Trey has long held a fascination for the real bricks and mortar Chelsea Hotel situated at 222 West 23rd Street, New York City. The iconic building has drawn him to the extraordinary history that are held within its reddish brick walls.
He revels in the stories of its infamous Bohemian residents, from Mark Twain and Dylan Thomas to Leonard Cohen and Sid Vicious of the Sex Pistols. These days Trey is a long standing member of the virtual Hotel Chelsea in Second Life and is an active participant of its many public events.
Recently, on a rare day off from work, Trey decided to revisit NYC and check out what was happening to the real life Hotel Chelsea …. the following is an excerpt from his notes on what he did on his day off …
“I wonder how the Chelsea renovations are coming along?” With that thought, I made the decision to swing by the hotel.”
“I can’t remember if the doors were the same, but something about the entrance felt different. El Quijote was closed, much to my disappointment, but it has a outdoor seating area set up with nice looking chairs that I believe, were a dark maroon color.”
“As I write this, it strikes me as odd that I didn’t see the guitar shop. A quick google search tells me it is still open, but maybe the setup of El Quijote distracted me so much since I had never seen it set up before? Eventually I made my way through the doors of the Chelsea.”
“There is something truly…. different that happens when you walk through those doors. I can’t explain it, but it feels like I get transported from NYC to a place and time of another era. Even with the renovations, there is still a drastically different feel inside compared to that of outside. There were a number of new chairs and sofas in the lobby. A couple of people sat doing something, and I found a place across from the fireplace to sit and experience the feel of the hotel.”
“The main thing I noticed, was that they had finally put art back up on the walls again.
When I had last come, COVID was still a worry and the construction on the hotel was still very much in the “in progress” stage. The walls were bare at that time.”
“The furniture definitely wasn’t there to the degree it is now. There is even one sitting area that I believe was not previously a sitting area. One thing that most modern hotels have nowadays are lounge areas. Given how big the Chelsea is, the sitting area is remarkably small compared with most true “hotels.” That being said, the Chelsea seems to have done all it could with the space it had (much like many of the inhabitants throughout the years who have lived there)”
trymetwice (aka trEy)
Thank you, Trey for this update on the real Hotel Chelsea.
It is interesting to note what has been changed and what hasn’t changed since Mykal Skall re-created the hotel in 2009. If anyone else has ever visited the hotel please feel free to contact us here in Second Life.
Maybe your visit can be published here on the VHC website too!
