Background:

Booked the INNSIDE as my base to explore New York for 2 nights. I chose it for its good TripAdvisor reviews, the fact that I have Melia Silver and a lot of points to get rid of before they expired and that it was new! It cost $150 a night including tax but I had to deplete 30,000 Melia Rewards Points. Normal rate was about $250 a night for my 2 Double Room. For the same dates, the Andaz Wall Street was only $175 a night (should have booked it, darn).

NOTE: I realize on TripAdvisor it says the hotel class level is 4.5 stars. (I will be contacting TripAdvisor after this review). Please note this is INCORRECT. The INNSIDE brand is popular in Europe and is supposed to be modern and minimalistic. Picture this a half notch below W and Renaissance. It is a 3.5 star hotel class.

Also, I think the reason the TripAdvisor user score is so high is because a lot of the reviews are “collected in partnership with Melia” and with only 400 reviews, the score could easily be skewed upward.

Short Review With Scores (out of 5, 5 being best)

My Overall Score: 2

5: Excellent, Highly Recommend
4: Very Good, Solid Choice to Consider
3: OK, Check other options before booking
2: Below Par, Try to Avoid
1: Terrible, Run far away

Rooms: 2/5
Service: 3.5/5
Location: 4/5
Amenities: 3/5
Cleanliness: 2/5
Sleep Quality: 3/5
Value: 1/5

Check-In:

We checked in really late due to our flight arriving at midnight. The front desk agent was nice and got our room keys very quickly. The lobby is cute, new and modern. Reminded me of a Novotel in Europe.

The Room:

First impression of the hallway corridor was unpleasant because the carpeting had a lot of trash. The room looked clean at first look and reminded me of Ikea. But when I checked the bedding I found numerous mini hairs and even one long one. Did they even clean the sheets? Yuck. Tried to get a room change but front desk said they were sold out. Service was nice as they brought extra sheets quickly to cover the hairs… The bed were okay, but the pillows were below par. Very 3.5 star like.

 

Positive: there is a nespresso machine and free minibar (with water and juice and coke). The bathroom was small, but actually well designed! Never felt cramped. But another negative yet again, boy isn’t this great, the sink had drainage problems. Really? It took like 30 minutes for the water to completely drain. At least the shower drained okay and the water pressure was quite good. The hotel is eco friendly/modern/cheap so there is shampoo + conditioner containers in the shower not the individual little bottles. 4.5 stars?! I laugh.

 

Ladies and Gentleman: the Toothpaste Lake.

Ladies and Gentlemen: the Toothpaste Lake.

 

Sorry for being a negative Nelly, but yet again I have to say the shades are horrid. Once the sun rises the whole room is illuminated in a lighted silhouette. The lights seeps in from all corners of the window. And our room was a connector room, and I could hear the next door’s conversation word for word. They weren’t even talking loud. Thank goodness they weren’t in the room much.

Also, at check in we were informed we were upgraded to a view room.

image

Not impressed. Graffiti and water towers? That’s an upgrade? Good thing I didn’t pay extra.

Service/Amenities:

The service was actually pretty decent. I have to say, the front desk did call us in the morning to allow us to change a room. But it was just one more night and we would have to repack etc so we just decided to stay. The hotel offers a restaurant below the lobby (didn’t get to try it) and there’s a small fitness center.

Location:

The Chelsea location is pretty good! Just about a block or two is a Whole Foods Market, and you’re about a mile from Times Square, and about two miles to SoHo (all of which are easily accessible by the metro). I actually just used Uber and Lyft during my trip. Overall good central location.

The Verdict:

I can almost guarantee there is a better choice of hotel to stay in New York City. I will most likely not return to this property or recommend it.

Cheers,

theresorttraveler