Moxy Williamsburg debuts as the brand’s first hotel in Brooklyn with interiors by BASILE Studio in collaboration with Lightstone Design Studio and four new dining and drinking venues from Bar Lab Hospitality. Williamsburg is a fitting location for Lightstone’s collection of Moxy Hotels, part of Marriott Bonvoy’s portfolio of hotel brands.
“Moxy embraces being bold through authentic self-expression and Moxy Williamsburg is the perfect place for free-spirited travelers to live in the moment and do just that,” said Matthew Boettcher, vice president and global brand leader of Moxy Hotels.
Moxy Williamsburg is a 216-room hotel located in Williamsburg on Bedford Avenue, near the foot of the Williamsburg Bridge and accessible from Manhattan. The hotel’s architecture, interiors, design solutions, co-working and meeting studios, and restaurants and bars reflect the spirit of its surroundings to attract locals and guests with a young attitude.
The four new dining and drinking venues conceived and operated by Bar Lab Hospitality reflect Brooklynites. This includes Mesiba, a Tel Aviv–inspired restaurant serving Levantine cuisine; Bar Bedford, a cocktail bar and café; Jolene; a sound room with an audio and light system; and opening in spring, LilliStar, an indoor/outdoor rooftop.
“Williamsburg is a flourishing hub for all the creativity and innovation for which New York is known. As its international reputation has blossomed, it has become the place to visit and stay,” said developer Mitchell Hochberg, president of Lightstone. “Our ambition with Moxy Williamsburg is to create a hotel that welcomes visitors with an authentic experience—one that Brooklynites themselves will embrace with open arms.”
Moxy Williamsburg was designed by BASILE Studio, a design firm based in San Diego, in collaboration with Lightstone Design Studio. The hotel’s diverse public spaces reflect the area’s character, finding inspiration in both past and present with influences from both near and far.
The 11-story building, designed by Stonehill Taylor, has an industrial-inspired look that recalls the neighborhood’s warehouse lofts. The glass front façade opens onto the sidewalk and Bedford Avenue, merging indoors and outdoors. The building’s southern façade is distinguished by a Pop Art–style mural by British street artist D*Face.
The lobby’s exposed ceilings and materials capture the feel of a converted warehouse. Foliage hangs from the ceiling and planters, creating a biophilic feel that offsets the room’s lines and industrial proportions. An art installation by Rare Culture rises behind two blackened steel check-in pods and goes across the ceiling.
Bar Bedford is a living space that reflects Brooklyn’s vibe. The bar itself has motorized liquor risers made of blackened metal that rise behind glass and white oak panels, holding 1,500 bottles of wine and liquor. The shelves move up and down like dumbwaiters, giving bartenders access to special bottles.
As found in Lightstone’s other Moxy hotels, Moxy Williamsburg has three Meeting Studios, spaces designed to be used for private events and co-working. The Studios have modular sofas and worktables that fold down to become credenzas. The rooms can be combined to accommodate larger groups and open onto Bar Bedford Garden.
The 216 bedrooms at Moxy Williamsburg are designed with birch and steel. Rooms range from 165–210 square feet and include Kings, Executive Kings, Double Queens, and Quad Bunks. Storage solutions include wall-mounted pegs that guests can fold open or close as needed, an open closet, and under-bed cubbies. A desk folds down from the wall to provide a workspace.
Conceptualized by Bar Lab Hospitality, the restaurants and bars at Moxy Williamsburg reflect the neighborhood.
“For Moxy Williamsburg, we envisioned an eclectic grab-bag of experiences that mirrors Williamsburg’s diversity. Once you enter, you don’t want to leave,” said Elad Zvi and Gabe Orta founders of Bar Lab. “You can start with a drink at Bar Bedford, meet some friends for dinner at Mesiba, head up to the rooftop for a drink with a view, and finish up the night dancing at Jolene. Moxy Williamsburg offers a multitude of narratives that create a sense of discovery and anticipation.”
Moxy Williamsburg follows Lightstone’s other Moxy hotels in New York including Moxy Times Square, Moxy Chelsea, Moxy East Village, and, most recently, Moxy Lower East Side.
“Williamsburg is a microcosm of everything that’s trendsetting about New York City: It has the edgiest boutiques, the most innovative restaurants, the most daring bars. That’s why more and more people are putting it on their must-visit lists—and it’s why we’ve opened Moxy Williamsburg,” says Hochberg. “Not only can Moxy guests stay in the heart of the neighborhood, but by breaking bread at Mesiba, toasting the Manhattan skyline at LilliStar, and dancing the night away at Jolene with Brooklyn’s best DJs, they’ll get a strong dose of Williamsburg’s energy, all within the walls of the hotel.”
