GEM Hotel – Chelsea, an Ascend Hotel Collection Member

Great hotel nestled in Chelsea! My husband and I have stayed her multiple times over the years. We have never had a bad experience. The rooms are small, but they are always clean. I see many people have complained about the size of the rooms, they must not have stayed in New York City before. The front desk staff is always a pleasure to be around. James, the graveyard shift front desk person, is a hoot. He is always spunky and always make our stay more memorable. Alison is also a ray of sunshine in the evening at the front desk. If you arrive in the morning, you will be greeted by the bright and bubbly Debra! Mike and Javier are phenomenal managers that always make our experience the BEST! The coffee is delicious too! One of the best I have had in the city! Grab a cup of Joe on the way out and a cocktail on the way back to your room in the evening! Thank you Gem Hotel for the AMAZING stay and memories! We appreciate your hospitality and amazing service. We will be back!

The lobby area of this boutique hotel is warm and welcoming (with a cool espresso bar) and the lobby staff are very helpful and polite. There are also some nice views of the Empire State Building and cityscape generally depending on which room you wind up in. But that’s about all the Gem has going for it.
The rooms themselves are TINY: even with a full size bed and very minimal furniture, my room felt like a closet. The bathroom was equally tiny — with just enough room for a standing shower (the shower curtains to which didn’t do their job keeping the bathroom from getting drenched), a tiny Euro-​toilet and sink.
My room was also noisy. I know this is NY — but given that hotels are in the business of providing a quiet night’s stay, they really should try harder to make their rooms more noise-​proof. Despite not being on the 8^th ave side (it faced 22^nd street but was maybe 1 row of rooms from the 8^th ave side), being several floors up, and using ear plugs, I could hear everything from people’s loud conversations on the street to the more obvious sirens and garbage trucks in the middle of the night. Finally, at $ 300+/night, I expected the shampoo/​lotions to be restocked on a nightly basis. But the Gem seems to be skimping on that these days.
I definitely wouldn’t stay here for a personal trip (and I’m not sure I’ll be staying here for business either)– at this price point, there better options in the area.

For a youth hostel it is ok… But not for 450 USD as hotel. The Wallpaper is peeling off, shower curtain has dark spots (removed mold?), lamp stand is rusty, elevator is under-​dimensioned, room is small… Not worth the money. Next stay will be somewhere else.

I think the Gem hotel would be great fine business travelers. Otherwise, I wouldn’t recommend it.
The rooms here are quite small, and while this is not unique in New York, the size paired with the low bed and poor lighting made for an awkward layout. The room provides just enough room to walk the perimeter of the mattress.
The mattress itself is very firm and uncomfortable, low to the ground and sandwiched between a nightstand and wardrobe. The materials in the pillows trap heat making them quite warm through the night.
The wardrobe is against the wall and you’re unable to open both doors fully because of the placement beside the air conditioner. You are provided an iron, a hair dryer, robes and a room safe. There is no fridge and no place to hang longer garments (my short dress was too long for the wardrobe).
There is a small desk in the room and an HD TV. The TV channels are not in HD and the reception is poor. There are reading lights above the bed and two lamps that don’t provide much light. Since our building faced a narrow alley and another building, this made the room very dark.
The bathroom was nice and a decent size but again, the layout was awkward. The toilet tissue holder was under the sink, next to the toilet. The toilets are quite high which made getting to the tissue awkward.
The front desk will tell you to visit the rooftop during your stay, but aside from some seating and fake plants, there isn’t anything up there. The hotel is only 5 floors so there isn’t much of a view either (yes, you can see the Empire State Building but that’s hardly worth the visit up there).
The staff were all very, very friendly and helpful; they are the sole reason this rating isn’t lower. The rooms were fairly clean but housekeeping was quite slow; they didn’t come until late in the day.
In general, the hotel provides a secure place to sleep and if you don’t intend to be in the room during the day, it will be fine. I won’t be staying here again and would not recommend it to others.

Cute, clean, and quiet. The rooms are small, but you aren’t in NYC to hangout in your hotel room. The beds are comfortable and the A/​C is easy to change. The front desk let us check out late and leave our bags while we enjoyed the last day in the city until my 7:30 train back to D.C. Very friendly front desk staff.
Adorable rooftop seating area with a view of the Empire State building. The fact the plants up there were fake was kind of disappointing, it doesn’t take much effort to have real plants and finding little roof gardens in NYC is always a treat.
I stayed here for a long weekend with a friend and it was the perfect choice for us. It is located in a nice area with lots of dining options and is only a short walk to the Chelsea market and the piers. Will definitely return next time I’m in the city.

