Fairfield by Marriott Inn & Suites New York Brooklyn — Hotel in New York

I live in the city, so I don’t often frequent NYC hotels. That said, my family does and they are all, almost without question, pricey and disappointing. I cannot say the same for the Fairfield Inn & Suites in Gowanus.

I was forced into exile at the Fairfield Inn & Suites thanks to the NYC DOB. I spent the better part of two days looking for a decent place to stay that would allow me to bring my two cats without breaking the bank before presenting my landlord with a Bring Fido link to this hotel. I had very low expectations, but I was very pleasantly surprised.

The rooms are perhaps basic, and not at all fancy. But they are clean, with a smart TV (bring your own Netflix password) & decent AC.

Street parking is ample.

The fact that they allow pets, & allow pets to be left alone, is indeed rare in NYC. If you must, as I had to, leave your pet(s) in the room alone, you just use the provided hang tag on your door and housekeeping will skip your room. (For the uninitiated, most “pet friendly” hotels in NYC do not allow pets to remain in rooms unattended.)

This feature might seem insignificant, but for someone like me who had to return home daily to allow construction crews into my apartment, it was vital. I’m very grateful for this policy.

They have a wonderful rooftop deck. It offers near 360 degree views (including of Manhattan), & is a great place to catch the sunset, and in my case, meet new friends.

Also appreciated was the included breakfast. It might be utilitarian, but it’s undoubtedly better than a continental breakfast, & is generous.

Scrambled eggs, pork & turkey breakfast sausage (pork-only sausage & sausage and biscuits on the weekend), bagels, English muffins, cereal, oatmeal, juice, coffee and other standard breakfast fare round out the offerings. There’s no mayonnaise, but there’s ketchup, various hot sauces, and even gochujang. For coffee and cereal, there is regular milk and half and half, as well as a vegan option, I think it was almond milk.

I did notice that the bagel offerings were better on weekdays vs weekends (I only saw everything bagels during the week), and that turkey breakfast sausage was only available during the week… biscuits and gravy and pork sausage replaced all sausage options on the weekend. As someone who tries to avoid pork, that was disappointing. That said, because I don’t totally eschew pork, I had the biscuits and gravy. They were perfectly serviceable, (even if they confused the foreigners on the bus tour!)

*Side note: if your stay coincides with a tour, as mine did, beware that the hour before the tour departs will yield a chaotic and crowded breakfast situation. Once the tour busses clear out, it is much easier to find a table.

The neighborhood is rapidly gentrifying. As a New Yorker, I have complicated feelings about that, and as a New Yorker, I feel like it is extremely safe. Sheltered visitors might not agree.

I would strongly avoid purchasing anything in their lobby “market.” Single serve bags of chips are $4. A bottle of beer is $8. Wines are universally obviously crap, and are outlandishly expensive.

Happily, there are wonderful options to purchase both wine and food locally.

Sadly, I haven’t found a good bodega (deli) nearby, but I have some recommendations for food and drink.

Gowanus Wine Studio is just 3 blocks down. Their staff is incredibly kind and knowledgeable and helpful.

Black Cat Wines is also highly rated and only 4 blocks away.

The sandwiches at Mercado Central, across the street from Gowanus Wine Studio, include ingredients imported from Spain, and are HIGHLY rated on all forums.

If you are looking for budget meals while staying at the Fairfield Inn, I suggest you look at Seamless rather than eating out. Order what you can afford and head to the roof! You can’t beat that ambiance.

There are many affordable, but delicious restaurants nearby. Chicken Feastin is a favorite for value. It is a budget go-to for a lot of New Yorkers.

As someone with pretty high expectations, I was pleasantly surprised by this hotel, and...

l stayed for two nights to escape a stressful situation, disconnect, and rest.

Overall, the hotel is comfortable and clean. However, I woke up with two bites, and I’m not sure if they were from bed bugs or mosquitoes. I tend to be "sweet for mosquitoes," so they always bite me.

I want to highlight the excellent service provided by Tariq at the front desk. His kindness and professionalism were exceptional. He went out of his way to ensure that everything was to my liking. Even when I accidentally misplaced a shopping bag by leaving it outside my room for a few minutes, Tariq helped me recover it very kindly. His service was truly outstanding.

The room was comfortable but lacked a refrigerator, which I missed a lot. When I extended my stay, Tariq arranged for a room change that included a refrigerator, although this new room didn’t have a bathtub like the first one.

