Chelsea Inn

Boutique Hotel vibe, limited by vintage building

Prós: Rooms were recently remodeled, or at least mine was. Nicely done with some exposed brick, wood floor, tasteful art and fixtures, great bed, big screen TV. Shared bathroom was also freshly and tastefully done, and clean.... But SHARED. I think they may have some rooms w private baths for more $. They were working on the hallways during my stay, but I don't see how they can fully update vintage structure with its narrow halls and losing stairway.

Contras: Street noise.

Under construction

Prós: The renovated rooms were very nice, however, they had been recently painted and the fumes were overwhelming, so I was transferred to one of the older, non-renovated rooms. Although the bed and furnishings were new (sheets, pillows and wall mounted TV, the walls (paint and plaster) and carpet were what you would expect in a no-tell motel. Also, most of the rooms "shared" a bathroom. Your bedroom had it's own door and you had to leave your room to go into a bathroom which was used by another room. It worked out fine. Still, it is a great value ($65/night booked in advance) for the location! There's a cute french cafe next to it for breakfast and you're never in the room (very small as most NYC hotel rooms) anyway.

Contras: It was a 5 story walk-up building - no elevator. After looking at 2 rooms (one without a window! and both freshly painted/smelly) we were transferred to the 5th floor and it was a struggle getting the luggage up the 4 flights of stairs (main floor/1st floor). It will be a very nice hotel once the renovation is completed.