We recently came back from a little getaway and stayed at the Chelsea. We were amazed at how trendy and upscale this hotel was. The room was a nice size, big bathroom, flat screen TV, and most importantly theh best bed we ever slept in! Beds are more comfortable than the Borgata beds. The pool was another impressive factor. They have comfortable cushions on all of the lounge chairs, they make it private enough for couples because they section some areas off by 2's. They also have cabanas that can be rented by the pool (fee). The staff at the Chelsea totally pamper you. They greet you when you get to the pool, they get your towels, serve you drinks & food, and are extremely hospitable. Also, when you go to the beach, The Chelsea has their own chairs, towels, and umbrellas (no charge) that they bring to you. They also have Chelsea cabanas (fee) that can be rented on the beach. The pool, by the way, is located on the trendy "Fifth Floor". The pool is on a terrace. They are also building a salt water pool and spa, which will be finished by Oct. 08. The "Fifth floor" has a restaurant, game room, lounge, fireplace, bar, and pool. We would by far recommend this place for couples and singles. Not really meant for families just becuase it's more of a trendy place.

For all that people have written so far, I won't rehash all the good or bad you've said. This was my experience two weeks ago on 8/17:

Arrived early, put my name in at front desk knowing I couldn't check in until near 4pm - Marvella was wonderful at telling me when I called that I may use the pool / beach areas which I did on a perfect day - albeit crowded with weekenders, it was still great to relax, read the paper, sip an iced coffee.

YES, there is food service in the pool, not on the beach. (I agree that their website should list what is/n't yet open / available as amenities).

I asked for an upgrade if it was available and was moved to PH #10, on the top floor, which was quiet - the room was very well appointed, clean, and spacious for what I had paid for.

Beds are supremely comfortable, velvet drapes/sheers and a WORKING window to let in the sea air if you wanted to... partial ocean view...

There were Kiehl's toiletries, a fully stocked mini bar and snacks which you do have to pay for...

I agree they should have a basic guide of what is where but the front desk was helpful.

I was able to call the valet and have my car brought around...

I had booked a Chelsea Prime reservation prior to my stay - the food is excellent - porterhouse, appetizers, wine, and 2 sides for 3 people is not cheap but it is of very good quality. * they did have an issue with the wine being a bit too chilled but the sommelier apologized and made up for it with an after dinner drink, a nice touch.

The 5th Floor was an excellent melange of small and large spaces to relax both indoor than outdoor, where my buddies and I smoked cigars...

You can walk in 1 minute to the Trop and 2 minutes to the Hilton.

I will say that I've not slept as well in ages... my friend almost til 11!

I got up early enough and although I had a great chat with the coffee lady, I wanted food. I know that Teplitzky's will be open by the time this is posted but Bonnie, the concierge, was very cordial, told me where to go...

She offered me a local paper instead of the NY Post (note to the mgmt - not everyone is a Manhattanite - and I would rather have a choice of paper)...

She reminded me that the Chelsea has free bike rentals - it was a great perk - I had never ridden a bike on the Boardwalk - beyond sublime - if you do it you must ride before 10am.

I do want to say that all staff - the 'natives', the Europeans, everyone, is an ex-pat of either Congress Hall, or other Cape May Resorts properties, or of AC casinos...many of them, the bellman especially, said how nice it was NOT to have to look at if you had a platinum/black/whatever 'casino card' - and it was definitely refreshing to just go in the elevators and go up.

(I'm not sure what other posters had against them, they're elevators not speed demons)

The beach is a huge expanse of sand... do go, lay back, and relax...

Check out included a bottled water in my car, a nice touch...

I wholeheartedly enjoyed it and even though I did pay the Travelzoo rate I never was treated differently... I will absolutely return, and although I can't speak for the other negative posters on here... I will say this: if you know it's a 'pre-opening' and you think you're going to get full-service, you don't read carefully, you try to cut in line, act rude, use foul language, etc. (and there were many in person at the front desk whom never deserve to be spoken to in that manner), then you are DELUSIONAL.

Stay at some other place where you can throw your 100s around and let civilized people just be.


I will absolutely be back! Soon! GO!

PS - must eats include White House Sub Shop, corner of Arctic and Mississippi (White House Special and a cheesesteak!), and do go over to The Water Club at the Borgata, ANYone can sit in the Sunroom, their indoor bar and restaurant, for drinks or dessert (you can order off their 24-hour room service menu, just ask!)

I stayed a the Chelsea for two nights on the 24 and 25 of Aug.The staff is the best .Jennifer the night manager addressed my not hot water problem very fast by upgrading my room and discounting my rate.(109.00 Travelzoo waterfront)The rooms are Brand New and very tastefully done.There are still growing pains, Slow elevators,Long Lines,Loud AC. Sheila was the best at getting things done when you had a problem.Parking was 10.00 and I had no wait to get my car. The service was great and really made my stay more comfortable.

Read in the Wall Street Journal about this new hotel. Found a good rate on Travelzoo and decided to give it a try. To sum it up, if I hadn't been paying the Travelzoo promo rate, I'd be royally upset.
But let me clarify an important point. The staff are VERY nice and friendly. The front desk person who checked us in was courteous and efficient, but so evidently overworked. Everyone else we met was friendly.
A second good thing about the Chelsea is its location, right on the boardwalk.
OK, so they say it's still a somewhat "soft" opening, after a year. Indeed, the Chelsea "Lite" part of the hotel, including its coffee shop, aren't open yet. So perhaps some things will fall through the cracks and are acceptable. There are just too many of them.
Where do I begin? First, the walls are paper thin. I could hear the person in the next room snoring the whole night. As well as someone sneezing. And someone talking in the hallway. Someone going to the bathroom.... The only time these noises could not be heard through the thin walls was when the A/C came on. It's so loud it drowned out everything else.
Highspeed internet is free. But it's so slow I thought I was using a dialup. Often times it wasn't even working.
No safe in the room. For guests going to the beach, or to the casinos, I'd think a safe is a nice touch,
No iron or ironing board.
No coffeemaker.
The slowest elevators ever.
Not even a guest service directory in the room.
Room is ok in size. Bathroom decent size.
We arrived at the hotel around 3:40 pm and were told check-in was at 4. Front desk person was nice, but I got a bit ticked off when he kept referring someone checking in at 3:40 as an early check-in. Anyway, he said the room probably wouldn't be ready for 45 minutes to an hour. Now, the way I see it, even if check-in was 4 pm, the room should be ready by 4? And not 4:30.
In any event, we were able to get into our room around 4:30. But our luggage was with the bellmen, and they didn't show up till half an hour later. Main reason? The elevators were so slow it took forever to go anywhere.
Check out was a chore too. No video checkout. No apparent way to do any express checkout. Line up and get processed. But there was only one front desk person on duty.
And we couldn't call down for the car. We had to take the ticket to the front desk, who processed it (charged it to our room, when we check out, not when we check in) and stamped it, and we then take it to the valet to get our car. By the way, no clear signage as to where we were supposed to wait for the car either.
All in all rather disappointing. Maybe when they fix all the bugs it will be nice. But right now it's just not there.