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If You've Got Time To Kill in Downtown Brooklyn, Go To the Bathroom At the Marriott

Where: 333 Adams St [map], Brooklyn, NY, United States, 11201

We don't know about you, but a hotel's public bathrooms are often the very first thing we check out. Chalk it up to a weak bladder. Whatever the circumstance, we often find it a telling precursor to the hotel experience that lies ahead of us.

Now, in this case, we simply had to use the bathroom, so we ducked into the mammoth 638-room Marriott Brooklyn Bridge, climbed the escalator, and cut straight through the red carpeted lobby. Since they're located near the conference rooms, these are sprawling bathrooms, designed to accommodate large groups of people at once.

Sure enough, we almost got lost inside while navigating the different nooks and tiled corridors. But because everything was so polished and pristine-looking, we didn't mind a bit! For more pics of our potty pilgrimage, see below!

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Last Night, Aloft Brooklyn 'Put a Bird on It' for 'Portlandia' Season 2

Where: 216 Duffield Street [map], Brooklyn, NY, United States, 11201

Okay you guys. Last night was awesome. We already told ya what was up if you were near Brooklyn, and that was a sneak preview screening of Season 2 of IFC's show "Portlandia." Two of the HotelChatter team made it to scope out the place and naturally get a peek at the series, and we happened to learn something else: another hotel screening has been added, TONIGHT.

So this evening, if you're in Portland, Oregon or near the Bolingbrook suburb of Chicago, you can go see several (currently unreleased) hilarious bits from the new series, plus get free Portlandia swag (we scored Portlandia hats, a "Put a Bird on it" tee, an Aloft tote and the entire Season 1 on DVD). Swag may vary, but the awesomeness won't. Here's what's up:

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Two Aloft Hotels to Screen Sneak Peek of 'Portlandia' Season 2

Where: 216 Duffield Street [map], Brooklyn, NY, United States, 11201

A few quick questions: Do you like hotels? Did you watch (and laugh at) any of the first season of IFC's show Portlandia? Do you like free stuff? If you answered yes to at least two of these questions and you're anywhere near Brooklyn, NY or Portland, OR this week, you should totally head to Aloft Hotels' screenings of the first episode of Portlandia Season 2.

The new season officially begins this Friday on IFC at 10pm EST, and sure you can already watch preview sketches online, but going outside your place and seeing the whole first ep (for free) while scoring drink specials and Portlandia swag while having the opportunity to meet other local hipsters beats out the internet.Here's the screening schedule:

Wednesday, January 4, 7pm: Aloft Brooklyn 216 Duffield Street

Thursday, January 5, 7pm: Aloft Portland 9920 NE Cascades Parkway

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Hotel 718 Gets A New Website, And A Top Chef

Where: 231 Duffield Street, Brooklyn NY [map], Brooklyn, NY, United States, 11201

More particulars are emerging about the new Hotel 718 in Brooklyn—most notably, a new website, whose homepage features a countdown ticker to the hotel's grand opening (72 days to go, in case you were wondering).

The site's 'crown' logo (Brooklyn is also known as Kings County), and sleek nighttime shots of the Brooklyn Bridge make this place seem slightly more Brooklyn-centric than that other Duffield Street hotel, the Aloft Brooklyn. But hey, there's no competition here. 718 bills itself as a "relaxed, upscale home base" and hopes to offer "a different kind of New York experience." And assuming the price is right (rates haven't been confirmed yet), this is exactly what Brooklyn hotels are supposed to be doing.

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DUMBO Is Looking For A Few Good Developers

DUMBO is gearing up for a hotel of its very own. Maybe it will be called THUMBO (The Hotel Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass), a la THOR in the Lower East Side? Maybe not. Anyway, it's far too early in the game to be speculating on names—or even hotel brands—since the city's "request for proposal" was only released several weeks ago.

Now, they just need a developer to build the thing. According to The Observer, two buildings will go up at Pier 1 in DUMBO, housing a mixture of hotel rooms and apartments. And if the list of interested developers is anything to go by, we could be looking at a new Brooklyn hotel to rival the coolness of Hotel Wiliamsburg. Above all, though, the hotel will simply reflect the "culture," "vibrancy," and "views" characteristic of DUMBO's Brooklyn Bridge Park. Nothing like a little neighborhood pride.

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Aloft Brooklyn Needs More Furniture

Where: 216 Duffield Street [map], Brooklyn, Ny, United States, 11201

We come across a lot of hotels in our day-to-day routine. So it's not our fault that when we see something odd or out of place, we feel compelled to speak up. In regards to the room layout of the King Suite at Aloft Brooklyn, which has been open now for almost two months, we'd like to make one small suggestion: fill up that empty space with some furniture!

Yes, square footage is at a premium in New York City—but nothing spoils a room's feng shui like unused space. Here, we explore a King Suite, of which the hotel has only three, and find out what redeeming features (if any) can save the gray-walled abode from its negligent layout.

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Could 237 Duffield Street Be Drawing Inspiration From The Ace Hotel?

