Chelsea StarEditor's Pick

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The centrally located Chelsea Star is an interesting beast, with hostel dormitories, cheap artist-shaped rooms with shared-facilities and deluxe rooms with massive amounts of space. Its aesthetic is spunky and very bright: brushed metal doors, bright walls, chrome floors.

The 18 artist-decorated rooms with shared facilities gladdened our Cheapo hearts with their low nightly rates and decorative whimsy. The Esther Williams room, a loose tribute to the retired competitive swimmer and actor, is a dreamy if compact space with pale blue walls and outline drawings of waves and swimming figures. Its bed is situated on a platform inset with swimming pool-esque tiles. The very bright pink Pop Art room also grabbed our affection. Tiny as can be, it is simple and very bright.

The larger, non-theme rooms are much more anonymous, though they sport strikingly bright walls and dizzyingly patterned wall-to-wall carpets. Some rooms have televisions; some do not. All have air conditioning and free Wi-Fi.

By far, though, at $27 per person per night, the Chelsea Star’s five dorm rooms are one of the best deals in New York for solo travelers willing to share a bedroom with strangers.

Location is at a fairly dirty, anonymous corner of Chelsea, nonetheless conveniently central, in the shadow of Penn Station.

» Alex Robertson Textor

Note: This hotel was visited by a EuroCheapo editor and is recommended based on cleanliness, location, price and overall quality. EuroCheapo did not charge this hotel to be listed.