The William Vale

The pool

• 60-ft heated pool (80°F)
• May–September
• Day passes available
• Deck bar

Why it's on the list

A 60-foot rooftop pool hovering over North Brooklyn, held at 80°F from May to September, with the Manhattan skyline laid out across the water like it owes you something. A deck bar runs alongside and day passes are sold to non-guests. The views change character with the light — blinding at noon, cinematic at dusk.

The stay

The William Vale is Williamsburg's flagship — a 2016 tower at Wythe and North 12th where all 183 rooms and suites come with floor-to-ceiling glass and a private balcony, Andrew Carmellini's Leuca does southern Italian at street level, and Westlight pours on the 22nd floor. North Williamsburg is the other half of the argument: McCarren Park a block over, the Wythe Avenue strip below, and the Manhattan skyline performing across the river. At $$$ it's priced like the landmark it has become — the pick when the trip deserves the balcony, remembering the pool itself runs May to September even though the view works year-round.