Hotel Indigo Chelsea New York Rating: 3.5 Pearls

Chelsea, Manhattan, New York City

The uniformly young and enthusiastic staff

Indigo hotels are a line of boutique properties owned by Intercontinental -- basically the company's answer to Starwood's successful W chain. The Hotel Indigo Chelsea is not as in-your-face hip as, say, the W Hotel Union Square. Nor does it aim to compete with the city's new generation of chic downtown boutiques, places like the Thompson LES. Instead, Hotel Indigo goes for a practical approach -- stylish but not relentlessly styled, elegant but filled with fun splashes of color, intimate but outfitted with high-grade amenities.

The location is off the beaten track. Although technically in Chelsea, it's at the northern most end in the heart of a working neighborhood, the flower district, and the streets in front are congested with delivery trucks. There are no clubs or fancy restaurants in the immediate vicinity. Though it won't particularly appeal to club hoppers and gourmands, the location is ideal for shoppers looking for deals at nearby Macy's and business travelers with meetings in midtown or trade events at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center. It's also a smart, centrally located base camp for tourists.

At 200 to 250 square feet, the extremely comfortable standard rooms are slightly larger than average, by Manhattan standards, if not quite as large as the rooms at the nearby Fashion 26. The comfortably firm mattreses are dressed in 300-thread-count linens, down comforters and five fluffy pillows per bed. High-grade electronics include iPod docks and 37-inch Sony flat-screens. The rooms in the front tend to be smaller but they have fantastic views of classic working lofts and a few landmark skyscrapers like the Metropolitan Life Tower on Madison Square Park.

The staff, garbed in black-and-beige Nehru suits, is uniformly young and enthusiastic. A bellhop greets your car on the curb and takes your bag; there's a smiling doorman; and the desk attendant and concierge are attentive.

Blu, the hotel restaurant and lounge, is chic and stylish, decorated with classic and European cinema memorobilia. The chef used to work at Le Cirque, and the food is absolutely delicious, though served, like the hotel itself, in small and pricey portions -- dinner entrees are $26 to $59. The Blu kitchen provides room service meals from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. The 19th-floor rooftop bar and lounge, Glass Bar, serves $14 cocktails and Mediterranean-inspired small plates.

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The Indigo is located on West 28th Street in the heart of the flower district, or what's left of it. Flower shops have lined the street here between Avenue of the Americas and 7th Avenue for 100 years, but are now being pushed out. Although technically in Chelsea, the hotel is at the northernmost end of the neighborhood, in the heart of a working neighborhood, and on the edge of midtown. The streets in front are congested with delivery trucks. There are no clubs or fancy restaurants in the immediate vicinity. Though it won't particularly appeal to club hoppers and gourmands, the location is ideal for shoppers looking for deals at nearby Macy's and business travelers with meetings in midtown or trade events at the Javits Center. It's also a smart, centrally located base camp for tourists.

• Macy's is six blocks north on 34th Street.
• 7th Avenue local (1 train) is on 28th Street, just a few steps away from the Indigo.
• The Empire State Building is seven blocks north on 35th Street.
• Madison Square Garden/Pennsylvania Station is three blocks west 8th Avenue and 31st Street.
• Jacob K. Javits Convention Center is four blocks west.