If you’ve been to New York before you’ll be familiar with just how small hotel rooms are and the Moxy Hotel Chelsea is no different. In fact I would say it’s the smallest of any room I’ve stayed in (other than Premier Inn Hubs!).
However, what the room lacks in size the hotel makes up for in other ways. But let’s tackle the room first; we travelled as a family – myself, husband and teenage daughter and due to the negative headlines about wait times at check in and security at airports we decided to take a small carry-on suitcase each – and I’m glad we did. Not only did it mean we sailed through the airport (both Heathrow and JFK) but also the room didn’t lend itself to too much luggage storage space. The room had 2 double beds, with storage and drawers underneath the bed, there was no wardrobe but rather pegs and hangers along the wall which looked rather cool and were fine for the 5 nights we were there – although the room looked a little messy towards the end of the trip! The toilet and (large) shower were separate from the sleeping area, and the sink was incorporated in to the room. The shower was superb with great amenities. So all in all it was fine particularly given the little time you spend in your hotel room in New York. We did however choose the room type offering a city view and weren’t disappointed – we had a fab view of the Empire State Building from our room on the 17th floor.
Located within the hotel is their own café and patisserie the wonderful Café d’Avignon Popup. The doors slide open on to 28th Street and they serve free coffee for residents between 1am-10am. It’s a lovely spot – particularly busy as weekends and not a huge amount of seating but a great place for us to wait for our daughter who as a teenager took longer than us to get ready! Try the almond croissants…
We also had a couple of drinks in Bar Feroce & The Secret Garden; located on the second-floor during the day we found people working from there engrossed in their laptops but enjoying a relaxed atmosphere and in the evening it was a lovely place for cocktails.
The rooftop bar The Fleur Room has a 21 year olds and above policy so we didn’t try, however, we were concerned that the hotel had a reputation as a party spot, and whilst that might have been the case we didn’t hear any noise or disturbance at all.
Check in and out were seamless, there was never a wait for any attention nor a queue at reception and on our final day we stored our bags there the whole day as our flight was at 11pm they offered us a late check out at no cost.
Located a couple of blocks from Madison Square Gardens, and around a 30 minute walk from Times Square the hotel also has the convenience of having the 28th Street subway station at the end of the block which offers easy access to Downtown and Uptown stations. At $2.75 per trip is an incredibly efficient way to move around the city avoiding traffic.
The proximity to Penn Station meant that we took the Airtrain, changing at Jamaica station on to the LIRR (Long Island Rail Road) both to and from JFK airport. It’s the first time we’ve done this as we usually jump in a cab for convenience however, now we’ve done the journey once by train I’d chose this option again, it’s not just cheaper but also quicker as again avoids the congested roads. However, the decision was made easier due to the great location of the Moxy Chelsea from Penn Station which is the start and end point of the LIRR (the one way journey off peak cost around $15 per person).
All in all we had a great time at the Hotel Moxy, there are 2 other Moxy hotels in New York which we didn’t get to but our daughter summed it up by saying she ‘didn’t feel like a tourist as it was less of a hotel and more of a home’.
