Escape the noise without leaving the city. The Rockaway Hotel + Spa offers a beachfront retreat where wellness, design, and ease come together—just over an hour from both Manhattan and Brooklyn.

Just one block from the Atlantic Ocean and less than 90 minutes from Manhattan, The Rockaway Hotel + Spa is not just a beach hotel—it is a curated experience in quiet luxury. Designed by the mind behind Brooklyn’s Wythe Hotel, this contemporary coastal retreat manages to capture the essence of summer without slipping into cliché. It feels intimate without being precious, local without trying too hard, and refreshingly chic without a hint of pretense.

Whether it is the languid heat of August or the crisp promise of autumn, if NYC has you craving stillness with a sea breeze, this is the kind of place that invites you into both the sensory reset of a vacation and the soul-deep ease of being just far enough away from your regular routine. This guide offers everything you need to know to fully experience The Rockaway Hotel + Spa, BKLS-style.

Getting There to The Rockaway Hotel + Spa: The Journey as Prelude

Whether you board the NYC Ferry from Wall Street’s Pier 11 or take the A train toward Far Rockaway, getting to Rockaway is part of the experience. The shift is gradual—brick and steel giving way to sky and shoreline, commuters replaced by surfers balancing boards and families tugging sand-streaked coolers.

By the time you arrive at 108-10 Rockaway Beach Drive, you are ready to land softly. The hotel sits just steps from the boardwalk, yet it feels tucked away enough to exhale. The air carries salt, sunscreen, and sea grass, and the pace slows to something unhurried.

You are not in Manhattan or Brooklyn anymore—and that is exactly the point.

Looking for more ways to slow down this month? Do not miss our August BKLS Bookmark, featuring curated city escapes and seasonal rituals.

The First Impression: Layered Stillness, Quiet Art

Step through the glass doors, and the Rockaway rhythm greets you—slow, grounded, confident. The lobby is not grand in the traditional sense. It is thoughtful. Art-lined walls shift with the season, featuring rotating works from local artists and site-specific installations that give the space a pulse. No two visits feel exactly the same.

The materials tell their own story—warm teak, weathered oak, handmade ceramics. The palette is unmistakably coastal, yet never kitschy: soft sand tones, washed denim blues, warm creams, and driftwood grays. There is texture in every surface, from woven seating to polished concrete. It does not shout “beach.” It just knows where it is.

The air carries a subtle blend of salt and citrus, faint but present. Someone at the front desk smiles without performative cheer. A guest walks barefoot from the elevator, towel draped casually over their shoulder, as if returning to their own summer home.

This is not an escape. It is an arrival.

The hotel’s architecture—designed by Morris Adjmi, the same mind behind the Wythe Hotel in Williamsburg—mirrors that energy: industrial bones softened by natural light and human touch. Window lines frame the changing light outside. Nothing is overly designed. Everything is intentional.

The feeling is not of entering a hotel. It is a crossing into another tempo.

Staying In: Rooms, Suites, and Bungalows

The hotel offers 53 rooms and eight apartment-style residences designed for longer stays. Many face the Atlantic or Jamaica Bay, with select rooms offering private balconies where morning light spills across crisp linen and the ocean hums just beyond the glass.

Standard rooms suit the solo traveler or couple, clean-lined and calming, designed to quiet the mind as much as the body. Interiors are thoughtful, not fussy: neutral palettes, oversized windows, and just enough space to exhale.

For groups or longer escapes, the bungalows offer a different rhythm entirely. With full kitchens, multiple bedrooms, and airy communal spaces, they invite barefoot mornings, shared wine at dusk, and the kind of unhurried togetherness that often slips through the cracks of everyday life.

It does not feel like checking into a hotel. It feels like being let into someone’s beachside life—only quieter, softer, and designed to give you back to yourself.

Wellness in Practice: What It Feels Like to Reset

At The Rockaway Hotel + Spa, wellness is not performative. It is grounded in the rhythms of the sea and built around texture, stillness, and care. The treatments go beyond surface-level pampering—they are immersive, rooted in natural ingredients, and designed to help you come back to yourself.

The spa lives downstairs in a dim, earth-toned space. Light is low, music soft, and the scent—a subtle blend of eucalyptus, sea salt, and citrus—grounds you before you even begin. With just a handful of treatment rooms, it feels intentionally small. Private. Quiet. Like a secret.

Signature treatments include the Sea Serenity Wrap, which begins with a dry brush exfoliation, followed by a warm masque of kelp, spirulina, and green clay. You are wrapped and left to rest, then finished with a deeply hydrating marine body butter. The result: soft skin, yes—but also a deep sense of return.

