Bedgowns & Burritos: The ‘Hostel’ Hotel Experience

It’s 11 am and all I wanted to do is go grab a free coffee before the Moxy Hotel ends the service. I threw on my leggings and snapped on a bra under my boyfriend’s t-shirt, which I had stolen for cozy sleepwear, and put my socks and clunky sneakers on.  

The Moxy’s elevator, adorned with glow-in-the-dark chalk graffiti, took me down to the first level. I stepped out into a sea of Saturday brunchers dressed in their best wear, and mind you I was rocking my adapted pajamas.  I clunked on over to the bar, the Moxie Hotel check-in and versatile hotel service/needs desk, and grabbed my coffee from the cylinder. Then I quickly escaped back up to the hotel levels where my outfit felt more fitting and perhaps appreciated. 

With its lobby consisting of Zombie Taco and the check-in bar, The Moxy is rocking the Instagram vibe. It tries to be as social as a hostel with this hotel lobby bar and food stand while offering the conveniences of a hotel, private rooms, and private bathrooms. Speaking of bathrooms, Moxy’s rain shower heads are spectacular! Their draping ‘word search’ curtains also add a fun flair to the small and sleek urban rooms. The only downside was the lack of king-size beds.  

A few hours and a glorious shower later we emerged from the room and went downstairs to the Moxy Hotel’s built-in restaurant, Zombie Taco. I could definitely get used to an elevator-ride-long commute.

Beating the rest of our party, made up of Louisville locals burdened with a cross-city trip, we headed over to the bar to get the afternoon started with a drink. Turning in our wooden chips from check-in we “got the Moxy,” our free welcome drink for staying at the hotel. A stunning vibrant neon pink take on the Dirty Shirley topped with the traditional cherry. It matched my pink fluffy sweater to the shade. We chatted with the (very knowledgeable) bartender until the rest of the party arrived. With everyone having arrived we finally, put our food order in and we headed away from the bar. 

We didn’t get far, as less than 30 seconds later we paused and posed with a yellow-lit neon sign declaring the night’s new motto: “Let’s Make Pour Decisions.” Like I said before the hotel and bar is an Instagram jungle displaying a smattering of stylish artistic vibes with 80s game details. After our photoshoot, we wandered over to what passed for a table and chose “How do You Meme” from a stack of well-used board games. Three to four rounds into the outrageous game our tacos and burritos were ready. 

I had ordered the Zombie Burrito, a large, meat-filled slightly generic burrito. It was decent but overall, it lacked the creative pizzazz that I longed for. I had been hoping for something creative and loud to match the restaurant’s tone but was left ultimately with something that felt like a splash of gray in an oversaturated room.

We finished our food, drinks, and game then headed out into the cold for our next adventure.