DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel New York City - Chelsea — Hotel in New York

My wife and I wanted to visit New York and we were searching for nice hotel with moderate prices in good localization. Thanks to TripAdvisor / GoogleMaps, we picked DoubleTree by Hilton in Chelsea. When we arrived, it was hard for us to find the entrance, it's a little bit hidden, without any big brand logos. Before coming to USA, I bought some dollars to have nice exchange rate. However during check-in, it was a problem to pay by debit card or cash for hotel stay. Because we were tired after 11 hours of flight, I said to use credit card for entire bill. So it's not possible to give credit card for additional expenses and pay for stay in another way... that way I lost on poor exchange rate on credit card. At least we received, as usually in DoubleTrees, cookies.

We received room on 20th floor. It was huge enough with big bed - so comfy! There are many places for clothes and other things. Big TV screen with cable TV - super cool! Internet bandwidth was very good, no problems for video calls or Netflix. Bathroom contains bath (not shower). Many places for hanging additional towels. There are two electro sockets. In bedroom, there were at least 4 or 5 electro sockets with additional USB sockets. There is in-room safe but our was broken. I was able to close it and then open it without entering code. But it wasn't problem for us so I didn't make a complain about it.

One thing must be added about room. Cleanliness. I was in many places around the world and cleaning service was always a problem. Here, my wife was cleaning common places like tv remote control or table with antibacterial tissue and it was white clean! Huge congrats for such a perfect cleaning service.

From my point of view the biggest advantage of the hotel is location. Hotel is located near PennStation (5min walk), Macy's (10min walk) and TimesSquare (15min walk). Subway station (28th St Line1) is just around the corner. We were walking till late hours and there was no issue with safety.

About restaurant I cannot say anything because we didn't try breakfast nor dinner. About breakfast we decided to eat like a local because groceries were everywhere like Walgreens, Target or Duane Reade stores. Dinners we were eating at the city. In room there is small fridge. Huge plus also for coffee machine. Coffee beans (capsules) were refilled every day.

In afternoon there is hot coffee or chocolate free for guests.

Before coming to DoubleTree, I was afraid about the elevator issue that some people wrote. Unfortunately I can admit that it's really a problem. Elevators are so slow, stops so frequently. During our stay, only once elevators (both 2) were broken. There was a need to use stairs for 20 floors. Fortunately it was fixed quickly.

During the last evening, we had an occasion to check hotel maintenance service. Something happened and water was pouring down on our heads. After two minutes, hotel crew member came to us and fixed the problem. Huge thanks for that!

To sum up, it was our first stay in New York. What's more, it was our first trip to USA ever. Picking DoubleTree hotel for Valentine's Day period in NYC was a perfect choice. Price-quality ratio, localization, hotel crew, cleaning staff - everything that made our stay unforgettable.

Will I recommend the hotel? Of course. Will I...

My recent stay at this hotel was a lesson in frustration, starting with our arrival. Our flights to NYC were all cancelled due to the weather. We decided to drive. Our drive put us at a later check-in time but ultimately arriving before midnight. After being exhausted from our drive, we were notified that our pre-booked king-sized room was given away without our consent. Instead, we were allocated a double bed room, which was a disappointment. The front desk employee was discussing openly in the lobby to another employee that we should have had read the policy when both their and Expedia have different check in instructions. We felt very uncomfortable with the lack of professionalism, making one feel more like a burden than a welcome guest.

The next morning, the weekend manager attempted to smooth things over by offering a 20% discount for the inconvenience caused on the first night. Strangely, they suggested that the double bed room was an upgrade from our original king-sized room, a claim that was confusing at best.

Another issue was the lack of hot water during the morning rush. A hotel stay is supposed to provide a respite from daily hassles, but the ice-cold showers were a chilling start to the day.

Additionally, the sanitation standards were far from acceptable. The bed sheets in my room were not clean, an issue that should never be faced in a hospitality establishment. This raised serious questions about the overall hygiene practices of the hotel.

The hotel's aging elevators were a test of patience, taking an inordinate amount of time to reach any floor and at times even skipping some. We opted to take and lug our luggage’s up and down the stairway that has trash bags blocking the stairway. This inefficiency in basic amenities significantly diminished the convenience and comfort of the stay.

Things took a turn for the worse at checkout. Despite the assurances of the weekend manager, there was no record of our discounted rate. We were told that the discount had been applied, but were directed to contact Expedia to confirm the refund. The ensuing back-and-forth with both the hotel and Expedia was extremely annoying, marked by inconsistent information and unnecessary headaches.

After much insistence, we finally received our discount. This experience left a sour taste and reflected poorly on the hotel's customer service and reliability. This hotel needs to address these critical issues promptly. Until then, I can't recommend it to anyone who values customer service, cleanliness, or basic amenities for people who come to visit NYC.

PROS: Close to MTA...

This is the WORST HOTEL. DO. NOT. STAY. HERE. FOR YOUR OWN SAFETY!!!! Its truly a death trap. DON’T GO ON THE ELEVATOR!!!

Our problems in order: We booked a king size room, when we checked in they informed us that they “overbooked” the hotel and only have 2 twin bed rooms available. We specifically chose and paid for the king size room. The photos of this place are so deceiving. It looks nothing like the photos. This place is dirty, crammed, peeling paint, cracked floors, stains, hair, you name it. Our nightstand has sticky marks and hair on it. The walls are extremely thin. You can hear everyone’s TVs, conversations, everything. THE ELEVATORS. DON’T BOOK THIS HOTEL JUST FOR THE ELEVATORS ALONE. When we arrived with our bags, we were informed that the left side elevator is down therefore we had to wait 15 minutes in LINE for the elevator. Arriving back to the hotel after dinner the left side elevator was working again. We called the elevator and the left side happened to be the one we used. While going up 12 floors the elevator FELL 4 TIMES. The lights went in and out. people, me included, have anxiety, motion sickness, vertigo, elderly, heart problems that can be greatly affected by this. When I got off, I couldn’t feel my legs and was incredibly nauseas. We hit the emergency button and were not able to connect to anyone. I informed staff about it, he said he was going to call someone right away to fix it. You’d think they’d turn the elevator off. I just went back 2 hours later to check, and the elevator is still on. And front desk said “the elevator guy will look at it tomorrow”. So you’re going to let your guests continue to use this death trap of an elevator… absolutely unacceptable. But based on past reviews, which I am stupidly reading now and not before booking, they truly don’t care about fixing the elevators. Someone could break bones, have a heart attack, die and they still wouldn’t care to fix it. How has it been months of consistent bad reviews about the same thing yet everything is still the same. I am truly shocked about the elevator situation and I will be in constant communication with hilton and higher ups until they resolve this issue.

We spend our hard earned money on these big branded companies that truly do not care about their guests or guest experiences. I will never stay at a hilton/double tree again. This hotel doesn’t deserve guests and this company does NOT deserve...