Motto Makes It To Manhattan
Newly Opened Chelsea Hotel Gives Hilton Lifestyle Presence In New York City
Hilton has opened its first lifestyle hotel in New York City with the official debut of its nascent Motto brand’s third property, which is located in the Chelsea district on West 24th Street.
The 374-room franchised property hosted a ribbon cutting yesterday featuring general manager Bassim Ouachani and global head of Motto by Hilton Tripp McLaughlin, who described the new-build hotel as “the flagship of what the Motto brand will be.”
McLaughlin acknowledged some of the challenges in getting Motto Chelsea ready.
“It’s never easy to open a hotel and when you add a pandemic on top of that it makes it even harder, along with supply chain issues. Bassim and the team always had a great attitude and always persevered. I’m really excited to be here to celebrate the first true new-build Motto,” he said.
The Motto by Hilton brand caters to travelers looking for value and one-of-a-kind experiences by bringing together the best elements of a lifestyle hotel—centrally located urban locations, modern design, the best of the neighborhood food and beverage and a local vibe, according to the company.
The 42-story hotel—which was designed by architecture and interior design firm Stonehill Taylor—is located in close proximity to the Flatiron Building, Madison Square Park and the High Line.
McLaughlin further touted many of the attributes of the new hotel. “It encapsulates everything that Motto is about with a fantastic location in the heart of Chelsea. And the design really captures the neighborhood inviting the guests in to experience some great food and beverage,” he said during an exclusive interview with Hotel Interactive.
That food & beverage offering includes a full-service restaurant, craft bar and lounge designed and operated by restauranteur Fabio Viviani. Bar Cicchetti is a ground-floor contemporary eatery that offers seasonally inspired menu items, as well as craft beer and cocktails.
McLaughlin added that the morning coffee bar transitions to a full-scale restaurant and bar during the afternoon and evening hours. “So you have everything you need right here if you want stay in the hotel,” he said.
In addition to the coffee bar, Motto Commons features a sunken conversation pit on the first floor, while the second floor offers a communal table, as well as an outdoor terrace, and can accommodate up to 150 people, according to Hilton.
The hotel offers travel-sized rooms with a wide variety of sleeping configurations, including a king Bunkie (bunk bed), a king flex bed that stows into the wall, a king bed, as well as double bunkies with four twin beds in one room. The hotel also offers 19 sets of connecting rooms, which give guests the ability to book up to three unique connecting rooms together.
McLaughlin pointed out the travel-sized room dimensions are very much in line with the market.
“One of the benefits that we have in New York is people are used to smaller room sizes. If you look across all the brands here there’s always that trend out there and so I think the guests are going to be more used to what you’re experiencing in the room,” he said.
Motto Chelsea represents the brand’s third hotel, in addition to Motto Philadelphia Rittenhouse Square and Motto Washington DC City Center. McLaughlin noted the urban lifestyle brand—which was launched in 2018—is experiencing “steady growth, which is exciting.” He added that brand is expected to open properties in Rotterdam Blaak, Tulum and Atlanta by the end of 2022 and it has some 15 properties in the pipeline.
