My partner (now spouse) and I stayed at Chelsea Pines Inn for four nights. We arrived at the Inn approximately an hour before the official check-in time. Troy, the Operations Manager who was working the front desk, told us to make ourselves at home. We relaxed in the back garden area for about 15 minutes and were told our room was ready. Our three pieces of luggage were already waiting in our room when we arrived. We were certainly appreciative of the staff member who carried these up five flights of stairs to our room.
The Inn’s location was perfect for us, situated between Lower Manhattan, where we had to go on consecutive days to obtain our marriage license and have our wedding ceremony, and Midtown. The subway station to get to the City Clerk’s Office was a short walk away. We were back at the Inn by lunchtime both days and ate at nearby restaurants before taking the subway to Midtown to visit Top of the Rock/30 Rockefeller Center, Times Square, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Central Park on these two afternoons.
Each morning, we found a copy of “Chelsea Morning” under our door. This newsletter was very helpful in suggesting interesting sites to visit or activities to do during our stay. We were certainly glad we did go visit one of the places on their list, High Line Park. On Sunday, the only day where our schedule was fully free, we had already purchased tickets to visit the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and the 9/11 Memorial. Had we had more time, we certainly would have visited more places or participated in more activities they recommended. So much to do, do little time…
Upon returning from getting our marriage license, we found a box of Jacques Torres chocolates in our room with a note from the Jay, the owner of Chelsea Pines, welcoming us. The next day, after exchanging our vows and rings, we returned to find a vase filled with 12 beautiful white roses and a card with a handwritten note from Jay and Troy congratulating us on our big day. And the gifts did not stop there. Upon checking out of the Inn, Jay presented us with a pair of Chelsea Pines 25th anniversary coffee mugs.
The Inn offered a superb continental breakfast that would appeal to any palate. I particularly loved the homemade mocha nut bread. I found out that Jay makes most of the baked goods himself. For those who need to satisfy their sweet tooth, there were jars filled with Oreos and Hershey Miniatures.
We stayed in the Rock Hudson Room. The suite was very clean and the bed was quite comfortable. The room also included a day bed in the living room area. There were two flat screen TV sets, one in the bedroom and the other in the living room. This was nice when the two of us wanted to watch different programs. After all, newlyweds shouldn’t start out fighting over a single remote. Our room faced 14th Street. Traffic noise was not an issue for us, and we are both light sleepers. We loved the bathroom, particularly the spacious walk-in shower with bench. We also enjoyed spending time with the Inn’s resident cat, Charlie Chaplin. He stopped by our room on a couple of occasions to test the beds to make sure they were comfortable enough for us.
We loved this place and plan on staying there again. We were treated like family, something that you rarely get at a major chain hotel. Jay, Tom, Troy, and Al went above and beyond to make our stay special.
