do. One of the trendiest new neighborhoods is Williamsburg, Brooklyn, with a bevvy of restaurants, bars and lounges, and art houses galore. And you'll want to stay at the new 
