The catch at The William Vale
Five things stand between the skyline in the photographs and the stay. The balcony is real on every room and the rooftop is everything it looks like; the catches are which way your balcony faces, the bill, the lifts, the seasons and the river between you and Midtown.
On our shortlists
The entry room faces Brooklyn, and Manhattan belongs to the rooms at the west end of the tower
Every room has a private furnished balcony, but the tower is a long slab. Its long sides look north over Greenpoint and south over Williamsburg, and only the narrow west end and the corners beside it face Manhattan. The hotel sells the entry King with Balcony on neighbourhood views; the skyline is promised only in the Manhattan View Queen, the Manhattan View King, the Manhattan View Corner Suite and the penthouse. For Tuesday 26 January 2027 the King was $259 a night and the Manhattan View Queen $331.
The view has also changed since the hotel's early photographs. West Wharf, a 40-storey Greenpoint tower leasing since 2023, stands just right of the Empire State Building, and on the lowest room floors the roof of 25 Kent, across Wythe Avenue, cuts across the bottom of the view.
What to do. Book a category with Manhattan View in its name and ask for a high floor. A skyline photograph beside the entry rate is showing you a different room.
A $45 nightly destination fee and New York's hotel taxes go on top of the rate
Every stay carries a destination fee of $45 a night before tax. The hotel calls what it buys a Destination Pass: calls within the contiguous 48 states, faster wifi, bottled water at check-in and at turndown, the Lavazza coffee in the room, the 24-hour gym, printing, postage for postcards, a $10 credit at Leuca, and discounts at The Malin co-working floor, Othership's saunas across Wythe Avenue and Space Club, an indoor play space for children nearby. Tax is charged on the fee as well as the room, and the hotel adds a 1% community impact fee, so the January King at $259 came to about $355 a night all in. A card is held for $250 a night at check-in and released after checkout, and valet parking is $50 for 24 hours.
What to do. Add the fee before you weigh the rate against anywhere else. The Leuca credit only applies when the bill is charged to the room, and it does not cover Westlight, Little Fino or room service.
Two of the four lift banks serve the public rooftop bar, so guests wait on busy evenings
Westlight, on the 22nd floor, is open to everyone and is a fixture of the neighbourhood's evenings: from 4pm on weekdays and noon at weekends, until midnight most nights, 1am on Friday and 2am on Saturday. In summer the Turf Club on the 23rd floor adds DJ nights above it. Two of the hotel's four lift banks are given over to the public going up to the bar, which leaves two for guests, and the wait for them on busy evenings is the complaint guests raise most often, along with the occasional bank out of service. Guests also report housekeeping and upkeep that vary from one stay to the next.
What to do. Leave extra time for the lifts on a weekend evening. For Westlight itself, book a table for sunset and at weekends, when walk-ins depend on space.
The pool is a summer pleasure shared with day visitors, and the winter saunas cost extra
Vale Pool, 60 feet long on the fourth-floor terrace, is included for guests by reservation in season. In 2026 it ran from 22 May to 7 September, with day visitors booking it too, and it is now closed until next summer. The daybeds, loveseats and cabanas cost extra, with a discount for guests. In winter the fourth floor hosts the Winter Spa: private barrel saunas and cedar hot tubs for two, over-18s only, closed on Tuesdays, at extra cost to guests, with no showers or lockers. The last season closed on 30 March 2026, and dates for this winter have not been published. There is no hotel spa with treatment rooms; Williamsburg Beauty Spa is a separate, family-owned business on the sixth floor across the plaza.
What to do. For the pool, come between late May and early September and reserve your time early. In winter, budget for the sauna as a treat with its own price rather than part of the room.
This is Brooklyn: Midtown is a walk, the L and a change of train away
The hotel is on North 12th Street in Williamsburg, across the East River and 4.7 km in a straight line from Times Square. Bedford Avenue station is a ten-minute walk, and the L runs one stop under the river to 1st Avenue and on along 14th Street, so Midtown means changing trains, at Union Square for Times Square. The G at Nassau Avenue, eight minutes away, links Brooklyn and Queens without entering Manhattan, and the NYC Ferry landing at North Williamsburg, 14 minutes on foot, runs down to Wall Street and up to East 34th Street. Midtown's sights are not within walking distance, and a Broadway evening is a subway ride with a change each way.
