The Moxy Chelsea has opened as a 35-story property in New York City. Developed by Lightstone and part of Marriott International's Moxy Hotels brand, the property was inspired by the surrounding Flower District, blending a botanically-influenced design with Italian romance.
The 349-room hotel is the second collaboration between Yabu Pushelberg and Rockwell Group, the designers behind Moxy Times Square. Designed by Stonehill Taylor, the newly-constructed building's architecture riffs off the neighborhood's retro-industrial style. The hotel blends into the flower shops that surround it, with a three-story glass atrium revealing the vertical gardens within.
Guests enter through the Putnam & Putnam Flower Shop, designed by Yabu Pushelberg, which is envisioned as a "botanical library," with planter boxes suspended from the 15-foot wall, reachable by a wheeled ladder. The shop is run by husbands Darroch and Michael Putnam. Beyond the flower shop, there is a yellow neon sign spelling out the words "Meet" and "Greet"; this is the property’s take on the check-in area. Four butcher blocks, alluding to the nearby Meatpacking District, are suspended from the 12-foot ceiling above, acting as check-in kiosks.
The bedrooms have floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall windows. For the design, Yabu Pushelberg replicates the functionality created for Moxy Times Square. In all three room types—King, Double/Double and Quad Bunk—the furniture, which includes a writing desk and chair/luggage rack, can be folded up and hung up on Moxy's peg wall when not in use. Other space-saving gambits include under-bed storage and a lava-stone sink and vanity area placed outside the bathroom.
Tiles in the shower stalls are printed with phrases like "Some Regrets" and "Wild Thing," while a bulldog-shaped beer bottle opener hangs on the door. Additional bedroom features nod to the Flower District, like reading lamps that resemble garden lanterns and faucets that recall hose reels.
Unique to Moxy Chelsea is the Mondo Suite, an entertainment suite located on the 32nd floor. With double-height 18-foot ceilings and a wall of industrial-style windows looking out onto the Empire State Building, the room can be combined with one or two adjoining king rooms.
Lightstone partnered with Francesco Panella, owner of Antica Pesa, the trattoria in Rome, and Tao Group to create new dining and drinking concepts for Moxy Chelsea. These include: Feroce Ristorante, Feroce Caffè and Bar Feroce.
In front of the restaurant is Feroce Caffè, with glass airplane hangar-style doors that can be raised all the way up, opening the space entirely to the sidewalk, as in Italy. It also features a vintage doughnut machine. The hotel entrance has its own dedicated window counter connecting to the caffè.
Bar Feroce is an Italian snack bar and lounge that also has an alfresco garden terrace called The Backyard. When designing Feroce, Rockwell Group gave it a theatrical quality, from the overscale terrazzo floors to the grappa cart roving the dining room.
Rockwell Group was also responsible for Moxy Chelsea's second-floor lobby, which unfurls as a series of spaces with multiple uses. The Conservatory occupies the three-story glass atrium on the building's front façade; on one side, greenhouse-style windows overlook the sidewalk, while on the other, there is a living wall with plants. During the day, sunlight flows in, refracted by multicolored glass screens and reflected kaleidoscopically on the terrazzo floor. At night, the space transitions into a cocktail lounge.
Design elements in the lobby include classically sculpted figurines making unexpected poses, like twerking, taking selfies and wearing sunglasses; as well as life-size, toga-clad Roman statue resting on a column, one arm extended so it can hold a guest's phone and pose with them for a selfie. There are also seating options in the lobby, including modular meeting studios.
TAO Group and Rockwell also worked on The Fleur Room, Moxy Chelsea's rooftop lounge, topping off the hotel on the 35th floor with 360-degree views of the Manhattan skyline. The design features a copper-clad bar, glass chandeliers that resemble giant water droplets, and a disco ball salvaged from the 1980’s L.A. nightclub Vertigo. The lounge's glass walls descend at the touch of a button, transforming the space into an alfresco sky veranda.
Moxy Chelsea is located at 105 W 28th Street (at 6th Avenue).