SOUTHEAST ASIA BUILDING14 Feb 2022
Motto by Hilton New York City Chelsea Hotel playfully riffs on its 24th Street location
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New York City, USA – Located a short walk from icons like the Flatiron Building and the High Line, Motto by Hilton New York City Chelsea Hotel is the latest addition to one of Manhattan’s most vibrant neighbourhoods. The 374-key property occupies a new, 42-storey structure by Stonehill Taylor, a leading New York City–based firm that also designed the hotel’s interiors. As one of the first of Hilton’s new Motto brand properties to open, this project sets a standard for those to come. It incorporates the brand’s lively and spacious food and beverage venues with streamlined guestrooms that have been carefully engineered and crafted to fulfill every guest need featuring clever touches within a minimal footprint.

Arriving at the hotel, the building is set back from the street and the entire frontage is devoted to a glass-covered plaza accented by an array of brilliant white steel columns and beams spanning the plaza’s entire 75-foot width. The plaza’s black stone paving and east wall contrast with its white beams and columns, creating a yin/yang relationship. A 32-foot marquee cantilevered over the sidewalk announces the hotel’s presence and leads to the striking "Motto green" entry doors.

Public and amenity spaces, including reception, lounges, an all-day restaurant, and bar areas, make up the first two floors. An outdoor food and beverage terrace can be found on the second level, and a fitness room is located on the fourth. Guest rooms run up to the 41st floor.

The hotel’s setting within a former theater district and current arts district inspired the use of unique art installations and dramatic arches in the hotel’s public spaces and guest rooms. However, it was the venue’s 24th Street address that acted as the main design muse, as Stonehill Taylor used the number 24 and its significance in different contexts as a spark for the hotel’s color scheme, furnishings, finishes, and artwork.

The “24” design concept is highlighted by way of three unique concept pillars. The first, the 24 hours in a day, takes inspiration from the passage of time, the sun, the moon, and the contrast of light to dark. In military time, "2400" signifies the midnight hour, which the firm wove into the hotel through accents of deep midnight blue. The second "24ism" references metals, in particular 24-karat gold and chromium, the 24th element on the periodic table. Stonehill Taylor’s team incorporated these finishes in a unique yet cohesive way in light fixtures, casegoods, and artwork. For the third and final concept, the designers looked to 24-bit colour, a means to produce colour digitally in its truest form, which resulted in concentrated moments of vibrant jewel tones carefully curated throughout the hotel.