Visiting Brooklyn - Where to stay

I recommend against Brooklyn heights and dumbo - both have some nice features (Brooklyn heights moreso) but neither have much in the way of interesting restaurants our beer spots. Williamsburg has some great places, but it skews young (20s) and can be a bit of a general shitshow on weekends. I'm not actually recommending against it, more just of a buyer beware, since Williamsburg can also be a truckload of fun. Subway access sucks a bit though.

Cobble hill, carroll gardens, and park slope all have some great bars/restaurants, scenic streets, and reasonable subway access. Airbnb would be your friend as far as accommodations go.

All that said, so long as you don't mind walking or the occasional cab, all the places you mentioned are nice, safe, attractive neighborhoods.

 

Stay near Williamsburg. Tons of great craft beer bars and restaurants. But yeah I agree with @t8000shx that it can get seriously hectic there on the week-ends.

Check out the Brooklyn section of my NYC Guide for info on bars throughout the borough:

http://www.beeradvocate.com/communi...bar-store-restaurant-and-brewery-list.200513/

 

I would say unless you have a high tolerance for douchebags then don't stay near Williamsburg. There are a few motels that are in the Park Slope / Gowanus area (Holiday Inn Express, Super 8) that are pretty cheap but you also get what you pay for.

I'd actually recommend staying somewhere in Manhattan near like Union Sq or somewhere where you have access to the L train to get into Williamsburg and the N/Q/R to get towards the Park Slope Area. If you check out Jetsetter.com you can usually get cheap(-ish) weekend deals on nice hotels like the Ace Hotel or Nomad. If you're staying somewhere in Brooklyn, it can be more difficult to get from Williamsburg to Carroll Gardens/Park Slope/Dumbo or anywhere else. (Except if weekend track work is going on, then all bets are off)

 

This hotel usually has good rates (really cheap on Hotels Tonight) and is very easy to get to Brooklyn (I think its one stop to Williamsburg) and walkable to a bunch of LES bars/restaurants. It is on the edge of Chinatown which is a shitshow and is a little loud being near the bridge but very nice rooms. Also a quick walk to Top Hops which had some interesting stuff on tap: http://www.yelp.com/biz/top-hops-new-york

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/hote...-and-suites-new-york-manhattan-downtown-east/

Also some shitty corner store had growler fills and lots of Sixpoint singles which maybe is the norm for NYC but still was very impressive to find when I was stumbling home and didn't need any of the above.

 

Also, there are tons and tons of AirBnBs in brownstone Brooklyn, especially Prospect Heights and Park Slope (though I'm sure in other areas, too). If you have questions about the safety/accessibility about specific locations, myself and several other Brooklynites would be happy to help you (as Brooklyn can be a bit block-to-block in certain neighborhoods).

 

If you're looking for nightlife, then easily Williamsburg/Greenpoint area. Or you can get a bit east towards Bushwick and then take the L.