Hotel Reviews
Travel Tuesday: Moxy Springfield Downtown Hotel Review
This summer, a new, hip hotel opened in Springfield: Moxy. Confusingly, this new property isn’t too far from our local art house theatre, Moxie Cinema — but I digress.
With Moxy still being new in town and with my wife and I celebrating our 11th wedding anniversary last week, we decided to spend the night at the brand’s latest location to see what it was all about.
Moxy Springfield Downtown King Guest Room Hotel Review
About Moxy Springfield Downtown
Moxy is a brand of hotels in the Marriott Bonvoy portfolio. According to their site, there are currently 25 Moxy locations in Asia, 91 in Europe, 46 in North America, and 1 in Australia. Yet, it came as a bit of a surprise when one was announced for Springfield as it’s honestly not the largest market. But, the hotel converted a building first built in 1928, opening as the Moxy Springfield Downtown in June of 2024.
As for what makes Moxy “Moxy,” one team member described it to me as a “scaled-down luxury brand” — which I’d say is a fair description. Meanwhile, the Marriott site says it features “small but smart rooms” and put an emphasis on communal space. Again, I’d say that sounds about right.
It also seems that Moxy locations are meant to celebrate the cities they’re in. That was definitely true of the Springfield hotel, as you’ll see ahead. In fact, with that background, let’s get into the rest of the review, shall we?
Location
Even though Moxy might not be immediately next to anything too exciting, it’s a mere block from a number of iconic Downtown Springfield landmarks — including the Hotel Vandivort. This also puts it just a short walk from the Square, the Gillioz Theatre, and much more. Thanks to this, we were able to enjoy several of our favorite Downtown spots while leaving our car at Moxy and walking to our destinations.
Booking and rates
With Moxy being a Marriott Bonvoy brand, you can book via Marriott itself or via third-party platforms. I decided to book directly (although, if I had to do it over again, I probably would have gone with Amex Travel so I could earn more points).
In any case, for our one-night stay on a Friday, the base rate was $159. With tax, this came to $181.03.
Parking and check in
Before heading to Moxy, I wasn’t 100% sure where to park since I was anticipating a garage and there wasn’t a separate address for the parking. As it turns out, hotel parking is actually just in a flat lot located behind the lobby. To my surprise, there wasn’t even an entry arm or other obstacle — you could just drive right in and pick a spot. However, self-parking is $10 per day and they apparently check for parking passes after a certain amount of time. Said passes can be acquired at check-in.
Speaking of check-in, you’ll find the desk located right next to the bar in the lobby. This location is by design as, when you check in, you’ll be given a poker chip that can be redeemed for a welcome cocktail. At Moxy’s Springfield location, this cocktail included vodka, club soda, mint, and “a spritz of pawpaw.” On the bar’s menu, this is dubbed the Moxy Highball and sells for $8. That said, I’m unclear on whether this is exactly the same drink — namely, I wonder if the Maku vodka listed on the menu might be subbed for a well vodka in the case of the free drink. By the way, there’s also apparently a mocktail available instead, but I didn’t end up getting one for myself.
Back to check-in itself, the process was quick and easy. Within a couple of minutes, we had our parking pass and our keys, meaning we were ready to head up to the room.
Elevators and decor
The elevators at Moxy’s Springfield were perfectly passable from a functionality standpoint — so I really only bring them up to mention some of the decor found at this location. In the elevator cars, you’ll find displays featuring pictures and records from The Ozark Mountain Daredevils. Although you might not be familiar with this band, they’ve been around since 1972 and have had such hits as “If You Wanna Get to Heaven.” As you may have guessed by now, they’re also from Springfield. Sidenote: they also have their own gin, which is served at Moxy’s various bars.
Just outside their elevators, you’ll find a fun and appropriate sign that alludes to the aforementioned Ozark Mountain Daredevils hit. It reads, “If you wanna get to heaven, you got to raise a little” (with a downward arrow filling in the last lyric). Somehow, this neon single-handedly describes the vibe and theme of this hotel location.
Around the corner from the elevators and across from the bar, there’s another room where guests can relax, play games, or do some work. Some of the features here include a large Connect 4 game, a mountain bike wall mural (seen below, thrown into the ‘dining and entertainment’ section of this review), a metalwork map of Springfield, and other fun touches. There was also a variety of seating, making it very clear that this was a space meant to spend time in.
As for us, though, with just one night at Moxy, we were either out on the town or up in our room. Speaking of which…
The room
Actually, before we get to the room, I want to mention the Stash. This locker in the hallway is where guests can find additional soft goods and amenities. Some items include additional pillows and towels as well as toothbrushes, toothpaste, ear plugs, shaving cream, razors, and more. Those in need of an iron could also find one for use here. Elsewhere in the hallway, just beyond the elevators, there was also a water and ice machine guests could use for, well, water and ice.
