Hi, has anyone any reports on the Chelsea Star Hotel/Hostel??

Thanks
Kim.
PS How is the weather at the minute? I am arriving next Thurday and need to know whether to bring one or two scarves!

It gets good reviews and it's in a great location. Directly across from the police precinct house in the heart of Chelsea - close to subways, restaurants, cafes etc.

Weather at this time of year is unpredictable. ONe would usually expect temps inthe 30's and 40's during the day but we've had quite a cold strecth. It's warmign up this week but bring an extra scarf - the winds in NYC can be bitterly cold even when it's sunny and in the 30's.

Thanks Owen, that's reassuring to find out about the area and i will pack an extra scarf!

The Chelsea Star is in the Penn Station/Madison Square Garden area. I don't know anything about it. The area is convenient, safe, but crowded.

You were probably thinking of the Chelsea International Hostel. I've heard nothing but rave reviews. It's in more of a "neighborhood" than the Chelsea Star and just as convenient. I live in the area and there's tons of restaurants and cafes.

As for scarves, if you forget to bring anything to NYC, you can buy it on any street corner.

Have fun!

A

I'm glad Allan posted - I did a Goggle search on Chelsea Hostel initially and got the info for the Chelsea International Hostel on W. 20th Street - it's the one I've walked by many times and is in the neighborhood I was referring to. The Chelsea Star looks okay on their website and the only place where I could find hostel ratings actually rates it as an over 77% satisfaction rate (the Chelsea on 20th Street got a 70% rating). I definitely like the 20th Street neighborhood better - it's very much a residential area and full of people until late in the evening. The Star is at 30th Street and 8th Avenue. As Allan pointed out... it's more or less a business area and a bit on the dead side at night. It's about four short blocks to a subway stop and you won't find any fun little cafes or shops right around there. When you head downtown you'll start to find things of interest beginning around 27th Street and down (technically speaking... Chelsea ends at about 28th Street). I consider it to be a safe enough area at night but use common sense precautions, especially late at night. There are a few vagrants and homeless folks that linger around 8th Avenue between 30th and 31st at night but I'm not aware of anyone having problems with them. The website that had reviews is here

http://www.hostelnewyork.com/hosteldetails.php?HostelNumber=803

but they have no detailed info - only overall user ratings - I have no idea how reliable the info is.