The Benjamin Royal Sonesta New York — Hotel in New York

We, my two children and I, really enjoyed our recent stay at The Benjamin in NYC. We booked last minute using Priceline after a thorough search of what was available in NYC. We arrived at 10:00 a.m. knowing that we would not be able to check in until 3:00 p.m. The staff at the front desk were delightful. They answered any questions we had and held our bags while we were able to enjoy the city for the day. When we arrived back at 4:00 to check in, there was a mix up with the reservation (solely on Priceline). Although we had booked a Double Deluxe Studio online when we arrived the hotel had us booked with a room that only had a king sized bed. The hotel staff explained that Priceline sometimes books rooms that they do not have but The Benjamin would provide a rollaway bed at no cost. Since that would work for the kids and I, it was not a problem. We stayed on the 9th floor overlooking Lexington and 50th. The room was very large with plenty of room for the rollaway bed (During the day we left it upright against the wall). The kitchen was small but had everything we needed. The coffee maker worked well and they had snacks/beverages for sale on a tray in the room. The bathroom was really nice with beautiful marble everywhere. I don’t know about you, but cleanliness is one thing I NEED/WANT when I stay away from home. The Benjamin was sparkling CLEAN. We dined at Dos Caminos, which is right around the block, and continued to venture out around the city at night. We felt right at home and safe as we walked the neighborhood and to and from Times Square arriving back at the hotel around 11:30 p.m. The first thing my kids said in the morning was how comfortable the beds and pillows were and how well rested they felt. I had to agree with them. The hotel gave us a $10 credit to The National restaurant which is located on the main level of the hotel so we went down and had a bite to eat. It was delicious. Although we were only staying for one night, we wanted to enjoy the city that day too and leave around 6:00 p.m. The staff at The Benjamin was more than accommodating and after we had checked out, the hotel held our luggage so we could enjoy the sites. To our surprise when we walked out on that Sunday morning there was a Street Fair on Lexington which ran about 8 blocks long. After a long day, we arrived back at the hotel and called for our car from the valet (it takes about 30 minutes so plan ahead) ($70 a day for my oversized SUV but the convenience of it was worth it to me). While we waited we were able to freshen up on the 3rd floor where the fitness center is located. It was nice to be able to wash up after walking all around Manhattan. The Doormen: Elias, Jaime and Jeremiah were all wonderful during our stay. They happily greeted us each time we entered and exited and answered any questions we might have. We had great experience at The Benjamin. Next time I will book directly thorough The Benjamin and not...

It is a shame I’m writing this review as this was the first hotel we visited in New York in 2005 and we actually got married in this Hotel during that stay we loved it that much.||We decided to bring our 10 year old daughter for Christmas and New Year to NYC and thought it would be a lovely idea to stay at the hotel we loved to show her where we got married and to experience the quality hotel as it was - Unfortunately, this is not the case anymore…….||1) The staff on reception were very abrupt, had an attitude problem and they seemed like they didn’t want to be there.||2) Previous visits, there was always 1 and sometimes 2 very helpful doormen on shift who would open the door on your way into the hotel and on your way out. This time we visited most times there wasn’t anybody on the door and when there was, there was no good morning or good evening and they just stood at the door and waited for the door sensor to do its job.||3) Our room was on a high floor which was great but I can honestly say the decor is probably the same as it was in 2005 and looks very very dated. Two of the window blinds were broken and couldn’t be closed fully or opened in a straight line and one of the windows wouldn’t open.||4) The toilet had a bad leak where we would leave the trash can underneath so that the water would drip into that instead of onto the floor - we didn’t report this as we really liked the high floor we were on but regardless, the cleaner emptied the bin on a couple of occasions and then put the bin back under the leak.||On the same issue, one day we flushed the toilet and it just filled up with water and wouldn’t drain. We went downstairs to inform reception as the phone in the room didn’t work and the ignorant woman said “what have you done to it!!!!” “You must have done something to it???” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing?? And then, when I told her we had simply flushed the toilet and it didn’t empty, she didn’t send maintenance, she sent a door man up to have look who then sent a maintenance man?????||5) We stayed 11 nights at this hotel and spent over $5800 which I’m not complaining about as we chose to stay here expecting it to be like it used to be but during those 11 nights we only had a cleaner 6 of the 11 days and on previous visits you would always get a turn down service at approx 6pm where they would lower the blinds and turn the lights on but that doesn’t happen anymore.||The hotel is very very dated, the staff (the ones we dealt with) were horrible, the restaurant doesn't exist anymore and the nice lounge that used to be on the 2nd floor is now meeting rooms. ||It just doesn’t feel like a luxury hotel anymore. I can honestly say that I don’t think we will ever return to this hotel which makes me sad as we always used to try and visit on our anniversary as a nice memory of our wedding in that hotel.||I wouldn’t recommend this...

Avoid staying at this hotel if you expect even basic courtesy from the staff. Upon check-in, I was assigned a room with an unbearably loud air conditioning unit, making it impossible to hear anything unless it was turned off. When I went to the front desk, to inform them that there was excessive noise, I was told I’d have to wait to see if another room was available due to a system issue. Meanwhile, I watched other guests being assisted while I was ignored for 30 minutes. Eventually, I was offered a room on another floor (same unity) but I declined, as the guest next door had the same issue and asked to change rooms right before me. I was told this was the only room available, with no further options. To change rooms, I had to offer to pay more for a slightly upgraded room on the third floor, which faced noisy street construction that continued through all hours of the night. When I sought further assistance, the front desk staff responded dismissively, telling me that no room could meet my “standards.” They are so rude and blame the guest for everything. What standards do I have? Just to get a room to sleep? At midnight, after enduring the contraction and street drilling, I requested a room change again, only to be yelled at, gaslit, and blamed for my frustration. I even went downstairs to the front desk, asking why she would say such offensive statements and why she’s just being so unhelpful. The staff member refused to assist further, citing my “tone” as the issue, and walked away, leaving me unattended and without support. She walked to the back room behind the desk and would not come out to speak to me or help me. I was left in tears and the security guard had to help me when that isn’t even his job. Every staff member there is extremely rude they make you feel horrible about yourself and your stay and I do not recommend anyone staying there. After I checked out, the manager called me and was worse than the staff. Offered zero help or compensation And also blamed me for being rude to everyone which led to the staff behavior being justified. She yelled at me that I was cutting her off when she was trying to speak when I was simply just trying to relay the fact she kept telling me everything was my fault. If anybody wants a peaceful stay With good service and respect stay away from this hotel. I travel a lot and have never experienced anything like this. One after the other was more rude and more unhelpful. I...