In my quest to enhance my New York City Hotel guide, last weekend we checked out the INNSIDE New York hotel. Coincidentally, during college, I lived right around the corner in an apartment on 6th avenue, and a block from FIT. It was a bit nostalgic to spend some time in that part of Chelsea for an extended period of time with my three kiddies. I was excited to see if and how the area had changed!
Following the success of the INNSIDE contemporary brand across Europe, the INNSIDE by Meliá New York Nomad is the first of its kind in the United States. Its central location on West 27th Street, in the much-sought after neighborhood of Chelsea/NoMad, is ideally situated for anyone visiting New York City. So many readers have reached out in the past asking for a point of view on staying Uptown versus Downtown. With INNSIDE’s convenient location, you can have the best of both worlds, and remain close to almost every major subway line!
As soon as you step into the lobby of the INNSIDE New York, you get a sense of the cool vibe and decor. Illustrations of New York City on the lobby wall by artist Kirstin Ulve, tie in with Dave Draws’ fun black and white sketch maps of NYC, in all the of elevators. Each time we rode an elevator, the kids would point out different areas they’ve been to around the city- which is almost everywhere!
It wasn’t just the artwork that was fun and hip. Every time we passed their on site bar and restaurant, The Wilson, it was packed. I’ve read that its become a bit of a hot spot. I’ll get back to The Wilson, because we had brunch there the next day.
Lobbies and hotel restaurants are cool, but lets talk about the rooms, which is the real reason you stay in a hotel. Our suite was a spacious 570 sq. feet made up of adjoining rooms, which included a king and two double beds, high speed Wi-Fi, complimentary refreshments in the fridge, and a work space. One of my favorite room features were the faux wood floors. What a welcome change to the typical dirty, dusty hotel carpeting. Our room was no frills, yet perfect for our family of five. And the no frills shows in the price. I compared room rates of the INNSIDE to other rooms around the city, and found they were considerably cheaper.
That evening, we ventured out in my old ‘hood, and stumbled upon sweetest little Italian restaurant called Cardoncello DiVino. This is why I love our little NYC staycations. We ate an early dinner before turning in early. The hotel sets up cookies and candy trays for the guests in the lobby, and they definitely earned some major points from Ryder, Siella, and Gemma for that spread!
Fortunately, all of the hotel rooms also have a Nespresso, which is key for someone like me who can’t function with at least a cup and a half of java! I fueled up, before sneaking out early the following morning to grab a small breakfast for the kiddies. After we ate, Jason walked the kids past my old apartment, showing them the balcony (ahh outdoor space) I use to have!
Back at the hotel, we relaxed in the room and watched some TV on the cold damp morning, before heading down to The Wilson for brunch. Offering an all day dining with a menu of seafood and hand-craft cocktails, the restaurant is perfect for a brunch with some girlfriends, yet family friendly for kids. Jason and I ordered fun cocktails from their signature menu – he opted for the Salty Dog, while I had the Spicy Bloody Mary- and boy did it have a kick!
The kids all ordered yummy breakfast dishes like their Malted Waffle and Rum Raisin Challah French Toast. I tried the Soft Scramble. It was all delish, and when Gemmie was finished, she pulled her signature move of going to sit on Daddy’s lap (this happens during every meal when we are out!), so she can try some of black kale omelette. It drives me nuts that she doesn’t stay in her seat, but Jason can’t resist the hugs. Not sure what he enjoyed more- the hugs, or the Chocolate Chip Cookie Skillet for dessert!
On the way back to our room, we discovered the hidden back patio area, where guests can relax during the warmer months. Can’t wait to come back and have an adult beverage there this spring.
Overall, I give the INNSIDE New York a thumbs up. I really think this is such a great option for families vacationing in New York City. The rooms are fairly spacious, affordable, and centrally located to most major attractions. A less expensive, no nonsense hotel room- just what this city needed!
15 thoughts on “Inside the INNSIDE New York Hotel”
I LOVE this hotel! It’s the perfect combination of posh and laid back. It looks like an amazing place to stay with the family.
It’s a wonderful place to stay. And it is always so nostalgic going back to the same location where we have lived earlier.
I love New York and it looks like a fab hotel. I love your site name, byw, so cute!
This is our kind of hotel! We like to venture into the City from time to time. Might have to make a weekend of it, and take up residence here for a couple of days!
This is absolutely the type of place we would stay at! If we’re ever in the area, we will definitely look it up!
We’ll be visiting NYC again in April and INNSIDE looks like a beautiful place to stay. I love that there’s a Nespresso in every room too!
Thanks for this post. Going to keep it for our reference for our next trip to New York.
INNSIDE New York hotel seems like a good place to stay. I would like to visit it soon and show it to my girl.
I really love all your travel photos! So cute! Would love to visit this hotel for our next trip to New York. Thanks for the great review.
Great review. Looks like fun was had by all. Love the decor of the hotel. If I am ever in the area, I will be sure to keep this place in mind! Thanks for sharing your experience.
This would be a great place for us to stay this summer when we visit NY! Thank you for the great review! The entire place seems clean, modern and fun!
I love that the rooms have hardwood flooring. I am a germ freak so knowing those floors are easy to clean (rather than what can hide in carpet) is a huge selling point for me!
I was in New York weeks ago and went to Chelsea everyday, and I should have check out INNSIDE there. The room you had is so spacious and the malted waffle is definitely something I want to order for my breakfast.
Thank you for your awesome review of the Innside New York Hotel. It does look like a nice place to stay. I love the faux wood floors too, and those complimentary fruits and sweets! Any kid would love to have them!
STAY AWAY! This is THE worst hotel experience I’ve ever had! My wife and I booked this hotel for our anniversary trip. The only problem was that we had a red eye flight that would get in at 5:30am in the morning. I called to make sure that a room would be available when we arrived because we wanted to rest from the long flight. I even said that I could book the extra night to make sure. The front desk assured me that they would have a room available for me when I got in. Turns out they lied because when I showed up, not only were the employees at the first desk extremely rude, they didn’t have a room available at all and said I would have to wait until 3pm to check in. I was dead tired and couldn’t stay in the hotel lobby. They’re lobby has a strong pungent smell that was starting to give me a headache. Within minutes of finding out I couldn’t check in until 3pm I found another hotel that had availability right away. I quickly cancelled my reservation with Innside and they said they weren’t going to charge me a cancellation fee. Again, they lied. Come to find out they did charge my credit card for one night! If you are looking for a hotel in NYC, there are WAY better hotels in far better areas for MUCH cheaper. Save yourself a headache.