NEW YORK—Inspired by the neighborhood’s history and its present-day role, the new 303-bedroom Moxy Lower East Side has amenities including Sake No Hana, a Japanese restaurant; Silver Lining, a piano lounge; The Highlight Room, a rooftop bar; The Fix, an all-day café and lobby bar; and Loosie’s, a subterranean club.
Located where the Lower East Side meets SoHo, Moxy Lower East Side is the fourth Moxy hotel in New York City developed by Lightstone and is part of Marriott International’s experiential Moxy Hotels brand. Guests will view the city’s cosmopolitanism on every floor, from the catwalk entrance on the corner of Bowery and Broome Street to five new dining and drinking venues by Tao Group Hospitality. With interiors by Michaelis Boyd and Rockwell Group and architecture by Stonehill Taylor, the hotel’s design references to the Lower East Side’s social history.
“The Lower East Side has always been iconically cool. We saw it as the next logical frontier for Moxy,” says Mitchell Hochberg, president of Lightstone. “By providing a stunning variety of venues and concepts under a single roof, the hotel really embodies the diversity of the Lower East Side. People come to the neighborhood to indulge their thirst for discovery, and they’ll get that at the Moxy too—and we’ve made it accessible rather than exclusive.”
Interior Design
The architecture and design of Moxy Lower East Side show the neighborhood’s pursuit of innovation. Michaelis Boyd and Rockwell Group took inspiration from the Bowery’s history as a hub of entertainment while channeling the neighborhood’s present-day DNA and maintaining Moxy’s trademarks. The flow of the building, from the catwalk entrance to venues on the roof and below ground, prods exploration.
Inspired by the circuses and old-time menageries that once lined the Bowery, the bedrooms at Moxy Lower East Side were designed by Michaelis Boyd, with symmetrical shapes, hues, and space-saving solutions. Rooms range from 165-195 square feet, including kings, executive kings, double-doubles, and quads. Bathrooms have rain showers with glass doors, lava stone sinks, and a mirror with Hollywood-style lighting.
The Factory Loft, a hospitality suite, is a spot for parties, events, meetings, and social gatherings. Named for Andy Warhol’s Factory studio, the suite has double-height windows and an outdoor terrace.
Michaelis Boyd designed the first-floor lobby as a multipurpose work and amusement space with a relaxed ambiance. The lobby area is centered around The Fix, a bar and all-day café where a variety of seating arrangements—sofas and armchairs, high-tops, and café tables for socializing, co-working, and more. Contactless check-in is available at self-service kiosks, while a staffed reception desk accommodates travelers who prefer more assistance.
Drinking & Dining
Moxy Lower East Side’s five drinking and dining establishments were developed by Tao Group Hospitality, a New York dining and nightlife operator, in partnership with Lightstone. “New York City is experiencing a huge renaissance right now, with locals and visitors coming to experience the city in waves,” says Noah Tepperberg, co-CEO of Tao Group Hospitality. “With a sophisticated but approachable piano lounge, a pulsating subterranean club, a modern Japanese restaurant with a festive atmosphere, and a rooftop bar with a big glam factor, Moxy Lower East Side will be ready to rock.”
The lobby-adjacent, Silver Lining, is a piano lounge. The space was designed by Michaelis Boyd and has blue velvet banquettes, cocktails, and live performances by a rotating mix of piano players and vocalists. A wallcovering depicts objects associated with the history of the Bowery and specifically with Warhol’s life and career.
One flight down, guests enter the Japanese restaurant Sake No Hana via two curved staircases of metal, glass, and leather flanked by tapestries. Rockwell Group took inspiration from New York’s 1980s punk scene and Japanese street culture for the design. The restaurant has a shareable menu of grilled teppanyaki dishes, yakitori skewers, Wagyu beef, and sushi rolls, paired with a list of sakes, beers, and cocktails with Japanese spirits.
Subterranean in both location and spirit, Rockwell Group-designed Loosie’s is a club beneath Moxy Lower East Side. Visitors can reach Loosie’s by heading down an alley behind the hotel then descending several flights on a staircase. Tepperberg partnered with Dylan Hales and Ronnie Flynn, the co-founders of Lower East Side’s The Flower Shop, as creative directors for both Loosie’s and Silver Lining. “The Flower Shop has become a neighborhood fixture, and Dylan and Ronnie are really plugged into the local nightlife culture. At both venues, they’ll help curate the music and the atmosphere to appeal to the downtown crowd.”
The Highlight Room, designed by Michaelis Boyd, is a rooftop bar with a glass wall that spans the width of the room and folds back to allow access to its outdoor terrace.
Moxy Lower East Side has over 13,000 square feet of meeting and event space. The hotel’s three Meeting Studios have modular furniture that can be reconfigured to transform the space into a lounge. The studio offers a communal table that can be used for co-working or closed off as a meeting room. Then at night, it becomes a place for socializing, with lounge seating and a dueling Ms. Pac-Man game table.
Programming
Cultural and wellness programming integrates Moxy Lower East Side into the community, introducing guests and locals to the neighborhood’s creators and independent businesses. Programming includes DJ and live music performances, art installations, pop-ups, and more.
“People flock to the Lower East Side to discover what’s new and interesting,” says Hochberg. “We’ve not only created a base camp for visitors to explore the Lower East Side, but we’ve brought the neighborhood, and all its dazzling moments of discovery, into the hotel.”