The Organic Body Polish, a crème-based exfoliation infused with micronized buffing beads, natural luffa, and apricot acids, refines and smooths the skin before finishing with a hydrating body butter. It’s an ideal standalone ritual—or the perfect prelude to a deeper massage. The CBD Herbal Bliss Massage uses marula and hemp oils to melt tension and restore balance. The Studio upstairs hosts daily yoga and movement classes—open to guests and locals alike—adding another layer to the hotel’s slower rhythm.

Every treatment ends with a pause: a cup of herbal tea, a seat by the wall-length window, a moment before re-entry. You leave feeling as if the city never followed you here. And maybe, for a little while, it did not.

Poolside Pause: Where Time Slows

In the early morning, the pool is still. Steam rises softly off the surface as the light begins its slow climb across the hotel’s pale facade. A guest reads quietly under an umbrella, coffee balanced on the edge of a lounger. There is no soundtrack yet—just the occasional rustle of a towel or the low splash of someone easing into the water.

Later, the energy shifts.

The pool deck fills with the gentle hum of conversation, limbs draped over chairs, and the clink of glasses from the Pool House bar. A round of cocktails appears—maybe the EZ Pass, all lavender and lemon over vodka and seltzer, or the Blackberry Spritz, a pink gin and aperol blend that tastes like the last hour of sunlight. Someone’s laid out with a linen wrap and a novel. Another guest leans into a scalp massage under the cabana shade, part of the hotel’s rotating wellness add-ons.

This is not a party scene. It is a still life in motion.

The pool itself is heated year-round—an unexpected pleasure in the off-season. In summer, it becomes the natural center of the property. A place to drift between spa appointments, naps, and second lunches. Cabanas line the perimeter, available by reservation, and while you could easily spend a full day here, it is the kind of space that invites you to linger without ever demanding it.

Book Your Day Pass

Day passes for the pool and spa are available to non-guests directly through the hotel or via ResortPass, making it easy to reserve a lounger, book a cabana, or spend a few unhurried hours immersed in the rhythm of the space.

What stands out is not just the setting—it is the tempo. The way the day unfolds without a rush. How easily you forget to check the time.

By golden hour, the loungers tilt toward the light, and conversations soften to whispers. The city feels further than ever. And you are not in a hurry to get back.

Curious about other hotel pools worth your time? We rounded up a few more standout spots in our NYC hotel pool guide.

Dining: Flavor, Light, and the Ocean Just Beyond

Margie’s

At Margie’s, the hotel’s ground-floor restaurant, the light is warm and low, and the hum of conversation rises gently with the clink of glass. There is a kind of ease here that feels inherited, like the place has existed long before you found it.

You might start with the Tuna Crispy Rice—sharp, savory, and just a little indulgent. Or maybe the Citrus Salad, all brightness and bite. There is Branzino, seared until the skin crisps and the inside stays tender, quietly confident on the plate. And a Cauliflower Steak that somehow earns the word “satisfying.” But the magic is not just on the plate. It is in the pace. The way the servers do not rush. The way you find yourself leaning back in your chair, one sip deeper into the night than you planned.

The Rooftop Bar

Upstairs, the Rooftop Bar hums with a different energy. It is looser, breezier, saltier. You can see the ocean to one side, the skyline to the other, and in between—guests, locals, couples wrapped in the glow of late-summer cocktails. The menu leans raw bar and sushi: Oysters on ice, Spicy Tuna Rolls, soft Bao Buns you will think about later. Order the “Shark Bite” if it is still on the menu—tequila, citrus, and a kick that catches you just enough.

The Pool House

By day, The Pool House is your barefoot dining moment. Think frozen drinks, Spicy Shrimp Tacos, Greek Melon Salad, and whatever snack makes the sun feel sweeter. You can linger here between dips, book in hand, towel across your lap, no shoes in sight. It is not just about what you eat—it is how it folds into the day.

And perhaps the most telling detail: these spaces are not just for hotel guests. Locals come for date night, for rooftop sunsets, for solo dinners at the bar. That blend of visitor and neighbor is part of what gives The Rockaway Hotel + Spa its quiet hum. It is not trying to be a scene—it is just serving good food, well, with the ocean nearby.

Beyond the Hotel: Rockaway, Lived In

Step outside the hotel and turn left. The boardwalk unfurls in front of you—concrete under bare feet, wind tangled in your hair, the occasional cyclist weaving past with a speaker in their basket and sand on their ankles. Rockaway is not trying to impress you. It is just being itself. And that is what makes it unforgettable.

