ARRIVAL/CHECK-IN: I’ve visited close family friends in New Haven, Connecticut, many times over the years, but I’ve usually stayed with them and never had the chance to explore the city’s hotel scene. However, on my most recent visit, I brought my mom and my 1-year-old daughter with me, so it was time to check out the hotels on offer, and Hotel Marcel immediately caught my eye — and not only for its eye-catching architecture. We arrived in the evening, around 7 p.m., after hitting some traffic.

On-site parking is easy (don’t let the next-door IKEA throw you off; it is the hotel parking lot) and we were quickly checked in and on our way to our room. Since my daughter’s birth, we’ve stayed in several hotels and always requested a Pack ’n Play or crib in the room. Hotel Marcel was the first and only of those properties to actually have the Pack ’n Play in the room upon arrival.

© Hotel Marcel New Haven, Tapestry Collection by Hilton

GUEST QUARTERS: The 165-guestroom hotel abounds with superlatives, from its unique building structure (For example, the
building features a two-story void that frames a view of the city from the highway.) to its heavy focus on eco-friendliness. Our deluxe two queen room was ideal for our multigenerational, two-night trip. Upon entry, a small foyer with a full-length mirror afforded a nice, open entry for a stroller. The large size of the room allowed us to spread out and still have plenty of space to maneuver.

To the left of the entry was the bathroom with a single sink, separate water closet and stall shower. A clean, muted color palette flowed throughout the space. A dresser flowed directly into a desk along the right wall as you entered the room, with a TV mounted over the desk. A small couch with a round end table and an ottoman sat in the corner. Three windows looked out over the water, and the two queen-sized beds flanked nightstands and sat against leather headboards with built-in lighting.

SERVICES/AMENITIES: For our purposes, the hotel was perfectly located. We were about 10 minutes from our friends’ house, close to downtown New Haven (not too close that we had to deal with the city traffic and congestion, but close enough to pick up some famous New Haven pizza to take home) and nearby the highway.

© Hotel Marcel New Haven, Tapestry Collection by Hilton

The hotel boasts more than 9,000 square feet of meeting and event space. One night of our stay, a Yale event was being hosted in the event room directly across from the elevator bank. The event spilled into the elevator lobby area, which made it difficult to enter and exit the elevators, with or without the stroller.

We enjoyed brunch at BLDG on the first morning of our stay; don’t miss out on the sweet potato biscuits with cinnamon-honey butter!

TOP TAKEAWAYS:

• Immediately recognizable for its unique architecture, the building housing today’s Hotel Marcel was once Marcel Breuer’s concept for Armstrong Rubber Co., an example of Brutalist architecture and Bauhaus design.
• Be sure to enjoy the curated art collection on display around the hotel; the artwork particularly focuses on contemporary, local and emerging artists, many of whom are women.
• When it comes to sustainability, Hotel Marcel may just be one of the, if not the No. 1, best hotels in the United States. The hotel is 100 percent electric, operates fossil-fuel free, is LEED Platinum-certified and is expected to be the nation’s first Passive House-certified hotel and first Net Zero hotel by the end of 2025.

HOTEL MARCEL NEW HAVEN, TAPESTRY COLLECTION BY HILTON
500 Sargent Drive
New Haven, CT 06511
tel 203 780 7800