Guest services and people here are nice, they checked me in fast and were helpful with directions. But the room is hard to move around in its so small, I feel like the reviews were a little misleading. The place was almost 500 for two nights and does not include breakfast or other amenities most hotels near by have. However there is a cute rooftop and a view of the Empire State Building. But I would not give this hotel four stars and I wouldn’t stay here again.

Very dishonest. Rooms very small. Not enough for 2 people. Wouldn’t not recommend. For the money you can get a place that is bigger than my walking closet.

Me and my husband stayed here this weekend for our mini moon and we had a wonderful stay. Upon walking in we were greeted by a pleasant and sweet girl at the front desk. The lobby is impeccably decorated with mid century modern glam furniture and beautiful Katherine Bernhardt art. There is a mini bar that serves wine, beer, coffee and tea. The room was pretty and clean. It has everything we needed in it. The mattress, pillows and comforter were very comfortable. The staff was wonderful, very kind and helpful. The rooftop was a cool spot to hang out. You can bring anything you like up there and just sit and hang out. The bathroom was immaculate and the shower was so soothing. The location is the best. You have access to all the best things to do. We are already looking forward to returning.

ok lets do the obvious first…
The rooms are small, but they have everything you need and well it’s NYC, what are you doing in your room other than sleeping?
Undergoing renovations whilst I was here, but that wasn’t a huge issue.
My room was clean, warm, quiet and comfortable.
Staff were incredibly courteous and well, the location is truly superb, one block to the subway, easy cabs, quiet street.
They’d collected my mail too!
If you want a well priced room in Chelsea, I think you’d struggle to match it.
There was a stuff up over a pre booked airport car not showing up on a cold, wet, busy arrival time, but hey, they’d offered to arrange it, they didn’t have too and the car not showing wasn’t their fault.
They even credited my credit card for a stuff up on the return to the airport.

I stayed here when I was in the city for a meeting. It’s a comfortable, quiet hotel nestled into busy 8^th ave. The free internet in the room was really good. I bring a small WIFI router with me when I travel and plugged that into the ethernet port in the room, and I was able to watch Netflix in HD in the evening. There is a rooftop lounge that the front-​desk told me about, which is BYOB, but I did not get a chance to visit it, so I can’t speak towards it’s quality.
The room is small; about 10×15 in the main area with a large bathroom. It’s certainly not a place that I would bring my entire family, but if you’re in the city looking for a quiet place to sleep, the GEM Hotel is a great choice.

Second time at this hotel and way different reviews. The location is great and the rooftop terrace is special but it ends there. First time here everything worked fine and I had only positive things to say. This stay I can’t say the same. To start, the fan in the bathroom buzzes very loud but you can’t turn it off. I told the front desk but they didn’t offer to sent someone up to fix it. The phone in the room does not work and is very confusing so I used my phone to call the front desk to get a wake up call. Since the phone doesn’t work my only option was to have someone knock on my door… really, that’s the work around. Cable works on half the channels while the others get the satellite connection error screen. Just wish it all worked like my first stay and it felt like I was at a place I would recommend to others. Will look elsewhere for my next trip.

I found myself in NYC for a night this past weekend. I booked my room at the last minute and got a great rate through the hotel’s own website. The hotel is on the basic side and the rooms are small, but, the place is super clean, the staff is very friendly and the location is what makes it so great.
I arrived way earlier than check in time and Debra told me she’d call when a room was available. 30 minutes later she called and we were all set, thank you for that. Debra & Anna were always smiling when I passed through the lobby and were eager to offer assistance.
I was surprised at how much I liked this place, I’ll definitely stay here again. It’s walking distance to almost everything I do in NYC and a short cab/​über ride to midtown.

Great location but the hotel has zero wow factor. I left there feeling I will remember nothing about this hotel beyond the fact it is not memorable.
I was really hoping this would be as it claimed to be a boutique hotel — in fact it is just a hotel with small rooms. They are clean and the bathroom is surprisingly large but not worth a second visit.
Our room was next to the elevator and while I did not notice the noise as we came back to our room late, and possibly a bit tipsy, I was awoken by the whirling of the elevator bright and early on the next morning.
No amenities — they claimed to have a gym but apparently they don’t anymore.
Not a good stay

ALWAYS a fire alarm at this place last time
Stayed here (two years ago) went off in the middle of the night. again this stay as well. Not sure why but they NEED to get that fixed.