The breakfast is average, with not much variety, although the juices were good. It closes at 9:30 am, which I find too early; an extra hour would be ideal. The lady in charge of cleaning the breakfast area wasn’t rude, but she lacked empathy and didn’t have a good sense of customer service, which affected the experience in that part of the hotel.

I’m giving only two stars due to the poor and unpleasant service from a dark-skinned woman at the front desk who seems to be one of the managers.Also, just one star on service because of her. I don’t know her name, but she always wears brown clothes and has a very rude attitude with no empathy at all. On the last day, I took a little longer eating breakfast, which delayed my checkout. I asked for a few extra minutes to gather my belongings, but this lady was extremely rude and aggressive. She yelled at me, saying the room had to be vacated at 11 sharp and even threatened to call the police because I needed a few more minutes to collect my things. I even offered to pay a late checkout fee while I gathered my belongings, but she kept up her rude attitude, telling me, "I know what kind of person you are." I don’t know what she meant by that, but it’s clear she doesn’t have the skills to be at the front desk. They should reconsider her position.

It’s a shame because the hotel itself is not bad—it’s comfortable, has an incredible rooftop, is quiet, and is in a beautiful area of Brooklyn near Prospect Park, with cafes and restaurants nearby. However, this woman almost ruined the end of my stay with her aggressive attitude, making me feel as if I wasn’t an important guest just because I had already paid. She made me feel like they were saying, "We already have your money, now get out." That’s how she made me feel.

On the other hand, I want to acknowledge the good service from Ronald and the housekeeping staff, who were very attentive and kind.

I would definitely consider staying here again. I hope that when I return, this rude woman is no longer at the hotel. I call on the management to address this behavior. The hotel is good and doesn’t deserve to have that type of person at the front desk. My two-star rating is solely because of her, while I commend the excellent service from Tariq, Ronald, and the...

We booked this site unseen other than a couple of quick looks at the gallery. Not bad, the rooms are as shown. There is not a lot of space but sufficient if only for a couple (4 might be cramped). Staying there offered good access to transportation and local markets, pharmacies, and even a Target. It is a ten minute walk to the BARCLAY CENTER Atlantic Avenue Station for the subway or the LIRR. Location 4 stars. That's the basics.

This place has an awesome breakfast. Three hot plates will have a variety of offerings, scrambled eggs, frittatas (the best), biscuits and gravy, bacon or sausage, and items changing every day. They also offer the usual continental breakfast offerings, yogurt, fruit, juices, cereal, and milks (even chocolate). In my day-to-day, I start my morning with a banana and a bowl of steel cut oats with some blueberries and such. Much to my delight, I was able to enjoy exactly that. Even blueberries with STEEL CUT OATS, that is a huge difference to me. Only one detration, THERE WAS NO HERBAL TEAS. They don't even order them, I was told, so bring your own. But then there is the weekend...breakfast runs until 10, and they put out a waffle maker on top of the usual fantastic offerings. This almost gave it a fifth star, but...

The housekeeping was very stretched. We were staying over the Thanksgiving week for a familial celebration of Thanksgiving and an 85th birthday. On the first morning, housekeeping came at 8:30 waking us, and so we asked to just sleep. By no means did we expect service the first morning, and we simply forgot to hang the DnD sign. So that was Tuesday am. Wednesday, we removed the sign after getting up at 9am and seeing the housekeeper on our way out. I asked her to please give the room a quick once over just, floormat, towels, and vacuum. She acknowledged the request. We got back later that night only to discover they seemingly hadn't done much other than empty the waste basket and remove the twice used towels. But, this all came with a note saying that due to the holiday they wouldn't be providing cleaning the next day. We totally get it Thanksgiving and all, but... we had no bath mat (they ran out), one towel and they didn't refill the toilet paper, which might not have been a problem except the facial tissue was but a few sheets in the box. Vacuum would've been nice, but we'll let that go. Thankfully, the front desk got us a couple of towels (one became the bath mat) and a box of tissue. When we did see the housekeeper she was very apologetic for the inability to give our room it's attention as she was out of supplies (bath mats and toilet paper?) and stretched too far for full cleaning.

This is why I gave the two stars. They meant well, but the holiday probably really threw them for a loop. We got our first full cleaning finally on Saturday (no vacuum on Friday, but at least clean sheets). We'd totally stay here again just watch out if its...