Chelsea Star Hotel

I stayed in a single room on the 3rd floor for one night. When I arrived at the front door 3 other girls were also standing there, and it appeared they had been there for a bit ringing for someone to let them in. We continued to ring and stand there. This is not a good sign I thought. We were in luck though - another guest was on his way out and he inadvertently let us in. I just wonder how long we would have had to wait for someone else to come had he not arrived on the scene. To be fair to the Chelsea Star though it was around 12:30 so perhaps it was a bit early from their point of view to check in. The neighbourhood is quite dismal and it's a bit unnerving walking a few long blocks at night to or from the hotel with hardly anyone else around (I was by myself - I took the subway to Penn Station and walked the rest of the way). If you are going to the airport from the hotel just take the A, C or E line subway from Penn Station to 42nd Street (the very next stop) and go to the main bus terminal. You can get a ride to LaGuardia for $12 and to JFK for $15 (way cheaper than a cab). The room was so very small - I think the pictures on the website are a bit misleading, although other reviews state that the deluxe rooms are more spacious. Still - it was only me and I just wanted a place to sleep so all in all it was fine. I had a TV and I loved the mirror. The single bed was a bit lumpy but otherwise adequate - and the sheets were clean. The noise however was something else. I faced busy 8th Avenue and the road seemed to have some sort of grate on it, so as the cars sped by they would emit a noisy "klunk klunk" sound. I was awake all night. I found it strange that there was no soap in the washroom to wash your hands after using the facilities. If I would have brought flip flops I might have tried the shower but the thought of showering with bare feet did not appeal to me. Would I stay there again - the answer is NO but if your young, on a tight budget and can get a room with less noise (or don't mind it) there are probably worse places you can stay.

The maintenance people don't really clean the bathrooms (they just wipe them down with a leftover dirty towel that a guest has used!). And the blankets really do need to be washed. Execept for the very large mixed dorm on the first floor and the smaller mixed dorm on the third floor there is NO WHERE TO PUT YOUR BAGS unlness you are traveling VERY light. There's no common area, no food served, no kitchen. The staff is pleasant but that's to be expected - it doesn't make up for the essentially overpriced stay. Jazz on the Park (not Jazz on the Town -major problems over there!) is the best hostel in NYC for the money. It's way up on 106th but the upper westside is really nice.

Like most people, I took a chance at Chelsea Star, hoping it wouldn't be a terrible experience. It was very small, but an excellent place to stay. If you plan on being out and about in the City, I highly recommend it. It was a comfortable, clean place to sleep, the tile bathrooms were awesome, and the superior room was a good size. I know it is way cheaper to stay in the dorm style rooms or shared bathroom rooms, but paying just a little more for a private room is well worth it. Even paying more for a private bathroom, you still will end up paying less than other hotels in NYC. If you plan on staying in the room most of the time, it probably wouldn't be a great choice. The hotel is very small and has no elevators, but they do have help that take up your luggage and take them down when you leave. SAVE YOUR MONEY TO SHOP PEOPLE! ITS NYC! TAKE ADVANTAGE. AND TAKE A CHANCE AT CHELSEA STAR!

I stayed at this hotel if you can call it that a couple of years ago, so yeah this isn't a recent review but I think it is still valid. I am using tripadvisor as my guide to booking some hotels in Paris and to check how accurate it is I thought I'd have a look at what it said about a hotel I'd stayed in in New York. The result is that the negative reviews of this hotel are in my opinion the accurate ones so take heed and try somewhere else instead. It sounds like the big deluxe room with it's own bathroom is fine, but we stayed in a triple room on the reception floor level and it was the pits. One rickety bunk, with a double bottom and single top. No room to swing a cat. Street noise at all hours. But I haven't come to the worst bit yet. The shared bathroom down the hall was basically a urinal, well that's what it smelt like. You had to wear sandals in the bathroom, it's one of the worst I've ever been in and I've been camping and youth hostelling for years. It was really foul, the toilet is in the shower and I don't think a lot of people knew which one to use. Also the walls were full length mirror, which was very disconcerting to wash naked in front of!! I just hope they weren't two way. My advice don't get sucked in by the quirky decoration of the rooms. It won't detract from the smell, dirt and cramped surroundings.

Very nice location (near the subway & buses (even those going to airports), very near from Penn station 34th.st/8th av. and Madison Square Garden, Macy's et Empire State not very far) but the area has no charm...Bars/restaurants in this area are not very attractive. I prefer the south of Chelsea. stayed 6 nights@ the Chelsea star: Room#1 w/shared bath : the "Cher"room : funny but very small and very noisy(1st floor/street). Pretty clean. 2nd Night: a mouse in the room!! We asked to have another room immediately and got an another one. overall : 1.5/5 Room#2 w/shared bath : the "Galaxy"room : funny (phospho stars on the walls) but very dark and smaller than the other room. So dark that we couldn't know if the room was clean (black carpet)... I guess not that much because on the 4th night : again a mouse, on the bed this time... After screaming a little, we asked for another room... This time, the desk gave us a huge deluxe room w/bath to apologize... overall: 1/5 Room#3 w/bathroom (Deluxe room on the 3rd floor) : Very nice, very comfortable (DVD, sofa, queen-size bed, not so much noise) and very spacious. Nice bathroom with colors and a bath... The exact opposite of the Room#1 and #2... overall : 4/5 We paid 100$ per night : very low price for New year's eve. Rooms are not awful but worth 100$ not more. But I know that in NY, some worst hotels are much more expensive... I would recommend the superior/deluxe room, I think these are good value for price. Reception is OK and helpful. Luggage deposit OK after checking-out.

