The Sofia Inn's location is right off Vanderbilt Ave in Prospect Heights, close to a supermarket, drug store and some great restaurants. All the amenities are close by and the subway station is only a block away, giving travelers easy access to Manhattan. We stayed in the parlor suite, right on the first floor, with a beautifully appointed sitting room & bedroom,a sparkling clean kitchenette, and private bath. We loved the old-time feel of the antique furnishings and decor, with pocket doors, window shutters for privacy and the (alas, non-functioning) fireplace. We also enjoyed the luxury of the queen-sized bed and the extra comforter provided for the chilly night in December. We had a great time in Brooklyn visiting with our daughter, and felt right at home in the Sofia Inn. We'll stay there again next time we visit New York!

As a lone female traveller, the Sofia Inn was perfect for me. It was in a great neighbourhood (Prospect Heights), a quiet and pretty area with lovely streets and an amazing museum, fantastic park, botanic gardens and an enormous public library just half a kilometre away, and the lovely Park Slope area on the other side of Flatbush Avenue. The inn is located 4 or 5 houses east of Vanderbilt avenue with its hipster restaurants, cafes and bars and practical services such as laundrettes, drycleaners and supermarket. Flatbush Ave has 24 hour drug stores and doctors' rooms. The 7th Avenue subway entrance is actually on Park Place approx 300 metres west of the Sofia Inn on the corner of Flatbush Ave, and it takes you along the Q line into Manhattan (over the Manhattan bridge with its great views) and north along Broadway, which is very handy. The 4 & 5 line takes you into Manhattan along Lexington Avenue from a stop on Vanderbilt Ave at Grand Army Plaza, which is also very handy, but you need to note that this stop is missed when the express train comes back from Manhattan. The Sofia Inn itself is somewhat faded and creaky, but the West Room in particular is very nice, with a gorgeous bed and plenty of room. I also stayed in the North Room which was nice in a different, more old-world Victorian way, but it had a small hard bed and no full-length mirrors in which to check your look before going out. It has a great shower in the shared bathroom, though, and lovely views of the street. The only drawback of the inn is the proprietor, who is a grumpy, suspicious man who appears to have mysteriously landed in the world of hospitality. On my second day, he barged into my room and told me I wasn't to remove appliances from electrical sockets in order to use other appliances, and I explained that my hairdryer did not work in the other sockets. It turned out that a fuse or something had blown, but there was no apology from him, nor did he explain why it was bad to remove the appliance from the socket anyway. I heard him say to the maid one morning when I popped in to collect an umbrella after a breakfast out, 'No, she's still here,' in a weary voice, and I knew he was talking about me! All in all, though, the comfort, position and value for money was worth the hassle of dealing with him. Unlike others who have posted here, I had no problem with the security.

We just returned from a 5 day trip to Brooklyn and spent 4 nights at the Sofia Inn. Our party consisted of 3 adults and we stayed in the Parlour Suite. It was a perfect fit for us. The queen bed was very comfy. I believe the other rooms were occupied when we were there but we rarely heard any other guests. We enjoyed the kitchenette and dining area where we had breakfast every morning. There is a nice little deck off of the kitchen but we didn't have a chance to use it. The backyard looks like it is being redone at the moment. The location is close to a couple of subway lines, which makes trips to Manhattan easy. There is a supermarket around the corner and a several restaurants nearby.

A very disturbing incident occurred with the proprietor of the Sofia Inn when we stayed there. I had to call the police for assistance.

After we checked out and were walking down the block, he ran after us in the street and demanded an additional $90. (I had paid him the remainder of my bill in cash and gotten a written receipt from him attesting that our bill had been paid in full.) Upset, we asked him why he was now changing the amount. As we tried to get on with our trip back (it was pouring rain and we were pressed for time), his behavior took an extreme turn: He grabbed our rolling suitcase and blocked the sidewalk in front of us, physically preventing us from leaving, and began screaming that we had stolen from him (apparently referring to his own bookkeeping).
We were very frightened (we were a party of women and children). We called the police three times during this incident. Finally, after the dispatcher could not give us an estimate as to when a patrol car would arrive, we gave the proprietor the money. (He did not release his grip on our suitcase until we had done so.)

Still shaky when we got home later that night, we found an e-mail from him apparently written shortly after the incident claiming that we owed another $13!

Unrelated to this incident, we also had a security problem during our stay. On the second day, when we returned to the inn, the proprietor was not present. We found a note taped to the front door addressed to my sister, who was checking in separately. The note-which was clearly visible from the street--said that her room key was "under the flower pot."