As we checked into what may be New York’s most storied hotel – at least to rock ’n’ roll fans – I asked for a pamphlet that would point us to where all the history actually took place.
It is not the Hotel Chelsea’s style to spill its secrets, though. Never mind that its old lore is a big reason its new operators are able to charge US$600-plus per night after reopening to the public in late 2022, following a strangely long 11-year rebirth.
“Just walk around the hallways yourselves,” the front-desk rep offered in consolation. “You’ll feel the history.”
The clerk probably felt my eyeroll. Soon, though, I would learn there is indeed a “feeling” at the Chelsea that goes beyond whatever you can read about the hotel, built in 1884 on W. 23rd Street between Midtown and Lower Manhattan.
Reading about it is what brought us there.