Holiday Inn Express New York City - Chelsea

We were very happy with our weekend here and would consider coming back. The room was small but comfortable, which was fine since we mainly needed a place to sleep and shower while exploring NYC for the first time. We were able to upgrade and check in earlier than expected. The staff were great, especially the friendly young woman whose name starts with J, who helped us at check-in. She gave us such good service. Breakfast was quite satisfactory, and when we requested a toothbrush, towels, or toilet paper, the staff brought them. Extra pillows were promised but never arrived. Thanks to Holiday Inn Express Chelsea for the hospitality, and please give that young woman a raise!

I had booked four nights through Booking.com, booking number 6727280930, but a snowstorm led to all flights being officially canceled. It was completely out of my hands. I contacted the hotel right away through Booking.com and asked if they could shorten my stay to two nights rather than cancel the whole booking. They refused to refund anything and didn’t even reply to my message. A good location, clean rooms, and comfortable beds aren’t all that matter in hospitality. How people are treated in extraordinary situations matters too. The communication was extremely poor, with no flexibility or empathy. Very disappointing and unprofessional.

The rooms are tiny, and although we booked queen beds, we got twin beds. The gym was cramped and barely equipped, and there’s no laundry. To use the TV, we had to bring our own HDMI cable. At that point, just call it a monitor.

The area was nice and easy to get around, and the cleaning staff did a great job. We’d return to a tidy room, and the front desk woman with short hair and glasses, I think, was very nice. But the elevators are awful. Hope you’re on the first floor, or you could wait five minutes. Before arriving, I called about leaving our luggage until check-in after a red-eye flight. A man said it depended on whether lockers were available and there was room, so I paid a bodega $20 to hold the bags. Then I got to the hotel and saw a whole pile of suitcases. They also insisted I’d called the wrong Holiday Inn, which was frustrating because I hadn’t. They charged an extra $139 for the first day, which made no sense since Expedia showed everything included. I paid $40 for early check-in even though they’d quoted $35. They don’t charge you until you leave and hand in the key. The walls are thin enough to hear everything. For about $800 for four days, I got what I paid for, and it was affordable, but I probably won’t return. Also, my friend checked in the next day and the man warned them not to smoke, saying the alarms could detect vapes and marijuana. I don’t know why he said that based on how they looked, since nobody told me anything like that. It was weird.