Review: the Moxy NYC Chelsea, New York, hotel – a good mid-range option

This is our review of Moxy NYC Chelsea, one of several Moxy hotels in New York City.

After arriving into New York JFK on Norse Atlantic’s inaugural flight from Gatwick (review here) I needed somewhere to stay, and Norse put us up in the Moxy NYC Chelsea.

This was a smart move because the Moxy brand, like Norse, appeals to more price-conscious travellers. Marriott calls Moxy a ‘lifestyle’ brand which in PR terms means cool but budget. I’ve stayed at a few Moxys now and always enjoy them so I was looking forward to trying Moxy NYC Chelsea.

The hotel website is here.

Where is the Moxy NYC Chelsea hotel?

As you would expect, the Moxy NYC Chelsea is in, well, Chelsea. Of course, if you’ve never been to New York, that doesn’t mean much.

West of 6th Avenue and bounded by 14th an 34th Street, Chelsea includes the new Hudson Yards development, the High Line as well as Penn Station. It is sometimes called the Flower District, which certainly rings true at the Moxy, on 28th Street, where you’ll find shop after shop selling indoor and outdoor plants.

It is a good place to be, within easy walking distance of the Hudson River Park and various piers including Little Island and Pier 46. These offer a great place to relax away from the canyon-style city streets.

The location, so close to Penn Station, means you can take the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) to JFK Airport in around 45 minutes. A taxi will take at least as long, if not longer, depending on traffic.

Moxy Chelsea occupies a tall and narrow site, with 35 floors.

Inside the Moxy NYC Chelsea hotel

Ground-floor space is severely limited at Moxy NYC Chelsea, with about half given over to a cafe that’s also open to the street.

Check-in is in a teeny lobby with just a handful of desks and self-service kiosk:

It can get quite busy during the afternoon and early evening, when a lot of people are checking in at once. I had a couple of people in front of me in the queue, although fortunately the Moxy staff don’t waste time and get your key cards pretty quickly.

You head to the rooms via four elevators. Given the height of the building, and the addition of a lively rooftop bar on the top floor, four lifts isn’t really enough. I probably had to wait for two minutes on average for one to appear.

Rooms at the Moxy NYC Chelsea hotel

There are basically just two room types at the Moxy NYC Chelsea: King and Double Double.

You then have a choice of a room with a view or not: ‘View’ rooms are on floors 22 and above, whilst non-View rooms are below. In reality, you should still get a decent view on the lower floors, although perhaps not as spectacular.

Speaking of the view, here is the one I had:

It’s pretty incredible, certainly the best view I’ve had from a hotel in NYC. I could see the Empire State Building in bed, so I decided to sleep with the curtains open one night as I was waking up at dawn anyway thanks to my jetlag!

Back to the room. As you enter you have the toilet and shower behind sliding doors on the left, and an open-plan sink on the right:

I was a bit startled to find this in the shower. It seemed a bit forward, even for Moxy!

Only to realise that it said this in the bathroom, which made it all make sense:

Separately, of course, the two are totally out of context!

Toiletries are the standard Moxy pink MUK bottles, which come as a wall-mounted combined hair and body wash bottle and conditioner. Not my favourite, to be honest, but it does the job.

There is a nice turquoise ceramic wash basin with plenty of usable surface area and a little ledge above.

Underneath are the towels, hairdryer and clothes steamer:

You then have the rest of the room, dominated by the king bed:

I have to say I always sleep very well in Moxy beds, and I have no complaints about this one either. You’ll find plenty of charging sockets on either side, including two US mains sockets AND two USB plugs:

The brightly coloured rotary telephone is a fun touch.

Underneath the bed is a drawer with storage and a safe:

Your only other storage options is a series of pegs along the opposite wall, by the TV, which comes with a couple of coat hangars, a foldable table and stool/luggage rack thing:

The lack of storage is Moxy NYC Chelsea’s only drawback. It is obviously one of the brand standards to have an open wardrobe, but there is very little room to store or open a large suitcase anywhere in the room. I was just travelling with carry-on luggage, so it was less of a problem, but two people sharing or anyone with a big suitcase would struggle. There really isn’t much spare, unused space.

Breakfast at Moxy NYC Chelsea

Breakfast is served at Cafe d’Avignon, on the ground floor by reception. If breakfast is included in your booking then you get $30 credit to spend per person per day, which is not too bad despite the high prices charged (a yoghurt will set you back $6.25).

Unlimited filter coffee is free for all guests.

I went for the avocado toast, some juice and a pain au chocolat:

The avocado toast was delicious, a little spicy which was unexpected but delicious and with a small side salad. It’s a bit annoying that it is served in a box with disposable cutlery.

There are two other food and beverage options in the hotel. You have the second floor hotel Bar Feroce, soon to be joined by a re-opened Feroce restaurant. The bar itself is quite dark given its position on a lower floor.

Then there is the spectacular Fleur Room on the 35th floor. The 360 degree views here are equally spectacular and it appears to be a popular venue with New Yorkers of the influencer variety. It also frequently gets taken over for various brand events. It’s a nice bar, although expect to pay $19 for a cocktail with bottle service $600+.

Conclusion

Having stayed at a variety of New York City hotels (including the luxurious Pendry Manhattan West in Hudson Yards), I have to admit that Moxy NYC Chelsea is probably my favourite so far.

It is modern, having opened in 2018, which is always a benefit – some New York hotels often feel like they have seen better days – and the views are simply spectacular.

The rooms are, admittedly, small, but that’s to be expected from a Moxy. You obviously wouldn’t stay here as a family, especially with small kids who need a lot more space. Equally, business travellers may want to steer clear – the lack of a desk in the room could be a deal-breaker if you are planning on working.

But for a solo traveller or even a couple it works well, particularly as you are unlikely to be spending much time there, and the rooms are well styled with a bright and airy feel. I would definitely stay here again.

Rooms at Moxy NYC Chelsea start at $215 although more often than not hover around the $325 mark. You need to see this in the context of ‘standard’ NYC rates – the five star Park Hyatt and St Regis, where Rob stayed on his two NYC trips this year, are regularly going for $1,500 per night at present.

Redemptions run between 45,000 and 60,000 Marriott Bonvoy points per night.

You can find out more, and book, on the hotel website here.

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