Jack Southan reviews the Moxy NYC Times Square hotel in New York, which opened in September 2017 and was designed by Yabu Pushelberg. Although part of Marriott International, it is a great example of a new breed of youth-orientated, low-cost luxury, lifestyle hotels that goes out of its way to break conventional rules of hospitality, and puts fun at its heart.
My taxi crawls its way through the throng of traffic which has backed up in the neon lit pantheon of Times Square. Snow swirls in the freezing New York air and the mass of yellow taxis glow luminous in the unnatural light. It’s an overload of colour and chaos, but it lives up to every expectation I had for my first visit to the king of cities.
Finally, we move on down Seventh Avenue and, expecting to be driving for some time yet, I am surprised when my driver leans over his shoulder and says in a typical New York drawl: “This is it, pal. Moxy Times Square”. I look out of the window and, sure enough, a neon pink sign glows above a rotating doorway, spelling out the name of my hotel.
I recover my bags, pay the fare (with customary 20 per cent tip, of course) and head into the lobby. I’ve stayed at more than a few hotels over the years, some great, some awful, but I have never come across anything like the this. There’s a candy cart to my right offering free sweets and popcorn. A member of staff is juggling and chatting to the people coming and going from the lifts. Music plays and, on the walls, are giant screens with what I am told are AI-generated quotes, ever changing, stating bizarre concepts and not quite human thoughts.
There’s a wait for my room to be ready so my girlfriend and I are guided to the first floor where we are told we have a welcome drink waiting for us. This is actually standard for all guests I am told – it’s a nice touch. I hand over my “welcome token” to the bartender and he makes me a peach Bellini in no time at all, giving me a chance to look through the details of the hotel before we are taken to our room.
There is no room service at the Moxy, so instead there is a “grab and go” self-service food counter at the back of the room. Serving simple fare, it’s nothing dramatic but in keeping with the ethos, it supplies everything one might need to sustain themselves at an affordable cost. Breakfast is served each morning at the bar, followed by hot bites throughout the day.
A large focus on the first floor is the communal work spaces. Sofas, desks, private offices and meeting rooms surround the bar area, and are packed with media types, MacBooks and flat white coffees. The decor is trendy and tasteful; neutral colours matched with moderns art and urban design work. It’s achingly cool and attracts a crowd to suit.
After half an hour, and a couple of Brooklyn lagers, the concierge arrives to show us to our room. We head up to the 14th floor and I take the opportunity to poke my head into a few of the rooms on offer. They are all beautifully designed, modern and comfortable. Some are very compact with little space apart from beds (especially the business sharing-style rooms) but they are not unpleasant in the slightest.
Each room has an en suite bathroom with a shower, and most have an external wash basin that is integrated into the style of the room.
Located on the 18th floor, this is an adult dose of high-life living. It gets incredibly busy most nights and attracts the wealthy and beautiful from around the world – it’s the place to be seen some might say (model Heidi Klum chose to have her birthday party here). It also has some of the best nighttime vistas in the city.
If you’re in need of dinner before the madness of Magic Hour, there is the conveniently located Moxy NYC restaurant, Legasea, on hand for all your culinary needs. Accessed via the first floor or the front entrance on Seventh Avenue, it serves up some fantastic seafood and bistro-style cuisine.
They were all delicious, perfectly cooked and innovative dishes. Hearty enough to keep you full for the evening but light enough not to put you to bed immediately.
Overall, the Moxy NYC Times Square is a hotel for the young, uninhibited millennial/Gen Z-er who wants to experience the Big Apple in the best way possible, without breaking the bank. It is vibrant, fun, comfortable and innovative in how it has created a micro hotel concept without compromising quality or the overall hotel experience.