Leading firms Lightstone, TAO Group, Rockwell Group and Yabu Pushelberg rejoin forces following the successful launch of Moxy Times Square to deliver Moxy Chelsea…
Said to be New York’s new secret garden, the lifestyle hotel Moxy Chelsea will open this Autumn with inspiration from the urban jungle, blending botanically-inspired design with Italian romance. The hotel, developed by Lightstone and part of Marriott International’s Moxy Hotels brand, will rise 37 stories above New York City and features 349 thoughtfully designed guestrooms that are flooded with natural light and are complete with a touch of wit for good measure.
Designed by architects Stonehill Taylor, the building honours the neighbourhood with its industrial façade and soaring, greenhouse-style atrium. TAO Group will debut brand-new dining and drinking concepts in partnership with Francesco and Lorenzo Panella of the legendary Antica Pesa in Rome and Brooklyn, including a ristorante, caffè, pasticceria, as well as a cocktail bar and lounge offering a gourmet take on Italian street food.
“TAO Group is thrilled to once again partner with Lightstone and introduce brand-new dining and entertainment concepts within Moxy Chelsea,” says Noah Tepperberg, Partner of TAO Group. “After the success of Legasea, Egghead and Magic Hour at Moxy Times Square, we are eager to unveil our new venues at Moxy Chelsea and a very unique collaboration with Italian culinary stars Francesco and Lorenzo Panella.”
Moxy Chelsea marks the second collaboration by Yabu Pushelberg and Rockwell Group, the team behind Moxy Times Square. As guests enter through the fragrant, overgrown flower shop, designed by Yabu Pushelberg, they will be welcomed by four butcher blocks suspended dramatically from the 12-foot ceiling, acting as check-in kiosks, replacing a traditional reception desk. Other characteristically playful entryway design features include a digital word-play LED art installation on the ceiling, flashing phrases like “Good Morning, Stranger” and “You Love Me, You Love Me More” as well as a sculptural wood-cast concrete staircase leading from the check-in area to the lobby lounge.
The ground floor café, ristorante and second-floor lobby, designed by Rockwell Group, unfold as a collection of dining and lounging spaces that transform seamlessly from work to play throughout the day. Tucked into the bustle of Manhattan’s historic Flower District, guests encounter a botanically inspired design and crafted romance seen through a thoroughly modern lens. Spanning the front façade, the glass-enclosed conservatory will envelop guests in sunlight and lush vegetation, with a three-story-high living wall and greenhouse-style windows. Beyond the two meeting studios and co-working lounge will be an outdoor garden terrace with vintage Italian flair complete with a Neapolitan-style pizza oven and made-for-Moxy bocce drinking game.
The playful guestrooms, developed by Yabu Pushelberg, are filled with whimsical details, while reflecting a careful consideration of space and functionality. Ten-foot ceilings and full height, wall-to wall windows, drench the rooms with sunlight. A restrained, muted colour palette conveys a feeling of openness—warm, wood-like floors, army-green mosaic tile, striped drapes, and wax-dipped canvas headboards convey notions of hand-wrought craft, honest materials, and nostalgic wit. Each cosy, exceptionally efficient bedroom will include custom-designed, multipurpose, foldaway furniture, which hangs on an open pegboard wall. Bathrooms will feature walk-in rain showers with cheeky phrases printed on its tiles like “Some Regrets” and “Wild Thing.” Room types will include king rooms, double/doubles and quad bunk rooms as well as a hospitality suite with two adjoining king rooms, aptly named the MONDO Suite.
Topping off the hotel, on the 35th floor, is a glass-enclosed rooftop lounge designed by Rockwell Group with spectacular, expansive views that stretch from the Statue of Liberty to the Empire State Building. At the touch of a button, a retractable window wall will transform the lounge into an alfresco sky veranda.
Moxy offers a new way of traveling which is smaller in concentration, yet not a reduction in experience. The brand caters to today’s free-spirited traveller who is looking for a hotel with friendly service and premium comforts in an environment that allows them to connect with relevant and authentic local experiences. Moxy’s creative brand identity aims to engage business and leisure travellers with a warm, thoughtful and playful guest experience.
“Moxy colours outside the lines when it comes to the traditional hospitality experience, and working hand-in-hand with Lightstone, we are set to disrupt the New York hotel scene once again with the opening of Moxy Chelsea,” said Vicki Poulos, Senior Global Brand Director, Moxy Hotels. “The combination of best-in-class in design, culture and food & beverage, as well as a killer price point, will no doubt deliver the fun and playful hotel experience guests have come to expect from Moxy Hotels, while reflecting the unique spirit of Manhattan’s Flower District.”
“Moxy Chelsea brings a fresh vibrancy to the historic Flower District, where culture and commerce converge. It’s set to become a destination where visitors and locals can connect in a natural and inclusive way,” says Mitchell Hochberg, President of Lightstone. “Like Moxy Times Square, Moxy Chelsea offers guests affordability, without any sacrifice to style or comfort.”
Lightstone, the hotel’s developer, debuted the Moxy brand in New York with the opening of Moxy Times Square in September 2017 and will be developing four other Moxy properties planned for New York City, Miami, and Los Angeles, each with its own unique local spin. “In New York City, people have so many hotel options,” says Hochberg. “You need to give them something more. They’re looking for experiences, but at a reasonable price, and Moxy Chelsea will provide both—a great value and a canvas for exciting, serendipitous moments.”
Moxy Chelsea is located at 105 W 28th Street (at 6th Avenue) and will open this autumn.
