Hotel review: Moxy Lower East Side

Nov 12, 2023

New York, New York – so good you’ll check in twice. Yes, twice – not least because price-minded international boutique-hotel brand Moxy has a handful of very fashionably designed properties scattered across town, from Brooklyn to Times Square, Chelsea to the East Village. What better excuse do you need for an electric twin-centre city break, living like a local in two – OK, perhaps a few – of its up-all-night neighbourhoods? Their latest unveiling is Moxy Lower East Side, a 1970s no-go zone once populated by drunks and destitutes. That was then.

Now the main vein, the Bowery – NY's erstwhile Skid Row – is as groovy as it's gritty. Irresistible, in a nutshell; and the Moxy Lower East Side fits right in, on the junction with Broome; one eye on the area's old Burlesque-theatrical heyday, another on the plugged-in residents who rent in the surrounding streets. They like to while away Moxy-lobby days over laptops and lattes, nights over negronis. If you’re ready to mingle, read on…

In a city of sky-high tariffs, Moxy manages to keep prices relatively down to earth; cleverly, it turns out, by pre-designing compact rooms capsule-style, as is done with cruise-ship cabins, and slotting them into the new-hotel structure. Decor is Scandi-Japanese-simple: white linen on rugless timber floors.

What stands out once you’ve checked in is how minimal – yet effective – the storage space is. No drawers or wardrobes; instead a simple rail pops out from the wall, with just enough space to hang a few nights’ gear on. Ditto bathrooms – pretty compact, but also pretty gorgeous, with generous showers, while a beautifully coloured ceramic sink makes an Insta-worthy statement in the main bedroom.

And the bed? Fabulously firm, yet comfy and sink-into – even if this is, to paraphrase Sinatra, the city that never Zzzzzs. ‘People want a great sleep and a great shower, then head out on the town,’ says Mitchell Hochberg, president of hotel developer The Lightstone Group, explaining the interior-redux emphasis at Moxy Lower East Side. ‘When you come to New York, you want to be in New York.’

Moxy hotels want to be part of the neighbourhood – and the Lower East Side newcomer is no exception. Where do we start? How about mid-morning coffee – or a midnight glass of white – in the lobby cafe/bar? On sweltering Manhattan evenings hit the elevator button for martinis at the Highlight Room, the roof bar 16 storeys up, with a giant tree spreading its branches inside and a breeze-cooled terrace overlooking NY's towering Jenga skyline. When the city shivers, there's cocooning, low-lit subterranean restaurant Sake No Hana, accessed down dramatic twin twirly staircases. Channelling the spirit of a Japanese izakaya (pub), it sends out must-order-more-already plates of crispy soft-shell crab, sushi rolls (the spicy tuna and avocado variety are superb), clam noodles and quiveringly fresh sashimi, including octopus, sweet shrimp and salmon.

Next stop, Loosie's basement club, to dance under the ‘exploded’ dancefloor mirror ball chandelier that's the louche, late Lower East Side in essence. Or maybe settle down with a less-frenetic nightcap at Silver Lining, the hotel piano bar – equal parts shadow and sparkle in homage to Andy Warhol's tin-foil-lined studio The Factory. As the cabaret pianist strikes up, the crowd sings along to his high-energy renditions of Queen and Bowie, Whitney and Britney. The night could get messy – with any luck.

Apart from all the above? The head-turning art and design everywhere you step – again referencing the hotel's edgy Lower East Side locality. Keep your eyes peeled for such lobby sculptures as a hipster sloth in a leather waistcoat (yes), and a bear standing seven feet tall, working a hula hoop. Wander anywhere from here – things only get more weird and wonderful.

Visit the Lower East Side Tenement Museum (tenement.org) to time-travel back to the way of life in the area in the 19th and early 20th centuries – historically accurate apartments have been recreated to meander through. Learn how Jewish survivors of the Holocaust settled and prospered in the 50s and 60s, along with Puerto Rican migrants. This is poignant, spellbinding stuff.

Design-hotel devotees and late-night party people.

Doubles start at £160, no meals. For more information, visit the website here.

Norse Atlantic operates daily flights from London Gatwick to New York JFK from £418 return in Economy and £768 in Premium. To book visit www.flynorse.com