Moxy Chicago Downtown — Hotel in Chicago

The Moxy in downtown Chicago is, 100%, the most unique place I've ever stayed, and I've stayed in some interesting places.

We needed a hotel for the night before the Chicago Marathon. We didn't book as early as we should have so we paid a premium for a night at the Moxy but that's actually, as Bob Ross would say, a 'happy accident'.

Let's start with check in. You check in at the bar. Yes, the bar. There is no front desk. There is The Bar, and it's central to everything at Moxy.

In fact, the entirety of the first floor is based on being social. There's the bar, there's Zombie Taco, there's some food/beverage snackery, there's an entire area dedicated to LP listening (yes, ACTUALLY), there's a gaming area, and there are vast tracts of tables and seats and cushions for hanging out.

Moxy's décor is kind of dark, but not dark in a foreboding kind of way. It's dark in a fun, mysterious kind of way. The wall decorations are fun and quirky.

Our room was smaller than the average hotel room, but also different in a "Well, that's unique!" kind of way. The room is almost square in its dimensions. The sink/mirror are not in the bathroom, but are out in plain view. In one small room is the toilet.

It's a square toilet.

Go back and read that again. It's a square toilet.

The enclosed shower juts out into the room. When laying in the bed you can literally reach over and touch the shower door.

There is no closet/storage. At all. Either it hangs on the wall or stays in your suitcase

The television is the way that hotel televisions should be. They tell you how to connect to your device (phone/tablet/pc) so you can watch media from your device. A lot of hotels say "NO" to this. Thanks for being forward thinking, Moxy!

Our room faced N. LaSalle Street. The entire exterior wall was glass, from floor to ceiling. It afforded us a nice view of the street and, on Marathon Morning, a great view of the runners near the three mile mark.

We interacted with staff twice. Check In and Check Out. While brief, you could tell that the staff here enjoy working in such a unique place.

I'm kind of bummed that we only had one night to spend at Moxy. It's the kind of place I'd love to visit and hang...

This hotel on the surface has everything to make it outstanding, but it falls short on the basic necessities of a hotel.

The bed was just not doing it for me, I understand that this could be a personal preference but a friend staying down the hall mentioned the same issue unprompted after the first night. The pillows are very comfortable but that bed just felt like a $100 mattress.

The water pressure left a lot to be desired, it took way too long to lather up and rinse off. A small increase in pressure would go a long way.

The air conditioning was something that was very sporadic. It would cool the room effectively for a long time, but then it would have burst of just room temp air. My friend was also having this issue in the other room, so it felt unnecessary to ask for another room since there would have been a chance of moving our stuff only to have the same problem.

I would wake up multiple times a night hot and sweaty.

The positives are that the hotel has very good vibes, especially the Moxy Lounge at night. It was very lively, a lot of options for entertainment, and plenty of people watching.

The rooms may seem a little weird at first in how it’s set up, but they are very functional and spacious. Very nice blackout blinds and great views and light out of the massive windows. The television was a perfect size and distance from the bed with great entertainment options.

The food at Zombie Taco was fantastic, it was really convenient having that restaurant in-house for those quick, filling, and delicious meals. The hotel itself is situated in a very good location. No more than a 15min Uber ride to the lake and plenty of fantastic food options within a few blocks.

The location itself would make me come back, but I think I’ll pass until the issues are resolved. Again, this place could be great, but just falls short because it doesn’t hit the basics...

This review reflects mainly marriotts choices in designing this brand. ||||On check-in, our room wasn’t ready even though we did the offer to pay extra for early check-in. That was annoying as we weren’t dressed for town. We had to go to a second floor bathroom to change and check our stuff. ||||The desk staff weren’t very nice about it. Basically too bad, so sad.||||Finally checked in. ||||The room-clean so that was good. The bench had stains-nasty.||||But…as mentioned…not a drawer in there. Four leather hooks with one hanger. We called down to see if they had a garment rack and were told no, and that it’s a minimalist hotel. Sure. ||||Toilet -in a tiny closet-no fan. Gross. At least build a fan into it.||||Shower-hello, right in the middle of the room next to the bed. If you are there with someone who doesn’t get up at the same time, you are screwed with noise. However, water pressure was nice.||||We did not have the room serviced daily as I’m not sure what they would have been able to do trying to maneuver around suitcases. I just got fresh towels each day. I had to take my ice bucket to the lobby so the bartender could get it.||||Lobby area is trendy and fun. That probably the best thing. Tried to grab a late lunch from Zombie tacos, it was closed for some reason until 5. ||||In my opinion, there are many many better options in that same price range. ||||I would not go back. A minimalist hotel is fine, but then pricing should reflect that. A Super 8 hotel is always cheaper. Not true here.||||In this case, I feel like they were putting lipstick on a pig. Decor is trendy. Lobby is not minimalist lol. ||||Marriott you can do way better. I’ll pick a different...