I went to Brooklyn and booked this hotel because the rate was cheap and it was close enough to my niece's apartment. I stayed for five days and I am going to give you my honest assessment. If I had the ability to give a partial rating, I would give the R.L. Brooklyn a 2.50 rating. It was not good, but it was not the worst hotel that I have stayed at in my life.
The staff were friendly, but this is truly a no frills hotel. The rooms were teeny tiny!
Our room that had a Queen-sized bed and a daybed, a wooden bench, see through shower and a flat screen tv and that's it.
The beds were comfortable. However, the room did not have a refrigerator, a microwave or a closet. Instead of a closet, the rooms had wall hooks where you can hang your clothes.
The bathroom consisted of a small sink, a tiny see through frosted glass shower and a commode. A few complimentary toiletries were provided, including a mini soap, shampoo & conditioner and lotion. Towels were provided, but during our stay, they ran low on towels. The room was clean enough upon check-in; however, we only got maid service once during the five days we stayed. I'm not sure why the maid did not clean our room daily.
Be warned, there's a nightclub on the first floor as you enter the hotel. The front of the hotel looks more like the nightclub then a hotel. There's also a small courtyard for socializing. The night we arrived, there was a loud event going on. That party went on and on for hours and you could hear the noise on the second floor where we stayed. The check in clerk offered to move us to a higher floor on the day after we checked in, but that was going to be too much of a hassle so we just stayed in the noisy room.
Second warning: there is not a restaurant at this hotel. There is an area where you can get free coffee and buy dessert.
During our stay, it was hot in Brooklyn and there were intermittent power outages at the hotel. I don't know if this was being done by management or not. We also experienced an early morning fire alarm and had to briefly evacuate from our rooms, but thankfully it was a false alarm.
Most of the hotel guests were young adults in their 20s and 30s.
Throughout our stay, ganja was being smoked in the rooms. The aroma was so prevalent that I worried about getting a contact high.
Overall, I found this place to be like a youth hostel in a sketchy neighborhood where a blind eye is turned to folks breaking the rules. The hotel was low cost, loud and low budget. The staff were nice, the bed was comfortable and public transportation is nearby; however, you have been warned. read more