Well, not a stay report but a bit of nacho 's tale in dealing with paying for the multi-month stay at a Moxy: 2 months stay in a Marriott in Europe - how do I settle the folio

David

Only 2 but it's more than enough.

It wasn't something I'd like to repeat unless it is absolutely necessary.

The Moxy was the cheapest option for a 2 month stay in the Copenhagen area, cheaper than AirBnB (it was during the Covid time so Moxy was willing to give a good price). I had to get stuck with traffic daily to drive my kids to school while Mr was sorting our last stuff before moving to our newly built house. Yes there is a sofa table and that was used as our cooking station. There was no chair as there was only a sofa bed. My kids actually disliked the communal work space area.

I have stayed at Moxy Bergen and there is something resembling a very small desk but it is far from ideal. Also not a chair with back support, but a stool, so not good for any longer work sessions for me at least. Also no closet, you get a couple of hangers and you are meant to hang your stuff on the metal grid on the wall.

Hotel is pretty basic but OK for a couple of nights in my opinion, nice location and breakfast was fine too.

You can see the "desk" in room here: https://www.marriott.com/en-us/hotel...-bergen/rooms/

Some of the replies in that thread …. wow! No matter how many times I’ve re-read that thread. ;)

Moxy is Marriott’s main expansion baby in Scandinavia nowadays, and there’s nothing I like about that as a hotel loyalty program player deep into the Scandinavian hotel scene. No way I would chose the Moxy in Bergen for my leisure stays in Bergen over the alternatives better located for me.

:D

You know the price level in DK, so there is no room for another FS or even CY. Scandic is solidly based in Scandinavia and it's free breakfast is definitely one of the biggest attraction given the price level here. Eating in hotel restaurants is not something seen as high class in Scandinavia (in Asia it is a different story).

Moxy fits the bill - an affordable Marriott in somewhere expensive - so it's perfect for those who wants to use their 35k FNA in Moxy Bergen, or use points to redeem for free nights, or those who really needs to stay at a Marriott on paid stays.

When we went to Bergen a 15 years ago, we used a local brand hotel, pretty centrally located and it includes breakfast: an apple, a box of juice and a sandwich in a bag. That was half the price of the Radisson and other brand name hotels. The room was bigger than Moxy and it had a proper table and chair.

Together with Nordic Choice (think it’s Strawberry now) and to some extent Thon pretty much dominated the whole Scandinavia market. Quite an uphill struggle for the American brands to break in.

It’s Strawberry now, and it happens to be my primary Scandinavian hotel group. Speaking of which, even their Comfort hotels in Scandinavia are more comfy for me than Moxy properties in the region. :eek: Nordic Choice + Scandic indeed have been pretty dominant, as you note. Even Radisson ended up on the slow back burners in the face of those two.

Thon is basically almost nonexistent in Sweden and Denmark. IIRC Thon has more hotels in Belgium than in Sweden (2?)+ Denmark (1?) combined. Even Hyatt has more coverage in Sweden+Denmark than Thon has.

Best Western has more affiliated properties in Denmark alone than Thon has in total across all its markets outside of Norway. I even prefer some — or maybe even most — BWs in Scandinavia over the Moxy hotels in the region.

American brands in the region tend not to offer breakfast to all guests if going in with their own brands via organic growth. That is enough of a deal breaker in at least Sweden to make it an uphill battle for hotels that can’t live off just business travelers on expense accounts and peak season foreign tourists willing to eat the cost of breakfast out of pocket.

I've worked out of that Moxy in Bergen and it was either a work from bed or go downstairs into the lobby where you can enjoy the views of the docks. ;)

I've stayed at other Moxy's before - Chester, Berlin - and soon will be heading to Bergen too. Its concept is that of a social hotel with almost friendly party-like vibe where people are encouraged to work and socialize in the lobby cum bar. Which may explain the lack of in-room furniture.

Among other things, the lack of in-room furniture is part of Moxy’s deliberately designed-in cost-saving features to appeal to property owners. That purposefully designed-in, relative discomfort dynamic in the rooms is meant to try to drive up revenue for the property owners by pushing the guests to hang out more and spend more money in the lobby on food and beverage. That explains the “social hotel”/“party-like” vibe.

Exactly, they can easily provide free food and drink like manager receptions in those long stay hotels.

That's true... and in the Moxy hotels that I've visited, the ground floor dining area even had microwave, proper cutlery, and an array of condiments (HP, ketchup, mayo, etc.) - while not a full fledged kitchen, it does enable to you heat up a simple microwaveable meal and consume there, thus keeping your meal costs down if you wish. You can find a corner and be as alone as you want to be, or socialize with other guests.

The thing is that the staff won't mention that you can use it unless you deliberately ask. That's my impression of Moxy Copenhagen. There is no sign whatsoever saying that you can use the cutlery and there is nowhere to put the used ones. I saw people coming in buying a 35 DKK coffee and sit there the whole day and sometimes companies go there after work.

I do use Moxy for the occasional mattress run or overnight (eg arriving near midnight at MXP recently), but anyone who stays 3+ nights there deserves some kind of award for endurance.

I remember a 4-night stay in AMS in Nov 2019. I'd booked the first two nights in the Moxy as AMS is seriously expensive. The first night the bed was so hard that I barely slept more than 3 hours and woke up with terrible back pain - the worst bed I've ever experienced in a hotel (brand or non-brand). I asked to move rooms for the second night and the bed was equally terrible - I had to take painkillers to get any sleep at all. Thank god I was checking out the next day

The second two nights of my AMS stay was staying in the WA using free night certificates (BMG). I still remember the look on the face of the front desk guy at Moxy when I told him I was checking out and going to stay at the Waldorf Astoria for the remainder of my trip :)

That's definitely the biggest gulf in class I've ever experienced when going from one hotel to another in the same city!

Headed to Bergen myself next year. Radisson for us. Stayed in one Moxy a few years ago (London )& never, ever will I do that again! Hideous brand/concept IME.