A Third Major Brand Hotel Debuts In Downtown Brooklyn

The Hilton Brooklyn New York.

Downtown Brooklyn now boasts three major brand, business-focused hotels. The just-opened, 196-room Hilton Brooklyn at 140 Schermerhorn Street is the latest. It offers comfortable rooms, compact meeting space, an always-open fitness center and business center, the new Black Walnut Restaurant and Bar, and easy foot access to many of the borough’s prime draws.

In the heart of the increasingly popular Boerum Hill neighborhood, the Hilton is a five-minute walk from a subway station that accesses multiple lines. From here, passengers can quickly reach lower Manhattan’s financial district, and midtown Manhattan theatres in a half hour or less.

The hotel is well positioned for walks to Barclays Center (home of the NBA Brooklyn Nets and NHL New York Islanders), the Brooklyn Academy of Music and the Brooklyn Heights promenade. Also nearby are Brooklyn’s courts and municipal offices, and the Metro Tech Center, one of the nation’s largest urban academic-industrial research parks.

The Hilton is also near two older properties with which it will compete: The 321-room Sheraton Brooklyn, 228 Duffield Street that opened in 2011, and the 665-room New York Marriott at Brooklyn Bridge, 333 Adams Street, which debuted in in 1998.

The new Hilton occupies the first six floors of a 19-story commercial, retail and condominium development. Hallway rugs and even the lobby bar are rope-themed, most appropriate since the Hilton’s location at the corner of Smith and Schermerhorn streets, once was the home of a major rope factory. Its products were essential for mariners and ship builders when rope was essential to the operation of wind-driven vessels.

Though the factory burned down in 1841, its lineage adds a distinctive historic theme to this decidedly 21st century property.

There’s also more exciting Brooklyn lodging news in the offing. For example, next February the 194-room 1 Hotel Brooklyn Bridge will open. A product of 1 Hotels, the upscale boutique property will offer views of the East River, Statue of Liberty, and its namesake bridge.

On site will be extensive meeting space, a wood-burning grill restaurant, a serious spa, and 24-hour gym facility. Also intriguing are access options including the East River Ferry that runs to and from lower Manhattan, nearby subways, and quick cab or car connections via the Brooklyn Bridge.