Where: 237 Duffield St [map], Brooklyn, NY, United States, 11201

UPDATE: A spokesperson for V3 Hotels got in touch this afternoon to inform us that, while one of the Duffield St hotels (the 718, to be specific) is set for a November opening, the other hotel over on 237 Duffield St has been pushed back, and an estimated completion date has not been set.

V3 Hotels, whose fresh-faced owner, enjoyed some publicity back in 2007, is in charge of two hotels going up on the same block in Brooklyn.

The two buildings, which sit across the street from the Sheraton Brooklyn and the brand new Aloft Brooklyn, are still deep in the construction phase (a quick walk down Duffield Street won't show you much except for scaffolding and some grumpy construction workers).

We already know Indigo will be operating one of them. But other than that? We ended up looking elsewhere for a little insight.

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Gummi Bears And Ambient TV Art At Aloft Brooklyn

Where: 216 Duffield Street [map], Brooklyn, NY, United States, 11201

The results from our most recent outing to Downtown Brooklyn: a peek inside the lobby at the newly-opened Aloft Brooklyn on Duffield Street. The weather on Friday was kind of gray and drizzly—perfect conditions for lounging inside an empty, well-furnished lobby, taking pictures of snack trays.

More on our notes from the 360˚ tour after the jump:

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Aloft Brooklyn Finally (Finally!) Opens Today

Today is the day Brooklyn gets its own Aloft hotel. And really, it's about time. We've awaited Starwood's landmark 50th Aloft property since early this year, and when we last reported in April, the twice-pushed-back date had morphed into a June 9 opening. So hooray! We weren't lied to. At least not completely.

Sure, Starwood already launched a property on the same street just last year. It was a Sheraton, and just can't compete with the hipness of its Gen Y-oriented younger sibling. Today, 176 of the "spacious, loft-like" rooms open up on Duffield Street in the neighborhood known as "Downtown Brooklyn," which is basically Brooklyn's version of the Financial District—sterile and gray, but has a nice waterfront. We hopped over to Aloft's website to do a little pricing—you're welcome—and found to our surprise that rates are lower than we originally thought. For a random date in July (we picked Wednesday 20), a four night stay starts at $142.80 per night in a King room (plus tax). Rates for this month (same dates) were slightly higher, starting at $174.30 (plus tax). So what do they have to offer?

Well, in addition to a fitness center, free wifi, and the requisite w xyz bar (housed inside a two-story lobby), Aloft makes use of their rooftop space with a rooftop bar and a forthcoming schedule of "emerging talent" DJs. Because jaw-dropping views of the Brooklyn Bridge, we suppose, are never a bad thing. And keep an eye out for locally-commissioned art by students at the nearby Pratt Institute. Inside the rooms, the bathrooms are touted as "large" and "stylish." If anyone has a photo to share, we'd sure like to see!

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Aloft Brooklyn Delayed Until April 21

Where: 216 Duffield St. [map], Brooklyn, NY, United States, 11201

The new Aloft Brooklyn, scheduled to be the 50th property in the brand's portfolio, has pushed back its opening date to April 21 from March 31. Confusingly, the Downtown Brooklyn hotel says doors will open on April 21 but reservations will only be taken for May 19 or later. Not a big endorsement of that April opening date, is that?

It's not the first delay for the project, which has seen its opening repeatedly pushed back like that of its sister property up in Harlem. When it does open, the typical Aloft signatures—free wifi, Bliss amenities and W XYZ bar—will be here. And rates are reasonable, starting at $189 in May. Prices are even better with a two-night stay, thanks to a second-night discount of 40 percent through the end of the year with promo code ZB4.

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Brooklyn Won't Get Aloft Until January

Where: 216 Duffield Street [map], Brooklyn, NY, United States, 11201

BKL won't get its w xyz on until Aloft opens in January.

Opening a hotel in New York City is a treacherous business--there are always delays. Which is what Starwood is finding as it tries to get the city's first two Aloft Hotels up and running.

Aloft Harlem has had a busy dance card of opening dates, with the latest not too far off on October 21. That was also meant to be the big day for Aloft Brooklyn, but HC reader AboutGirl was right when she said that she'd heard this opening had been pushed back as well. According to its website, Aloft Brooklyn is now scheduled to open on January 20, 2011.

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The AC at the Nu Hotel in Brooklyn Certainly Ain't 'Nu'

Where: 85 Smith St [map], Brooklyn, NY, United States, 11201

UPDATE 6.24.10: After we posted this story, the general manager reached out to us and apologized for this embarrassing snafu. He also reached out to The Scout and has offered him not only his sincerest apologies but a full night refund for the inconvenience. You can also read the GM's response in comments under this story.

This is every hotel guest's nightmare--checking into their room late at night, exhausted and ready to hit the hay only to find that the room's air-conditioner is broken. But what would you do if not only the AC was broken but had been taken apart and strewn all over the desk and the floor?

This is what happened to The Scout, an NYC lifestyle blog who picked the The Nu Hotel as a place for their parents to spend the night. The Scout writes:

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