Start spreading the news - there’s a hot new hotel slap bang in the middle of Manhattan, and you won’t have to bankrupt yourself to stay there.
Moxy, located just off Times Square, is billed as a budget-friendly boutique hotel, with rates for its 612 chic rooms starting from $99 (£72) a night. Bearing in mind this is New York, where you can blow fifty quid simply stopping for breakfast, and the prices are amazingly reasonable, especially for a central location just a five-minute stroll from Broadway.
Everything about this hotel is achingly cool. Entering reception, it felt like we were walking into a club, with thumping music and hip young New Yorkers checking in guests on iPads. There’s also giant Jenga to play with while you wait (why not?) and most excitingly, a free pick ’n’ mix cart where you can help yourself to sweet treats after a long day of sightseeing.
Rooms are fairly small, but clever design features such as sliding doors, hooks along the wall and hanging, foldable furniture stop them from feeling cluttered. And you can forget the usual niggles of budget accommodation; we enjoyed super-fast Wifi, a powerful rainforest shower and deliciously comfy beds.
If you hate noise though, be warned - there’s a reason every guest is provided with a bedside pair of ear plugs. Moxy is not just a hotel, it’s also party central, with a rooftop club called Magic Hour that’s so on-trend Heidi Klum chose it for her annual Halloween bash. Visit on a Saturday night to indulge in that most New York of activities — drinking cocktails — best enjoyed on a revolving couch as you gaze out over the Manhattan skyline.
Hotel chain Marriott is actually the brains behind Moxy, but its nothing like your standard hotel experience, as the food offering demonstrates. Forget your standard breakfast buffet, here you can choose between a ‘pick up and go’ option (including porridge for just £2.15) or positioning yourself on a high stool round Bar Moxy for something more formal (a herb and goat’s cheese omelette is £10.80). The hotel has four eateries in total, including the seafood restaurant Legasea and an egg-centric sandwich shop called Egghead.
The quirky vibe continues with regular games nights for guests and early morning fitness classes on the roof (there is also a well-equipped gym). If that also sounds too energetic after a tiring day of pavement-stomping, you can also stream Netflix directly from your phone onto the impressively-sized TV above your bed - an activity we found especially enjoyable with a bag of complimentary pick ’n’ mix in hand!
Rooms at The Moxy start from $139 (£99) each - for more information visit the website.
From £72 per room, per night
