Chelsea Center

I stayed at the East Village location for two weeks in June 2006 and absolutely adored it. Fab location, eclectic furnishings, and loads of really nice people. I thoroughly recommend it.

My opinion of this place is a little biased, because i met some amazing people here -- which subconsciously leaves me with a positive impression. I stayed here for two weeks in early 2004 (at the East Twelfth Street location) when i moved to NYC and was scoping out apartments. I made many close friends -- American and foreign -- several of which i still keep in contact with. However, the dorm rooms are overcrowded -- some have eight beds, one has around sixteen beds. The walls between the rooms are not very soundproof either. And as others have pointed the out, the lack of bathrooms and daytime lockout for cleaning equals a mad rush for showers in the morning. The common area was really nice though -- this is located downstairs at basement level and is comfortably furnished and was extremely cosy after being out and about in the middle of winter. Although as i recall, this area was closed off later at night for some reason. The staff were nice and the location is great -- my favorite part of NYC (East Village area). The thirty dollar rate was expensive and they wouldn't cut any weekly deals. So overall, decent -- but i imagine it would be hot in the summertime without airconditioning (the wintertime heating was nice and warm though). If the owner actually bothered to make some rennovations and loosen up some of the overzealous rules, it could be at least a four-star hostel.

I stayed at the location on 12th Street close to 1st Avenue, in the winter of 2003. After being in the cleanliness of the HI in Boston, it seemed kind of dark to me, and it reminded me of those places where they put people after their homes are flooded or something. It made a very bad first impression. Yet the people on the staff and the owners were very friendly. It is not badly located. It is about a block from the subway. The prices were not bad, either, for New York. I met friends there from all over the world, so it was okay. The breakfast was very, very simple; jam, bread, and I think that was it. They have Internet but it is just one PC, connected by telephone, and you cannot use the computer and the phone at the same time.

My first American hostel and one of the better ones I've stayed in. Very few 'local' long-term residents (i.e. one) so the people there tend to be from all over the world. The staff are remarkably friendly and did everything they could to help. The linen is clean and the rooms are comfortable. Although they ask people to be out of the rooms at 11 a.m. for cleaning, this isn't too strictly adhered to all the time. Besides, if you're in New York City why would you want to stay inside all day!?! There is one shower, one toilet and one room with both shower and toilet, so it can be a bit of a wait. At least it's quite clean. Much better than the supposedly more "international" hostel in the same area!

Terrible. There's a lockout from 11AM-5PM, so if you plan to sleep late, forget this place. One dorm of 4 beds, and another dorm with about 12 beds (which means - bring your earplugs). As everybody tries to get off the place in the early hours, they run out of warm water in the showers. Otherwise location is ok, but as for this price I would be looking elsewhere.

I stayed in this hostel on my first night in New York in July and it was horrible. I was staying in a mixed dorm which had no air-conditioning, just two crappy fans which didn't do anything but blow the hot air around. I didn't get any sleep because of the heat. The beds were very small and old, you couldn't even sit on the side of them properly. While I stayed there there was only one working bathroom and toilet for the whole place, what a nightmare! My friend stayed there for three weeks while he was looking for a place to live and he thought it was awful as well. They didn't even give him any discount for staying that long. At $30 a night, it's really over priced. They also put people on these pull out beds in the common room which is really sh*t when you want to have your 'continental' breakfast - toast, margerine and jam. The only good things are the location (East Village) and the staff. Not recommended at all.

I stayed in the east side hostel which was small but with a good common room and TV room to meet other travellers, however, there weren't enough bathrooms!!