I have never been to an event at the Chelsea but the natural way to steer the crowd away would be towards the escalators. I probably been to Cosmo for 30 plus nights and never had any issues at the west tower. Only a few times at the east so i wouldn't worry about it. If you don't need a suite just go with the 1 bedroom or terrace studio (i prefer that layout over the 1 bedroom), although my choice would be terrace suite every time.

 

Thanks again for the information. All good.

 

I usually stay in West tower (Terrace suite) and I've only shared the elevator with at most 2-3 people and rarely wait more than just a few second. I'm usually there on weekends.

 

Clearly, I'm in the minority. But I do somewhat prefer west for the reasons Bommen mentions. Plus the Terrace Suite is SOOO much better than the 1BR.