The Essence of
a Perfect Stay
One family of hotels, five distinctive addresses — from boutique retreats in Brooklyn to the gateways of JFK and Newark. Wherever you land, you're home.
Five Addresses, One Standard
Each Essence property is its own experience — a boutique hideaway, a highway retreat, an airport gateway — held to one promise: immaculate rooms, honest value, and service that remembers your name.
Hospitality,
Distilled to its Essence
Essence — Hotels, Suites, Express — is the family-owned collection of Kensington Hotels, serving the New York metropolitan area. We began with a simple conviction: that a great stay isn't about marble lobbies — it's about a spotless room, a fair rate, and people who care whether you slept well.
Today that conviction spans five properties — boutique hotels in Brooklyn's Gowanus and Park Slope, an Ascend Collection member at the doorstep of JFK, and two Essence Express hotels serving Northern New Jersey and Newark Liberty Airport. Every property is held to the same exacting housekeeping standard and staffed around the clock.
The Direct Difference
Best Rate, Always
Our lowest available rates live on our own reservation desks — never marked up by a middleman.
No Booking Fees
What you see is what you pay. Direct reservations carry no third-party service charges.
Flexible Stays
Speak to the property directly for early check-in, late check-out, and special requests.
Local Knowledge
Front desks staffed by locals who know the fastest AirTrain connection and the best slice nearby.
Where We'll Welcome You
Speak Directly with Any Property
Every Essence hotel answers its own phones, around the clock. For group bookings, extended stays, or anything our website can't answer — call the property, we're happy to help.