Downtown Brooklyn hotels

When I first heard of all the new hotels going up in downtown Brooklyn, I thought, "Blunder."

--Their rates are not much cheaper than Manhattan rates.

--Tourists have their sights set on sightseeing the famous Manhattan tourist attractions.

--The small hotel rate difference is not worth the trips over the Brooklyn Bridge or subway commute back and forth from Brooklyn to Manhattan.

--There aren't enough attractions in Brooklyn to make the hotel expense worthwhile.

--Many tourists might not be comfortable with the Brooklyn night atmosphere, especially if they arrive back to their hotels in the dark hours of the morn.

Then, I read a New York Times article that cited pluses for the hotels such as:

--lower real estate prices
--weddings
--bands
--Brooklynite friends and family
--boutique restaurants and shops
--word-of-mouth business
--Net fans when the stadium opens at Atlantic Yards

And Hoyt Harper of the Sheraton said, "When you build a hotel, you're looking five to 10 to 20 years out," [he said.] "As Brooklyn reinvents itself, we'll be in the heart of it."

Given downtown's huge rezoning and development plan, maybe the new hotels are a brainstorm? There's been talk of about 40 of them. Of course, that number could be cut back.

Will all the new hotels be windfalls or wastes of money?

What do you think, downtown Brooklyn?

Source:

Susan Stellin, "As Everyone Else Discovers Brooklyn, So Have Hoteliers, The New York Times