What to do. Stay here for Brooklyn with a day or two in Manhattan, and plan Midtown days around the L. If most of your list is in Midtown, a Manhattan hotel saves the commute.
Who should skip it
Anyone who wants Midtown on foot, a pool outside summer or a quiet building, because the bar at the top is open to the public until 2am on Saturdays and brings the city through the building. And anyone booking the entry King for the skyline, because that room faces Williamsburg, and that is the mistake this page exists to prevent.
Who should book it anyway
Anyone who wants Williamsburg's restaurants and bars at the door and Manhattan in front of them. Every room has its own furnished balcony, and from a high-floor Manhattan View room Midtown is laid out from the towers around Madison Square and Hudson Yards to the Empire State Building, with a bar on the 22nd floor above you and, in summer, a 60-foot pool below. Book the Manhattan View Queen, ask for a high floor, and everything above is the price of looking at the skyline from your own chair.
The catch elsewhere in New York
- The PlazaMidtown
The entry rooms do not face Central Park or Fifth Avenue. The Plaza King and Deluxe rooms look over the inner courtyard or 58th Street, and in January the Carnegie suites, with a partial park view, and the Pulitzer suites, over Fifth Avenue, cost more than $1,000 a night above them.
- The Carlyle, A Rosewood HotelUpper East Side
The entry Superior Room is 360 sq ft (33 m²), faces the courtyard and has a rain shower but no bath, and even in January it costs about $1,300 a night before tax.
- The Fifth Avenue HotelNoMad
The 1907 building holds only suites, from about $2,065 a night in January. Every standard room is in the 2023 tower.
- The Beekman, A Thompson HotelFinancial District
Laissez Faire, the club in the cellar, plays until 4am on Fridays and Saturdays, and The Bar Room serves until 1am, so low floors hear the weekend.
- 1 Hotel Brooklyn BridgeDUMBO, Brooklyn
A $45 nightly amenity fee plus tax is added to every room at check-in, covering the house car, the classes and the pool whether you use them or not.
- Nine OrchardLower East Side
The cheapest rooms are small: the Studio Queen is 230 sq ft (21 m²) with little storage, and the Nook is sold below it without a published size.
- Hotel ChelseaChelsea
The Petite Chelsea, the entry room, is about 200 sq ft (19 m²), with a queen bed, a limited view and a place on the lower floors.
- TWA HotelJFK Airport, Queens
It is an airport hotel. Midtown is about 50 minutes away by AirTrain and the E train, so it works as a first or last night, not as a base for the city.
- citizenM New York BoweryLower East Side
Every room is about 150 sq ft (14 m²): the bed meets the walls on three sides, and the shower is a glass pod in the room itself.
Questions people ask
Good questions about The William Vale
What are the downsides of The William Vale?
Five things stand between the skyline in the photographs and the stay. The balcony is real on every room and the rooftop is everything it looks like; the catches are which way your balcony faces, the bill, the lifts, the seasons and the river between you and Midtown. The entry room faces Brooklyn, and Manhattan belongs to the rooms at the west end of the tower A $45 nightly destination fee and New York's hotel taxes go on top of the rate Two of the four lift banks serve the public rooftop bar, so guests wait on busy evenings The pool is a summer pleasure shared with day visitors, and the winter saunas cost extra This is Brooklyn: Midtown is a walk, the L and a change of train away
Who should not book The William Vale?
Anyone who wants Midtown on foot, a pool outside summer or a quiet building, because the bar at the top is open to the public until 2am on Saturdays and brings the city through the building. And anyone booking the entry King for the skyline, because that room faces Williamsburg, and that is the mistake this page exists to prevent.
Our verdict
Book it for the balcony, the rooftop and a Brooklyn base that still looks at Manhattan, and pay the step up to a Manhattan View room. Accept the subway ride to Midtown and a pool that only opens in summer.
Last checked: October 2026