In the morning, the waves belong to the surfers. At 6 AM, they are already paddling out past the breakers, neoprene suits zipped, boards waxed. If you are curious, Skudin Surf offers lessons a few blocks down—gentle, encouraging, nothing performative. But watching is enough, too. There is something restorative about seeing people in their rhythm with the ocean.

The Beauty of Rockaway

By late morning, the line outside Rockaway Beach Bakery starts to form. The Scones go first. Then the Danish. Locals come in with sand still clinging to their calves. There is no pretense—just really good pastries, warm smiles, and the occasional “you gotta try this” murmured to someone behind you in line.

Later, if you are not ready to return to the pool, wander. The walk toward Bungalow Bar takes you past wild beach grasses, children racing with kites, and the slow bend of the bay. At golden hour, it is one of the most unassuming places to watch the sky open up. Order the Fried Calamari. Or do not. Just sit. Sip. Exhale.

There is comfort in the casual here—Adrienne’s for something cozy, Tacoway Beach for tacos that taste like August. You will not need a plan. That is the beauty of Rockaway. Everything you need finds you when you are moving slowly enough to notice.

And just when you think you’ve had enough sun and salt, a breeze off the bay catches your skin, and the horizon stretches a little wider. You realize the day is not asking for more. It is just inviting you to stay in it a little longer.

Maybe it is a walk along the beach, the hush of the tide pulling back, or the sudden urge to sit still and watch the sky change. Another rhythm. Another reset.

A BKLS Moment: Slow Luxury, Not Status Play

What makes The Rockaway Hotel + Spa a true BKLS experience is its refusal to shout. Nothing here is flashy, and that is the charm. You will not find velvet ropes or influencer-style extravagance. Instead, you will find texture, nuance, and connection to your body, your breath, your city, and the sea.

The hotel operates in the realm of real luxury—slowness, space, warmth, and thoughtful hospitality. It invites you to stay long enough to remember what it feels like to feel good. Really good.

The Rockaway Hotel + Spa: A Few Notes Before You Escape

Planning a visit to The Rockaway Hotel + Spa does not require much—just the willingness to slow down. Still, a few thoughtful details can make the experience even smoother.

Rooms tend to book quickly in high season, especially the ocean-facing options and bungalows. If you are hoping for a late August or early September stay, it is worth reserving well in advance. Rates for standard rooms typically range from $271 to over $600 per night, depending on the season and room type. Bungalows are priced higher—especially on weekends and during peak summer months.

The spa fills up fast, particularly during summer Fridays and Saturdays. Book treatments as soon as your stay is confirmed—especially if you are eyeing one of the signature wraps or CBD rituals. You will want to leave space between appointments and everything else. Trust us.

How to Get There—and When to Go

Day passes for the pool and spa are available via ResortPass, but cabanas go quickly. Locals tend to book for birthdays or long weekends, so if you are coming in just for the day, secure your spot early.

Parking is available on-site, with valet service priced at $25 for hotel guests and $35 for visitors. That said, there is something poetic about arriving by ferry. The NYC Ferry from Wall Street’s Pier 11 drops you at the Rockaway terminal, and from there, it is a five-minute walk along the boardwalk. If you are taking the train, ride the A line to Broad Channel, transfer to the S shuttle, and exit at Beach 108th Street.

When to go? August weekdays are quieter than weekends, with just as much sun. September offers warm breezes, softer light, and fewer crowds—what locals call “second summer.” It is a lovely time to go unnoticed.

And if you are thinking of leaving your phone in the room for a few hours, do it. The waves will still be there when you return.

The Rockaway Hotel + Spa: Why It Is Worth the Trip

There are hundreds of hotels in New York City. But few offer what The Rockaway Hotel + Spa does—a fully integrated experience that makes you feel like you have both stepped away and come home at the same time.

It does not ask you to leave the city behind, it simply offers you a different way to be in it.

It gives you permission to slow down. To listen more, take off your shoes. And to let your shoulders drop. This is not luxury as spectacle—it is luxury as softness. As rhythm. As return.

You come for the water, the spa, the ease. But what lingers is not what you did—it is how you felt. Lighter. Warmer. A little more like yourself, but rested.

And when you board the ferry home, skin still salt-touched and sun-warmed, the skyline comes back into view. But this time, you are not racing toward it.

You are ready to arrive.

And sometimes, that is all we need.

Plan Your Visit to The Rockaway Hotel + Spa

📍 The Rockaway Hotel + Spa
108-10 Rockaway Beach Drive — Rockaway Beach, Queens
🕒 Open Daily | Spa + Pool Hours Vary by Season
💆 Spa Appointments Recommended | Day Passes Available
📞 718-474-1216
📧 info@therockawayhotel.com
🌐 www.therockawayhotel.com
📸 Instagram: @therockawayhotel