New Haven's All-Electric Hotel Is Raising the Bar for Green Luxury

Chairman Suite
Photo: Joanna Kalafatis

Some people think genuine sustainability necessitates sacrificing some level of comfort or luxury. The second I entered my room, one of 165 at Hotel Marcel, I was immediately certain of what I’d always suspected: that line of thinking was wrong.

My deluxe king guest room featured three huge windows, filling the room with natural light. The decor was an attractive mix of retro features, reflecting the building’s 1960s construction, and modern amenities. I had plenty of space to sit, work, and place my things, including a plush green sofa, a window-facing desk with a stylish office chair, a coffee table, and a soft and luxurious king bed. The room was also pet-friendly — great news for my Jack Russell mix Zoe.

Looking out over New Haven’s harbor, I realized that the hotel’s eco-friendly design also enhances the guest experience. Hotel Marcel is the world’s largest Passive House-certified hotel thanks to its energy-saving window design, meaning it adheres to a high international standard for energy consumption and air tightness. That also means that the thick windows completely drown out the noise from the surrounding highways. As a bonus for the hotel itself, the design saves management around $300,000 a year in utility bills.

Photo: Joanna Kalafatis

Before exploring the rest of the hotel, I stepped into the bathroom to take a hot shower after my trip. Hotel Marcel is the first US hotel to install the Mitsubishi Heat₂O system, an all-electric system for commercial, high-volume hot water distribution, so visitors can enjoy hot water year-round with no fossil fuel consumption.

As far as other rooms are concerned, you can’t go wrong. All of the hotel’s guest rooms have natural lighting thanks to the interior rooms facing the hotel’s central lightwell. You can choose between two doubles, a king room, two queens, deluxe options for the latter two, a corner king with panoramic views of New Haven’s harbor, or one of the suites.

Chairman Suite
Photo: Joanna Kalafatis

The Chairman Suite is the largest and most luxurious room available. Hotel Marcel is housed in the revamped former Armstrong Rubber Company Building, originally built by legendary architect Marcel Breuers. The Chairman Suites are built in the former company’s sprawling, revamped executive offices. In addition to spacious bedrooms, each includes a kitchenette and living area, all overlooking the Long Island Sound below.

Hotel Marcel also offers an accessible Presidential Suite that’s even larger — 700 square feet. For all of its comfort, my room was accessible in price: deluxe king rooms cost about $150 per night on weekdays and $230 per night on weekends.

Photo: Joanna Kalafatis

At Hotel Marcel, I managed to keep up my daily routine without leaving the hotel. The hotel has a fitness center, a restaurant, a hybrid cafe and bar adjacent to the restaurant, and my favorite: a comfortable lounge on the ground floor where I could relax with a coffee, work, or read.

The restaurant, BLDG, helmed by rising chef Megan Gill, adheres to the hotel’s eco-friendly philosophy. All ingredients are sourced within 250 miles of the hotel from farms Gill has personally selected, and every dish is made using sustainable energy. When I spoke with Gill, it was clear how much pride she took in using locally produced ingredients to create new dishes that vary with the seasons while showcasing the local produce and animals.

Photo: Joanna Kalafatis

Cider-braised chicken was the star of my three-course meal. I ordered it out of sheer curiosity since I’d never tried anything like it before. Bone-in chicken thighs were dressed with miso caramel and cornbread crumbs, an innovative and delicious combination of flavors. One thing to note is that the portions here are definitely on the larger side; you’ll never leave hungry.

My meal at BLDG was reflective of the general atmosphere at Hotel Marcel — not once did I feel the hotel’s eco-consciousness come at the expense of my experience. If anything, the eco-friendly measures only resulted in benefits. Gill herself told me that locally sourcing food resulted in both cheaper and fresher ingredients for her kitchen — attesting to the fact that it’s possible to create an elevated, amenity-filled hotel that doesn’t harm the planet.

Photo: James Andrews1/Shutterstock

I hadn’t visited New Haven for years, so I figured I’d spend some time exploring the town, which is perhaps best known for being home to Yale University. I didn’t have a car, but thankfully Hotel Marcel provides an electric shuttle that takes guests into town to the destinations of their choosing. I called ahead, and within 5-10 minutes, the shuttle was ready.

Naturally, I had to try what New Haven’s second claim to fame is after being home to an Ivy League: pizza. The two most historic pizza places in the area are Frank Pepe and Sally’s. Opened in 1925, Frank Pepe has now been operating for a century. The people who run Sally’s are part of the same family — due to a disagreement decades ago, they broke off and started their own pizza place just down the street.

I stepped into Frank Pepe, under the massive sign featuring a mustachioed Italian man, to order the local favorite: white clam pie. This pizza is the restaurant’s signature offering, and to my surprise, the combination of flavors was infinitely more delicious than I thought it would be.

Photo: f11photo/Shutterstock

For cultural spots in town, try the Yale University Art Gallery or the university’s Peabody Museum of Nature History. On pleasant days, you can explore East Rock Park, a city park that has a great view of the surrounding area from its highest point.

Photo: Joanna Kalafatis

New Haven has a small regional airport. Visitors usually fly into either La Guardia or John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City. La Guardia is slightly closer, just 74 miles away.

To get to Hotel Marcel from NYC you can take Amtrak from Penn Station or one of the MTA trains. The journey takes 1 hour and 40 minutes. Once you get to New Haven train station, the hotel’s electric shuttle will be waiting to drive you the 1.2 miles to Hotel Marcel.

You can also drive — about a two-hour journey — but I still recommend the train. In addition to avoiding the infamous NYC traffic, it lets you start your journey on an environmentally friendly foot on Amtrak’s electric train.

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