Playland Motel

Playland Motel is emblematic of the changing face of Rockaway Beach after Hurricane Sandy. As the community has rebuilt itself, new establishments have popped up, including this hotel that is more hipster Brooklyn than old-school beach. Named for the Playland amusement park that was once the neighborhood landmark, this brainchild of four entrepreneurs who run nightclubs and restaurants in Williamsburg opened in July in a two-story 19th-century building refurbished with reclaimed barn wood. Behind the building, a pebbled “beach” has colorful deck chairs, and a stage for concerts. Like many impossibly cool establishments, its entrance was difficult to find. My husband and I walked past the building several times before the nice lady at the Chinese takeout next door guided us down an alley toward a set of stairs leading to a room where a fittingly stylish (and blasé) receptionist wedged amid cleaning supplies checked us in.