Not enough value for the price
Stayed here April 2012 in a 4th-floor walkup. The other reviews seem pretty accurate to me: the shared bathroom's not much of a problem (like many others, I never even saw the people I was sharing with); the rooms are okay, in the sense of not being horrifying or bug-ridden. The location is the biggest asset. 
But it's just so hard to feel good about spending almost $200 for a place of such low quality. My honest feeling is that if you're a tourist planning a New York trip and the only way you can do it is to resort to a hotel like the Chelsea Inn, you'll be much happier visiting some other city. America has a lot of gorgeous options. And in many of them you can get near-luxury for the price you'd pay for this unpleasant, barely tidy, service-less, antiquated joint with battered old carpeting. And for vacation purposes I think the comfort of one's room counts for a lot. You won't find comfort here: just something barely adequate at a price you'll regret.