Check this out — then check in!
Brooklyn Heights’ newly restored Bossert Hotel will finally reopen as a luxury lodging this October after years of anticipation, and the developers behind the transformation say it is looking better than ever.
“When it’s done, it’s going to be a very beautiful hotel,” said developer David Bistricer, who bought the 107-year-old Montague Street hotel along with fellow real-estate tycoon Joseph Chetrit for $81 million in 2012.
The pair initially planned to have the ornate inn up and running in 2013, but three years later, workers are still finishing up the final stages of the 280-room lodge’s renovations and cleaning up the interior in preparation for a fall launch, Bistricer said.
The outside of the historic building once known as the “Waldorf-Astoria of Brooklyn” will remain the same, but inside, the guest rooms will boast new walls, ceilings, and large bathrooms, he said. The common spaces and lobby will also pay homage to the hotel’s storied past and retain touches such as marble staircases and chandeliers.
The hotel will also feature a rooftop bar and restaurant, as it did in its heyday, but the terrace watering hole won’t be the party palace it was when the Brooklyn Dodgers celebrated their 1955 World Series win at the Bossert — no more than 40 patrons will be allowed to imbibe up there at any given time, Bistricer said.
Along with the elevated eatery, there will also be a lobby-level restaurant and first-floor cafe. Menus are still being finalized, but they will likely include classic American fare such as steak and oysters Rockafeller, Bistricer said.
Argentinian hotelier Fen Hotels — which recently opened Downtown hotel called the Dazzler Brooklyn — will operate the hotel under the name Esplendor Bossert.
Bistricer and Chetrit purchased the 14-story building from religious group the Jehovah’s Witnesses, which had been using it to house its members, but checked out permanently after deciding to move its longtime Brooklyn Heights headquarters upstate.
The Brooklyn Daily Eagle first reported news of the October opening.
