The Chelsean New York Hotel — Hotel in New York

Unsafe, unhygienic rooms and non-responsive staff

Summary: Do not book. The location is not worth your safety, compromising on hygiene and the rooms are stingy, tiny match box like. Check the square footage and do not get misguided by pictures on booking websites. The view from the rooms aren't great either (depends on which side of the building do you gets your rooms in). The hotel is no longer Sheraton /Fourpoints and older reviews do not provide accurate ratings. Check the more recent reviews and ratings. We were on 19th and 20th floor (room # 1908, 2008 from Sept 3rd to 6th, 2024)

Electrical hazard: The main switch in the room had cracks on it (see picture)

Infrastructure issues: Layer of ceiling around the exhaust, right on top of the toilet was peeling off (See picture). It may drop on anyone in the middle of doing their 'business'

The vent was super noisy.

Unhygienic rooms: The walls/tiles on bathroom had hair stuck on it from previous guests

Check the color of the pillows. They have faded to cream/yellow color and are perhaps older than my grandma. They had stains and spot all over them. They were super thin owing to prolonged usage.

Found spider on the bed!

Though is supposed to be a non-smoking establishment, we noticed stinky cigarettes smell each time we used the elevator.

Unresponsive Staff: We had issue with very loud sound coming from the washroom door as it was getting stuck on the floor. We were not able to close/shut the door properly. Called the front office after check-in for help - they sent a person to the room. He checked that the door was indeed having issues and left without providing any solutions. Later, we had to follow up with front desk again - they told that they would provide a different room the next day but couldn't do anything for the 1st night. Though re-packing would have been an hassle for us, we agreed to getting the room changed. Later on the 1st night, we confirmed with the front desk lady, Heather, that the staff in the morning, named Mary, would help us with changing the room but we got no response/call from Mary. By this time, we already had 3 follow-ups from our end and decided to not ruin our holidays breaking our head with the hotel staff and remained in the same room for 3 days.

Poor Service: Lastly, while taking the 1st shower in our room, after applying shampoo, I realized that there is no more body wash in the bottle secured on the wall. Couldn't really get out in the middle of the shower to contact the non-responsive staff to fill it immediately. I mean, how could they assign a room without checking basic stuff like this. If it went empty, in the middle of our stay, I could understand but it should not have been empty right at the beginning. Luckily, house keeping was cleaning the room next door, and they promptly filled the body wash bottle once informed but sadly after my incomplete bath!

Few good things: GE air conditioning in the room was good and fast to cool the room - slightly noisy but nothing too bad

Heather, on the front desk at night duty, was patient when we made our 3rd follow-up attempt about super noisy washroom door. She offered to change the room, right then at around 11:45pm but my parents were too tired to pack then. She put in some comments/notes on her system and assured Mary, would get the rooms changed the next morning but Mary...

My family and I have stayed exclusively at Marriott properties for 20+ years. We have been Gold or Platinum members for at least 2 decades and have enjoyed their properties all over the world. Most importantly, as a business owner, I have loved the convenience that I have ALWAYS been able to select a property in my destination city that is safe, clean, comforting, and often a pillar in the city, for my family and staff. As such, I thought it a no-brainer to pick this property since it popped up in my Bonvoy app. MAN, HOW I WAS WRONG. This property in Chelsea, NY was absolutely disgusting. Your shoes stuck to the floor, disgusting. The faucet in the bathroom was totally disconnected from the counter, disgusting, you need to cover the bathroom floor with towels so as not to touch it, disgusting. I literally couldn't walk anywhere without shoes on. It was gross. But wait, it gets worse! My Bonvoy acct states that I prefer rooms on the lower floors. But for some reason, 4-points put me on the 20th floor even though they weren't even close to capacity (as told to me by the receptionist). The room was filthy so I asked to be moved to a lower room. I was put in a room on the 6th floor that was just as filthy. I slept the night there and, the next morning, after a cool evening, I turned the heat on. After turning on the heat at the unit (there is no thermostat), by the time I got to the bathroom (15 feet?) I was overcome by some foul, toxic smell that I can't describe. It was horrific. Within a minute my eyes were watering and I was coughing and wheezing. After quickly turning the heater off and opening all the windows and doors that I could, I started throwing up. Convulsively throwing up. After recovering, I immediately informed the front desk and checked out, even though I had another night reserved there. This was, by far, the most unsafe that I have ever felt in a Marriott property. My trust in them is broken. I am a US Navy veteran who has lived through some crazy stuff and smells, but this was sick and unsafe. Please, for your sake and that of your family, do not stay here until Marriott performs a complete renovation. There are so many other, better, safer places to...

I sent this email several times but they didnt response. So I need to write this review here.

My family and I stayed at your hotel Room 2106 from June 3 to June 8, 2025, and I am writing to express our deep concern and disappointment regarding a serious incident that occurred during the night of June 7.

At around 12:30 AM, a fire alarm suddenly went off, and we had to evacuate using the stairwell from the 21st floor to the lobby. This was especially difficult for my pregnant wife, who was understandably distressed and physically strained by the sudden evacuation and long wait in the lobby, which lasted nearly two hours.

We were later informed by your staff that the alarm was falsely triggered by individuals who were smoking in the lobby and bar area. While those individuals were removed, we could clearly smell both cigarette and marijuana smoke in the lobby. This was extremely harmful to my pregnant wife, and completely unacceptable.

We had specifically chosen your hotel based on your non-smoking policy, and we are extremely disappointed that this rule was not enforced. We trusted that your hotel would provide a safe, smoke-free environment, and that expectation was clearly violated.

Moreover, after returning to our room, the alarm continued to sound for hours, making it impossible for us to sleep properly on our final night.

When we attempted to raise our concern at the time, your staff member Heather refused to provide the manager’s contact information, offered no apology, and instead asked us, “Why aren’t you going back upstairs?” — a response that we found dismissive and unprofessional given the situation and the presence of a pregnant guest.

In light of these circumstances, we respectfully request:

A formal apology from hotel management

At least a full refund for the night of June 7 due to the severe disturbance and risk

A reassurance that your hotel’s non-smoking policy will be better enforced to protect future guests

We hope you understand the seriousness of this matter and look forward to your prompt response...