Montclair’s MC Hotel Opens, Taps Into Local Artistic Scene

MONTCLAIR, NJ — For $219 and up, you can spend the night in Montclair’s first “premium, full-service hotel” since 1938.

Last week, The MC Hotel – part of the Marriott Autograph Collection portfolio – opened its doors at the corner of Bloomfield Avenue and Orange Road. The 159-room, 120,000 square-foot hotel is managed by Aparium Hotel Group, marking the group’s entrance into the East Coast.

The MC Hotel is developed by a joint venture between The Hampshire Companies, a full service, private real estate investment firm, and The Pinnacle Companies, along with investment partner Circle Squared Alternaive Investments.

Some attractions at the hotel include 8,000 square-feet of conference, meeting and event space, a 95-seat restaurant dubbed Allegory, and Alto, a 106-seat rooftop bar and lounge that will open this fall. Several one-bedroom suites are built into the hotel’s rotunda, which have curved glass exterior walls and offer views of the hills and parks of Montclair.

It’s also pet-friendly, and accepts dogs 50 pounds and under for a “nominal fee.”

Concepted by Dash Design’s David Ashen, The MC Hotel’s public spaces are designed to “emulate a gallery space,” according to its developers. This includes items that showcase Montclair’s artistic roots, such as a 30-foot black and white mural inspired by the local flora and fauna by world famous illustrators Ruben and Isabelle Toledo. The Lobby Marketplace offers a series of postcard art by Studio Montclair, 430 artists strong, initially including Rachael Grochowski, RM Cimini, and Susanna Baker, with others to follow. And each elevator landing of the hotel features 6-foot by 6-foot paintings of Montclair’s surroundings done in the style of ancient Indian miniatures by well-known Montclair artist, Siona Benjamin.

Developers said the hotel will support local entrepreneurs such as Rose & Co. Candlemakers, which is helmed by 12-year old Rose Powell. Additional ways the hotel will tap into the local creative community include:

• Staff will lead a rotating calendar of wellness, music, art, food and beverage pop-ups
• Wednesday evening art tours
• Bath and body products for purchase from local handmade purveyor DollyMoo
• Pressed juices and juice cleanses from local partner Juice Basin
• Jazz brunches featuring local acts such as Gail Campbell and Thieves & Poets
• Great Notch Coffee, a local Newark brand, will roast a special coffee blend for the hotel

“The opening of The MC Hotel is a very special occasion for Montclair, and it was important for us to invite the Montclair community into the creative process when creating the personality and vibe for this hotel,” said general manager Oscar Fontana Roos.

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