I don't know where to start wth this review of the chelsea star hotel. At times it was above aveage and at other times awful. The girl on the reception is one of the most rude people i have ever met, she seemed to do the day shift but everybody else is very helpful. Do not stay in the shakespeare room is tiny and drab. We went and asked for another room as it is so bad so they moved us to the King and I room this is bigger but because of the red lampshades it is very dark. My advice is get in the bathroom early as the more people use it the worse it gets. The doors to the rooms are made of steel so they wake u up if anybody comes in during the early hours. I am more than happy to answer any other questions rachaelfthompson@yahoo.co.uk. I would say don't stay here if u have a choice but its ok for somewhere to rest your head if u r on a budget

Was delighted with the Chelsea Star. Having read reviews here before we travelled, i confirmed via email & phone the reservation the week before we went. We had booked double room Dec 14th-19th, with shared bathroom for 5 nights, and got upgraded to a room with private bathroom instead on arrival. Our room faced out over 8th avenue, plenty of city noise, but no problems sleeping. it was right over Subway sandwiches and no, we didnt notice any problems with sandwich smells! Don't listen to anyone giving out about towels etc, if you want more you just ask and they keep things like hair dryers at reception rather than in each room. Sure the tv reception wasn't great - but you're in NYC, watch tv at home! Our double room had a king size bed, and a dresser with plenty of storage. The location is superb for navigating manhattan. This is very decent accomodation at ultra-budget hotel prices. i'll definitely stay there again and recommend it to friends.

If I had read the previous reviews I would never had stayed at the Chelsea Star and I would have missed a great hotel. We knew we would be late and gave them a call with our new arrival time and had no problems. We asked for a king bed for the lower rate and were upgraded to it with no cost. We payed $139. Dec. 2-4. Our room was on the top floor so the stairs tired us after a while, but you know what - this was a budget hotel in New York! Our room was gorgeous - in fact it is on the web site - the four poster bed with lavender and green walls. The bathroom lovely and all tiled with blue and yellow tiles. It was a very large room in fact. The street noises went on way into the night. I like city noise at night, but this street is very busy and so I had to wear earplugs the second night. The third night I was used to it. Our wake up calls were always on time. The staff held our bags while we enjoyed New York until late our last day. I just cannot say enough good things. We had a wonderful time. It was not dirty at all. In fact, our room had fresh flowers. I love the area - a short walk to Macy's and the Empire State Building as well as the Post Office for your mail, and Penn station. And the crazy decor is wonderful. I always specifically look for artsy places. This really fit the bill. I suggest you try it if you are on a tight budget! (Maybe it is the hostel rooms that are not as adequate?)

Stayed in a single room for 2 nights and then had a friend join me for 3 nights in a superior room, the single was small but clean and comfortable, the superior is as good as any big hotel - without paying the price. The staff at check-in and during my stay were very friendly and helpful, recommending places to eat and shop and sightsee. I would recommend it for the budget traveller, if you want a Hilton - then stay at the Hilton.

We stayed at the Chelsea Star from Dec 1 through the 4th for a long-awaited Christmas trip in NYC. Our room was extremely small; it was basically a bed, but that's really all we wanted because we wanted to see the sights. We knew we weren't staying at the Sheraton, but we at least expected it to be warm and clean, if not small with no luxuries. I do not recommend walking around your room barefoot as it was rather nasty. The shared bath was cute, but disgusting. Our TV did NOT work, it rolled and ABC failed to come in at all. We weren't holed up in our room, but it would have been nice to watch the news or Letterman at night. The staff supplies you with paper-thin towels and that's about it--one staff person barely spoke English. We asked the person at the front desk to turn on our heat (no, there AREN'T controls in the room), which they did. Apparently, they must have thought we were comfortable, because sometime during the night they turned it off. We woke up freezing and with sore throats and had to go back to the front desk to ask them to turn it back on. There is a sign in the room asking you not to burn candles, but since the hotel is over a Subway restaurant, you will want to bring some candles. As soon as you come to the hotel, you have to walk up 8-10 steps to get to the front desk and hallway. Let me tell you, that's a lot of fun with 2 huge rolly suitcases. Otherwise, the location is great and you have to have a keycard to even access the building, but I think basic necessities such as being warm and a clean place to get ready are worth a bit more money each night.