Photos: Inside (And Outside) Rockaway's New Playland Motel And Beach Bar

By Jen Carlson in Arts & Entertainment on Jul 31, 2013

Rockaway's Playland Motel is now open for business, bringing a boutique, bar, and restaurant to the neighborhood, all packaged up like the .

On the inside, the owners had twelve different artists design the rooms—one is painted like a murder scene, another has a Tee Pee for a bed, etc.—which go for around $250 a night (weekdays this is about $50 less). But you don't need to be some high rolling overnight guest to enjoy the place: there's a restaurant, a bar, and a little fake beach. There you'll find a deejay, a game of cornhole, an inflatable pool, and and a giant white wall that will eventually be home to projections and movies.

Photographer Tod Seelie dropped by last weekend to check the scene out, and tells us the crowd was "very attractive. On the younger side. Seemed to be a decent mix of visitors and locals." But on weekdays the place has a more local crowd ("the night before had been mostly local firemen"). He added: "People seemed really friendly, much more so than an average New Yorker is used to..." but surely that will change if we ever start referring to this neighborhood as Rocktauk :(