I have booked a room for 4 nights at the Chelsea Hotel in NYC, and was very excited until I searched the web for reviews, only to find more horror stories than recommendations. I usually do some pretty extensive research before-hand for this kind of stuff, but I had just come back from NYC, where I had checked out the Chelsea (lobby and bar), which I thought looked pretty darn nice. I chose the Chelsea for its famed ambiance, location, and of course, its history. My two biggest concerns (both of which were called into question by reviews I had read) are cleanliness and safety. I know that I'm paying for novelty, not amenities, but I don't want to sleep in a total dive. Does anyone have any experience staying there? How about recommendations for places to go or happenings in Chelsea?
Thanks.

I think the point of the hotel is that it is supposed to be a total dive - you are to revel in its diviness (and the history of all those others who reveled in its diviness) - do you think those famous people stayed there because it was clean and tidy???

If you are seriously concerned about this I would make another choice.

Are you sure this is the hotel you visited? Perhaps you went to the Chelsea Savoy which is down the street

http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev..._New_York.html

El Quijote, the Spanish restaurant off the lobby of the Chelsea Hotel is great, especially for lobster but I wouldn't stay there

I'd stay there in a minute and would revel in the seediness!

Just think of all the famous people that offed themselves there!

Just think of all the famous artists and musicians that lived there!

Aahh the history!

I stayed there and I thought it was okay. My biggest complaint about it is that it is overpriced and the front desk clerks are snooty and snotty.
It was clean enough and I didn't worry about safety. However, I am 6'5 and usually don't.

Aah the funky smells!! :-<
Aah the cracked windows!!
Aah the groaning pipes!!

What is the difference between snooty and snotty? Snobby? Snobbish?

Snooty is acting superior.
Snotty is being rude.
The front desk clerks are both.

Whenever I walk by there, I stop and reflect on the life of Sid Vicious.

Four nights?? Don't do it. The place is a dump.

Unless, of course, you like dumps.

I don't know what reviews you have read. The reviews from tripadvisor are mostly positive and in my opinion accurate. I was glad I stayed there. It is a dump but has character, unlike plastic Marriotts, Hiltons, Hyatts, which are all the same and very boring.