Heading into the room, as was forewarned, it was a bit on the small side. That said, I’ve definitely stayed in smaller accommodations and wasn’t at all bothered by the square footage. Of course, reducing the need for a wardrobe or other furniture also helped make the room feel less cramped. On top of that, there were some clever and economical touches, such as including a drawer below the bed along with a spot to store your suitcase. Also, in lieu of a real closet. there were a couple of hangers (which were hung with leather straps rather than hooks) located on the wall near the door. Incidentally, these were also next to a small electric lantern that I guess was just there to fit the theme.
The bed in the room we selected was a King size and proved to be quite comfy. In fact, I’m happy to report that the pillows that attached to hooks above the bed and basically served as a headboard worked well for my sleeping style. I also thought that they along with the comforter design added to the overall aesthetic of the room.
Moving to the bathroom, I loved the look of this black framing and frosted glass area. The shower, while not quite rainfall, was still enjoyable and was accompanied by a handheld option you could switch between. Overall, while I wasn’t as blown away as I was hoping to be, it was still a very nice setup.
Back in the bedroom, I do want to give a shoutout to the clever in-room phone. Not only is this touch-tone phone designed to resemble a rotary one but also has some fun features. In particular, you can request a bedtime story (which actually turned out to be more like a horoscope reading, but still fun).
Another unique feature is the tear-away art. Even though you might not notice as much at first, the images in the room aren’t frames or canvas. Instead, they’re large pads that include multiple copies of the art. As a result, you’re welcome to rip the top copy off and take it home with you if you so choose. That’s exactly what we did with this fun “king bear” image. No, I don’t actually know where we’ll keep or display it now, but I still love it and the very idea behind it.
One minor inconvenience related to the room design involves power. While one side of the bed had access to an outlet featuring two regular plugs and two USB plugs the other side only had the two regular plugs — one of which was occupied by the lamp. So, really, it was just one usable plug. I’m not sure why they didn’t at least include the USB plugs on this side, but it did mean we had to adjust our nightly charging routine a bit.
Overall, I didn’t really miss any of the items that were moved over to the Stash Closet. However, there are some other amenities I would have liked to have seen — namely a coffee maker. Plus, if I were staying for more than one night, a mini fridge would also be nice. That may be a more difficult ask, but I really think that a coffee maker is a no-brainer amenity for a property like this. On that note, though, there is some good news as you won’t have to walk far to get a nice cup of coffee nearby,
Dining and entertainment
In addition to the lobby bar (which also serves food), there are two other venues at Moxy Springfield Downtown. First, there’s the rooftop bar, Eyrie. On the Friday night we spent at Moxy, this location was serving a small menu of appetizers and flatbreads until 9 p.m. but the bar itself was open until midnight. We went up at around 11 p.m. and found that it was still pretty busy. Nevertheless, my wife was able to get a drink within a few minutes and we enjoyed a lovely night out on the rooftop. We had also made our way up there earlier in the evening just to take a peek at our city from that height. Both in light and at night, it proved to be a great view.
Meanwhile, downstairs you’ll find Subterranean. Although this venue is mentioned on the signage you spot coming from the parking lot, it’s not really mentioned on the Moxy site. That might be because it is apparently a speakeasy-style location with drinks and live music. Unforunatley, we didn’t have a chance to check this one out, but intend to in the future.
I should also note that, just off the lobby bar, there’s also a grab-and-go market. Plus, they serve a menu of coffee from Echelon — which happens to be another of our favorite local spots.
Of course, as I mentioned, Moxy is within walking distance of plenty of Downtown dining locations. In fact, we technically went to five during our stay (not even counting either Moxy bar). To start, we got some coffee at Mudhouse and, later, stopped by J.O.B. Public House for burgers. We also walked over to Hold Fast Brewing and stopped at Pappo’s for some of their amazing cookies on the way back to our room. Finally, the next morning, we headed to The Coffee Ethic before checking out.
Beyond dining, there’s also plenty of entertainment nearby. While at Eyrie, we overheard some guests saying they’d just seen the Frank Sinatra tribute show at the Gillioz. Walking by, we noticed the venue was also hosting Big Bad Voodoo Daddy the following night — plus, Ben Folds is coming next month. I also must mention that the Gillioz is the theatre seen in Ozarks native Chappell Roan’s “Hot to Go” music video.
I mention all of this to illustrate that a stay at Moxy Springfield Downtown will put you close to plenty of dining and entertainment options.
Final Thoughts on Moxy Springfield Downtown
With a concept that emphasizes communal gatherings over spending time in the room, you’d think that the Moxy brand would be a miss for me. Yet, even if I didn’t make full use of what the Moxy Springfield Downtown location itself had to offer, I suppose I did take the second part to heart as we enjoyed a night on the town thanks to the proximity we gained to some of our favorite (or soon-to-be favorite) places. On top of that, even if it was a bit on the small side, I really liked the Moxy unique room setup and decor — not to mention my new bear art.
Now, if I were to compare it to the nearby Hotel Vandivort, I’d have to say I prefer the latter. That said, Moxy’s rate was significantly lower than Hotel V, making the match-up harder to square. Honestly, I’m just glad to have both in Springfield!
So, whether you’re headed to Springfield for a sporting event, concert, or just because, I think Moxy Springfield Downtown is a great choice that will not only give you a taste of the city on the property but also put you right in the middle of it all.
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