Great Staff & Location — Affordable & Lovely Stay
Front desk staff were sweet, friendly, super helpful and accommodating — we stayed just after a huge snow storm, and luckily were upgraded to the penthouse room which has a huge patio space attached, sadly with all the snow, we couldn’t take advantage of the balcony. Fantastic view of the Empire State Building in full glory from the room. PH is quiet as it’s the only room on the floor. Room itself is a little thrashed, could use some repairs. Bed was comfy and clean. Large windows and glass door to the patio means blackout curtains don’t really work, so don’t expect to have it super dark in the room once the sun rises.
Hotel has a good old school NYC vibe to it, lobby is efficient. Great value if you time your visit right. Shop/​restaurant next door has every gourmet item you may need. Easy walk to everything, including the Highline and all of Chelsea.

I have to preface this review by saying that I got a deal through the Hotwire mystery hotel option. We paid around $ 112.00 a night, so that’s what my review is based off of.
The Gem (Chealsea) Is in a really nice area, and I highly recommend it to out of towners. The room was clean, and the staff was incredibly helpful. There’s also access to the roof, so you can sit up there and enjoy the city view. I would, without a doubt, revisit this hotel. The only problem was that the rooms were really small. Barely enough room for all of our luggage. Not that big of a deal though.

Yes the rooms are small and yes the walls are thin. As are most hotels in NYC. So prepare for it. I brought ear plugs with me and that was sufficient.
I really liked this hotel because it was exactly what I needed during my trip there for an interview. It was more like a tiny dorm, but it was really clean. I found the desk useful and there is a heater/​AC system that I used too.
The shower was nice and clean and had many settings, they even had large shampoo and conditioner soap dispensers!
I wouldn’t recommend getting this place if there are 2 in your party. It was fitting for me, but would be too small for 2 people including luggage.
There is one elevator and a gym downstairs.
The rooftop has a breathtaking view of the Empire state building and it is pretty both in the day and at night. You could take a bottle of wine and just hang out there!

We booked a room at The GEM last-​minute and it worked out well. This was probably the tiniest room I’ve ever stayed in, but all we really needed was a clean and comfortable place to sleep and shower. The bathrooms are a decent size and have nice amenities. Ladies, bring a bottle of conditioner along with you; only shampoo and body wash are provided.
The hotel itself is cute and modern and the front desk staff was friendly during our stay. We did hear vacuuming in the early morning but when a guest called out to request that they stop, the vacuum was turned off without question. I guess the guy had a rough night but honestly, I was glad he said something. With rooms this small and walls kind of thin, there should be a no vacuum policy before check-​out, anyway.
I would definitely stay again for a last-​minute/​one night situation but if I needed a room for a longer period of time I’d likely go somewhere a bit cushier.

$ 330 for a room on a Saturday night, booked a week in advance, including taxes and fees.
I wouldn’t recommend the GEM if you plan to spend a lot of time in the hotel, but if you just need a bed to sleep on at night, it is completely adequate.
The interior was clean, and the décor was minimalist and modern, with black and white furnishings.
Everything was compact. The hallways on the guest room floors were about 3 feet ride. The business center and gym were small. The room was barely wider than a queen-​sized bed, with a bedside table on one side of the bed and a small closet on the other. The room also had a desk and a modestly sized but stylish bathroom. The window offered no view, and we kept the curtains drawn to avoid staring into other people’s rooms.
The hallways were about 3 feet ride. The bottom level had a small business center and gym. The staff were all very polite.
The surrounding area offers great convenience, with a 24h drugstore, a number of restaurants and markets that open both early and late, and several subway stops all within a few blocks.

For Manhattan, this was great. The room was tiny, but I mean, so is the room at the Marriott and the W! It’s just how it is in Manhattan.
Perks:
— Service was great
— There is a gym!
— Free wi-​fi
— Great location
— Price
Downsides:
— The room doors don’t close unless u push or pull them all the way closed. This is strange in a hotel as usually doors just shut when you try to close them.
— Air conditioning was lacking