I stayed in the new Cambria Hotel and Suites Chelsea in midtown Manhattan over Memorial Day weekend. This is a fine Choice property in a refurbished building that opened in April. It still had that “new hotel smell” and look as well as a very enthusiastic staff. How long those last may make your experience different from mine, but I can enthusiastically recommend this hotel. I was able to snag an introductory rate of 10K points per night, but rooms currently go for 20K per night, and I don’t believe there’s a better Choice points value in Manhattan.

The hotel is on 28th Street in Chelsea, wedged between a Hilton Garden Inn and an Indigo. Before joining FT, I would have never thought of this, but I will admit the words “hotel hopping” occurred to me during my stay. A subway station is half a block away at the corner of Seventh Avenue, and the hotel is very much within walking distance of Penn Station/Madison Square Garden. No unusual safety issues along the street, even late at night. The surrounding buildings, other than a small restaurant or two and the hotels, are mostly occupied on the ground floor by florists or subsidiary businesses, such as vase sellers. Although there isn’t a lot of foot traffic, the potted plants set out on the sidewalk can leave little room for pedestrians.

Check in was smooth, even at 5 p.m. on Friday, which was a relatively busy time. The front desk staff was very friendly, and the manager came out during my checkin to introduce himself and the remainder of the front desk staff. Acknowledged as a CP member. The lobby has a hipper vibe than almost any Choice hotel I can think of, looking more like an Aloft or Westin than a Comfort Inn or Clarion. Reflecting the surrounding Flower District, there are plenty of pictures and paintings of flowers around the hotel. Each floor’s layout, with apparently one exception, is the same with eight rooms per floor, two at each corner. The “Suites” part of this hotel is either the one floor that appears to be an exception to the hotel’s remaining layout or the ability to hook up adjoining rooms through an interior door—hardly unique to this property.

My room was 905, a standard king room. The room, including the bathroom, was approximately 220 square feet—enough room for the bed, two night stands, a work desk, a small sofa and coffee table, and a generously-sized armoire—no closet. A 50-inch HDTV mounted on the wall, leaving more space for the work desk sitting immediately below. TV programming was standard cable plus three Showtime channels. A coffee maker, microwave, and small refrigerator. Laminated wood flooring with no carpeting. Windows in the room but no balcony, which is hardly unusual for New York. Pleasant view across the street at a rooftop garden. Again, the hip vibe in the room with textured wallpaper, lots of brushed nickel and chrome, and multiple outlets and USB charging ports—two at the desk and one on each side of the bed.

The bathroom is a decent size with a glassed-in shower—no tub. My kudos to the designer of this shower. I’ve stayed in enough Alofts with a similar shower but found that this shower didn’t leak as all of my Aloft showers have. On the other hand, the storage area around the sink is somewhat limited and because of the hip nature of the sink, you’ll find yourself storing most of your stuff on a glass shelf over the sink. The towels were of very good quality, well above what you see in other Choice properties.

Because of the quiet nature of the block surrounding the hotel, and the good sound insulation on the windows, no problems with noise from outside the hotel. Sadly, this is not so true of noise from the hallway and adjoining rooms. You will hear the ice maker in the hall operate, and you may very well hear the rumble of voices, if not the distinct words of conversations, from adjoining rooms. This was the most disappointing aspect of my stay—with a building so clearly completely refurbished why poor-quality sound insulation was used is beyond me.

Breakfast is not included here at the restaurant, which is located on the ground floor on the backside of the hotel, including a small patio area. This was my first stay at a Cambria, but I understand that Cambria does not guarantee the standard Choice free breakfast across the chain although I have read that some locations do offer that amenity. Not much of a problem as Panera, Starbucks, and McDonald’s, amongst others, have locations within a block, but obviously, this would be more of a concern for a family of four as opposed to a solo traveler like me as breakfast then gets transformed from a $7 expense to $30 or more. Did not eat in the restaurant otherwise, but in checking out the menu, a basic American-style menu with burgers, sandwiches, etc. Because of the limited restaurant options on the hotel’s block, including that McDonald’s, I don’t really have any restaurant recommendations, but after all, this is New York—you’ll find something.

The star of the show, for me anyway, was the rooftop bar which has a direct view looking south at the new World Trade Center. Mostly drinks but there are a few food items that can be ordered from the downstairs menu. The bar operates only in fair weather as it’s totally exposed to the elements but does remain open after dark until 11 p.m. if I recall correctly. If you go to this hotel and the weather’s nice, definitely go up there.

As mentioned, rooms are offered currently for 20K per night, and I’d certainly consider this or the nearby Paul, also at 20K, over other, more expensive properties so long as the location is convenient. AAA and advance purchase rates for a weekend night at the end of June are around $300, so I consider this to be a very wise use of Choice points. I don’t know how long the 20K redemption will last as there will be another Cambria property coming online by the fall in the Times Square area, and it’s possible the management of this hotel decided to goose their business by offering good introductory redemption rates. I’ve tried to filter out the bias likely to occur from getting this hotel for 10K points, but with this hotel and the Paul both going for 20K, it’s possible that some of the concerns expressed here about Choice devaluations could be overwrought. I’d certainly return if they raised the rate to 30K per night, because I think the hotel is worth that, but I’ll return more frequently if 20K remains the norm.