This New Hotel Coming to the Rockaways Has NYC Cheering for Beach Days Ahead (Video)

Editor’s Note: Travel might be complicated right now, but use our inspirational trip ideas to plan ahead for your next bucket list adventure.

New York City has been on lockdown since mid-March, and the city’s stay-at-home order will stretch until at least mid-May, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has said.

No wonder everyone is already thinking about the beach.

That includes the owners of the forthcoming Rockaway Hotel, which is slated to open this summer in the heart of one of New York City’s buzziest beach communities. While the Rockaways have surged in popularity in recent years, as locals and visitors alike flock to the area’s Atlantic Ocean beaches, accommodation options have been thin. At least one other hotel and numerous Airbnbs have popped up in the area, but The Rockaway Hotel aims to be a full-service, year-round operation, with multiple restaurants and bars, an event space, and programs including art exhibitions, film screenings, and talks.

“Community engagement is one of our key pillars and we’re delighted to showcase local artists, designers, and filmmakers through rotating exhibits, events, and programming,” said Michi Jigarjian, the property’s chief social impact officer, in a statement.

The project, which broke ground back in fall of 2018, is forging ahead despite the novel coronavirus pandemic, a spokesperson confirmed. Among the plans already in the works is “The Liberty Bell Project, a virtual public art installation by Nancy Baker Cahill set to launch on July 4, 2020, in partnership with the Art Production Fund, Jamaica Bay-Rockaway Parks Conservancy, and Rockaway Artists Alliance,” according to the hotel.

The property will have 53 guest rooms plus eight “extended stay suites,” with interiors by the New York- and Oslo-based firm Curious Yellow Design. Teak and rattan give lots of beach vibes, while penny tiles in the contemporary bathrooms bring an urban, NYC feel. A sixth-floor rooftop bar will have huge ocean views, and the pool deck will have space for about 150 people. The property will also be home to two restaurants: Margie’s will serve “reinvented American classics” and Greenhouse Cafe will do sandwiches, salads, coffee, and other takeaway food.

Rates start at $350 a night, but a search for dates over an August weekend turned up rooms starting at $475 a night. While The Rockaway Hotel isn’t beachfront, it is just one block from the waves and two blocks from the NYC Ferry stop, making it super-easy to reach from Manhattan and Brooklyn.