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
We planned an overnight in the city but decided on staying a second after checking out of our original hotel. After a quick search, The Gem was available so we grabbed it. We were welcomed graciously and grateful for the accommodation. It is uniquely boutique and petite to say the least. Loved the eco friendly aspects of the hotel and the rooftop space was a plus on a warm April evening. We didn't mind the size of the room but a little polish all around would take it to the next level. The friendly staff made us feel like regulars.
Great location, nice big lobby and alas, these are about all the positive things I remember...when I checked in the staff member never told me about the gym, roof top, etc. (Am I expecting too much?). There were only about four or five working TV channels but tons more that were blurry and/or garbled. Wifi was painfully, frustratingly slow. The bed wasn't comfortable and the toilet seat was just coldy cold, like so cold you didn't want to sit on it. The room cleaner also forgot to replenish the toiletries and coffee/tea thingies. Upon inquiry with the reception desk it still wasn't fixed completely.
The guy at front desk are nice but the manager is absent and apparently not giving a damn about cutting you out of your life for the whole lenght of your stay. Complementary internet is 2mb speed when lucky, PREMIUM internet is just a minute ago at 0.21k speed. I was not writing kbytes since 1990. And its 2019 in the middle of Manhattan. INSANE.
My family travels to NYC to visit my brother fairly frequently, but are always looking for some place to stay as the old standbys get more and more expensive, especially in the West Village. We stumbled upon the GEM in Chelsea and were not disappointed. Small, comfortable, and nicely furnished rooms at very reasonable prices. (Note: No more than two people to a room. We ended up getting two rooms for the three of us and it was still quite reasonable.) Friendly, efficient service. Pet free, which is getting harder & harder to find. We look forward to staying there on our next visit to the Big Apple.
This hotel is in a perfect spot, subway is close, the area is nice and quiet, restaurants everywhere, stores, landmarks close to it.
The room was a lil but as small as people described it, I traveled with one 2 suitcases and it was fine. The people at the reception wEre super friendly specially the lady in the front, she was my favorite.
Price was good. They had a coffee machine in the room, which was very convenient, my room was nice and clean, comfy beds.
We will come back. :-)
No bad feed back here, we were very happy at the hotel.