GEM Hotel – Chelsea, an Ascend Hotel Collection Member
What We Love
- The work by local artists on display in the lobby
- The unbeatable location—everything from energetic nightlife to NY’s best bagels is around the corner
- The light-strung roof deck with its romantic city views
What To Know
- Free WiFi
- Ask for an inner room to cut down on street noise
- Rooms are petite, even for New York
- The fitness center is small but has several good machines
Amenities
- Bar
- Free WiFi
- Gym
- Handicap-accessible
- Parking On Site
Overview
The Lowdown
The combination of stellar location and reasonable rates make this Chelsea hotel one of the best deals in the city. Whether you’re an art nerd, a party-until-dawn type or a food snob, the neighborhood has a surfeit of cooler-than-cool options. Explore until you’re ready to drop, then head back to a compact and modern room, with white subway tile in the bathrooms and framed black-and-white silhouettes on the walls. The lobby is more colorfully chic, with patterned floor tiles and elongated yellow sofas that make a good place to relax with an espresso or a cocktail from the bar, which has a temptingly long daily happy hour from 4 to 8 pm. With its backlit shelves softly glowing, and blond wood stools lined up at the marble bar, this makes a great spot to pre-game before heading out on the town—or just heading back upstairs for a nap. No judgement.
In the Area
Staying in Chelsea is really spoiling yourself, since you can stuff yourself with delicious treats all day, then dance off the calories all night long. With the occasional cultural highlight in between, of course. The fabulous elevated gardens of the High Line are just an eight-minute walk away; you can snack at the vendors and cafes up here or grab one of the best bagels in New York from Murray’s Bagels, just across the street from the hotel. David Chang’s glorious fusion restaurant, Momofuku Nishi, is right on the other side of 8th Avenue; make time for dinner here. The world-class Whitney Museum of American Art is less than a mile southwest. If you want to go further afield, there’s a subway stop just a block from the hotel, and you can walk to Penn Station when you’re headed out of town.
How to Get There
Reviews
The hotel is in a great location, close to shops, restaurants and subway stations. The staff were very welcoming and pleasant. There is a bar which serves wine and beer 2 for 1 in happy hour between 3 p.m and 11 p.m. There is a roof terrace but we did not use it. there is an ice maker in the basement and iced water and iced tea on the bar in the evening - a nice touch.
The only problem i had was with the size of the room, i had booked what was termed Queen Rooms, but although there was a queen bed in the room, the bed nearly filled the room and there was only a small space to walk round the bed. The was only a small shelf in the bathroom to put toiletries on. If I was in New York for more than a couple of days, it would not have been comfortable for me, but as we were only there for 3 nights, it was manageable.
The reception desk printed my boarding tickets for me and also looked after our bags on the last day after checking out.
Let me start off by saying that I am not a fan of New York City. This hotel changed my opinion. It is on an absolutely gorgeous tree lined street. The lobby was welcoming and the room, although small, was tastefully decorated. I was so impressed with the staff, especially the lady that works the front desk early in the morning. We arrived exhausted after a red eye flight and wanted nothing more than a shower and a quick nap before starting our day. Initially told there were no available rooms, the observant lady, I wish I had gotten her name, saw my friend waiting for me outside the bathroom, inquired as to what she was doing there, promptly got behind the desk and made sure that we got into a room that was, indeed available. Words cannot thank her enough for going above and beyond.
The neighborhood is centrally located. We had breakfast at the restaurant next door. It was very good. There are bars, restaurants, clubs, liquor stores, all within walking distance. The rooftop is lovely in the evening. You can see the lights of the Empire State Building.
This property comes highly recommended. I just dropped one star because the rooms are postage stamp size, but that aside,give it a try!
Since I was going to events in both Brooklyn and on Broadway, I was looking for a reasonably priced centralized location, and this fit the bill perfectly. Walking distance to the public transportation I needed with plenty of places nearby to eat or pick up a snack, which is really all I was looking for. Even late at night, I felt pretty safe in the neighborhood (and in the hotel as well).
The hotel itself is nice, though, as many have mentioned, a bit small. Since I was traveling by myself, however, it was perfect. They have a little bar in the lobby that had two for one drink specials while I was there, which was cool, and a rooftop patio that was a nice place to unwind. The room was surprisingly quiet, and room service was great (and not intrusive). I was also able to leave my bag with them after checkout while I killed time until I had to go back to the bus station, which was nice.
I would definitely book again.
I don’t have a bad word to say about this hotel. The location was amazing - safe, convenient and I felt more like it was a local neighbourhood than I was a tourist.
The subway could not be closer in every direction, you can walk to almost everything pretty easily too if you wanted to.
I initially had a room facing the neighbouring building which was small, dark and not very spacious. I asked if I could change to a street view room as I was there for 8 nights and it was incomparable - almost double the size, sunny, huge bathroom and desk.
The staff were great, rooms were clean and I felt like I lived there!
If you want a great home base for a NYC adventure, The GEM should be your place. Chelsea is a great neighborhood, and you’ll appreciate coming back to a quaint, quieter neighborhood with local cafes and bars, after a long day out and about. Subway a minute away. High Line, Chelsea Market all within easy walking distance. Rooms are small, clean, decent bed, bathroom fine, with newer fixtures. Roof deck has a great view of the Empire State Building. A few things need to be cleaned up/replaced - lobby couches look very worn, roof top furniture needs a fresh coat of sealer, and roof deck lights need replacing. Staff very nice. Great stay for a good price comparative to other NYC hotel prices we researched. Would definitely stay there again!