In New York City’s Flower District, this new hotel accommodates a series of striking spaces designed by Yabu Pushelberg and Rockwell Group.
In New York City’s Flower District, this new hotel accommodates a series of striking spaces designed by Yabu Pushelberg and Rockwell Group.
From the street, the industrial facade of the 35-storey building with a glass atrium revealing the vertical gardens inside catches the eye of passers-by. Opened since February with an architectural design by Stonehill & Taylor, Moxy Chelsea is an ode to its location – New York City’s Flower District. Its interior spaces — comprising bedrooms and a hotel entry/check-in designed by Yabu Pushelberg, as well as Rockwell Group-designed restaurants, bars and a lobby — reinvent the concept of an urban jungle with Italian touches throughout.
Upon arrival, guests discover the charming Putnam & Putnam boutique florist, which immediately sets the tone for the overall botanical atmosphere. Instead of a traditional reception desk, four butcher blocks suspended from the high 3.6m ceiling adorned with a digital art installation — where sentences such as, “Good Morning, Stranger” and “You Love Me, You Love Me More” appear on LED panels —are used as check-in kiosks.
The chic design of the common spaces in the hotel reflect the hip and active lifestyles of the millennial travellers the hotel targets.
Also located on the ground floor, two Italian culinary options. First, the charming Feroce Caffe with delicious coffee and fresh pastries; then, the indoor/outdoor Feroce Ristorante serving food created with the best ingredients in an intimate space where jewel and cognac tones combine with terrazzo floors and a terra cotta ceiling.
Accessible via the elevator or a sculptural, wood-cast concrete staircase, the second-floor lobby lounge consists of a series of spaces that allow guests to work, play and relax throughout the day and night. For example, Bar Feroce has an alfresco garden terrace with a terra cotta pizza oven and a made-for-Moxy bocce drinking game ideal for spending casual moments enjoying authentic food.
The bar at the top floor of the building offers an unobstructed view of the breathtaking New York City skyline.
At the front, the Conservatory is a glass-enclosed space filled with natural light, thanks to the greenhouse-style windows, where an impressive three-storey-high living wall is the main protagonist. Designed to have different functions, these dining, meeting, working and lounging spaces each have their own personality, creating a specific ambience in in every corner.
With their floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall windows that create a feeling of openness, the Moxy Chelsea’s 349 rooms were created by Yabu Pushelberg to be highly functional with custom-designed, multipurpose furniture, including folding desks and chair/luggage racks, which hang on the walls when not in us. The restrained colour palette goes with wood-like floors and wax-dipped canvas headboards.
The glass facade of the atrium in this 35-storey building is instantly eyecatching
The icing on the cake is The Fleur Room, currently New York City’s highest rooftop bar on Moxy Chelsea’s 35th floor. Decorated with floral fabrics, a giant water droplet chandelier, a massive vintage disco ball and a copper-clad bar, the glass-enclosed lounge offers exceptional 360-degree views that run from the Statue of Liberty to the Empire State Building. What’s more, at the touch of the button, it can transform into an open-air sky veranda, thanks to its retractable window wall. Here, the magic of the Big Apple becomes a reality.
Good to know
The third Moxy hotel in New York City, this follows the successes of the other two in Times Square and Downtown Manhattan.
Moxy Chelsea is at 105 W 28th St, New York, NY 10001, USA. Visit www.moxychelsea.com
Photos MICHAEL KLEINBERG
