Are you looking for a hotel that fits all? Thats fun, stylish and affordable. Great for solo travellers AND families? Then Moxy Hotels are the one for you!
It’s no secret that I love Cheshire and Chester. I visited last summer and was thrilled to head back to explore the city more and of course stay at the new Moxy Hotel.
The Moxy Hotel chain is part of Marriott International hotel group but you wouldn’t think it.
The Moxy hotels have their own unique style and stamp. Which is part of the reason you will want to stay with them. Every single hotel is designed to pay homage to the area they are in. The Moxy Chester did a great job with the art work representing the inside of the famous Chester Shot tower.
It’s easy to miss that and instead look at the breath-taking installation hanging in the lobby ceiling with hundreds of race horses. All throughout the hotel you will notice the love for art. The lift communal area is full of funky style drawings that change daily and are updated by the wonderful staff.
I loved the artwork in the lift especially designed for Halloween but the best part is the personalised welcome in your room. Check out this bathroom window! I was so impressed with my mirror full of musicals, my favourite thing other than staying in wonderful hotels like this!
MOXY means self possessed confidence or having the courage, spirit and determination to do something. For me, Thats exactly what this hotel brand is doing. It’s breaking the mould of youre typical Marriott hotels and injecting fun, uniqueness and spirit into its individual sites.
From the moment you walk into the Moxy Lobby youre greeted with bright, modern areas to suit everybody. From relaxing seating areas, to fun areas for the kids including racks of games. Then the Moxy Chester has another floor lobby area full of adult games including fooseball and a pool table. Quietly tucked away from the hustle and bustle of the front lobby area is a state of the art meeting room area. Fully equipped for you to do some lone working or hold meetings it’s a really cool place to meet up. They even have their own lockers too!
Explore Chester
If you’re not working, then exploring Chester is the next best thing to do. Chester is a roman city in the North West and is famous for it’s medieval architecture and city walls. Perched on the banks of the River Dee, it is close the the England – Wales border and one of my favourites cities. The Moxy is located right in the city centre so it really is the best place to stay and explore the city.
There are lots of things to do in Chester. I’d recommend walking, as many areas are pedestrianised. To reach to centre of town from the hotel is roughly a 5 minute stroll. Most of the things that I would recommend to do are free and require walking, however it is not difficult to walk around the city and the most of it is flat.
On EastGate you’ll find lots of medieval style buildings that line a long street of shops new and old. If you look up you will see the Eastgate Clock tower built on top of the Georgian gate. This is a beautiful spot. If you look to the side you will see a few steps that takes you up on top of the gate. Here you will find a gorgeous Coffee Shop Called Huxley’s. They offer local beers from the Chester Brewery which we sampled on the evening of our stay and are amazing.
This coffee shop has the BEST view of the Chester Rows. Head inside, the owners are lovely and will let you in to see the one of a kind porta cabin window boasting the best views of Chester. It’s rumoured that the original owner was a huge fan of boats and so created his own porter cabin view.
From here you are now on top of the Chester Wall. You can choose to head towards the stunning cathedral or down towards to River. The Views from the wall are unique and the wall takes you above the Chester Roman Amphitheatre which is the largest in Britain. You can explore this on the ground too as it’s free to enter. Be careful walking on the wall when there is rain or even snow as it can get slippy.
Once you are on the River Dee you can take a stroll even further and go see the gorgeous rowing clubs and floating’s bars. Or you can jump of a boat tour and see the amazing views of the city from the river. I really loved the River Dee suspension bridge too. One of the prettiest bridges I’ve seen. In the summer, this area becomes very busy and you may have to wait up to 1 hour for a boat trip, however there are plenty of bars and restaurants to chill at or maybe grab an ice cream. If you are more adventurous you can hire you’re own boat and explore the river too.
The walk back up to the city is approximately 5 to 10 minutes and not too steep. Back in the City centre and one of my favourite places to visit is the NEW Sick to Death attraction. Located inside a medieval church, Sick to death is great for all ages. The attraction takes you through the gory story of medicine over time. The journey is immersive and has some brilliant displays and interactive activities that great for everyone. It’s deffo a MUST do when youre in Chester.
A good night rest at Moxy Hotels
After we had dinner at Siam Teppanyaki, a 2 minute stroll from the hotel along the canal we headed back for a night cap and to take advantage of our rooms. Before I tell you about the rooms, let me take a minute to say that Siam Teppanyaki was my first ever Teppanyaki experience and it was sooooo much fun! as a group I’d suggest doing this for a special event anywhere you can find one. This was my first so I would really recommend visiting if youre looking for a place to eat.
Back at The MOXY are back to basic yet very comfortable. Fitted with state of the art technology you have everything you need. The bathroom has a fab shower and in the room you will notice everything is out in the open. You can hang your outfits on the modern style wall wardrobe. I think the style is funky but very different from what you would expect for a traditional Marriott. The Moxy hotels rooms are designed for short stays, or work stays. For longer stays this may not be the best option for you but I’d say you would still enjoy youre stay. All of the amenities are in the room, a hairdryer, coffee station. I was particular impressed with the black out curtains, views of the canal and the motion censored light under the bed. If you get out of youre bed in the dark to make sure you don’t have to scramble around.
The space in the rooms is super functional and they have rooms for single occupancy, double and families.
Never ending Breakfast
The next morning after a brilliant nights sleep, I headed down to breakfast. The hotel offers small snacks throughout the day rather than a full menu so I wasn’t too sure what to expect for Breakfast. I was blown away by the choice available. Not only is there ample choices, there was food to meet all allergies. They have a full selection of cooked, a massive cereal selection, a take away section for on the go AND a fun, sweet not to healthy section. That is probably designed for the kids, but you bet I got a doughnut to take away.
As you can tell, we had a really FUN trip which really fits the ethos of the hotel. I’m off on a girly trip soon and I’m going to be looking for other Moxy hotels to stay in as I know it’s have the right vibe for the weekend. It may not be youre traditional style hotel but I think this is the way forward. Fun and functional spaces are the best way to suit everyone’s busy lifestyles now and I cant wait to go back to Moxy Hotels.
*press trip however all views are my own
For more Cheshire Inspiration See my blog posts of previous stays
