The Benjamin Royal Sonesta New York

Noisy, constant walking overhead. I complained and was given a lame excuse about housekeeping making the noise. Well now it is 8:00 and more walking overhead….I have stayed here for years. Never again. So much fir the remodel….poor front desk service.

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 left in tears

I booked this hotel on Costco travel since it has been newly renovated, in a great location in Midtown, and came with complimentary early check in at 2pm and complimentary checkout at 2pm. Check in and check out was a breeze. We had a deluxe studio suite with king bed. The room was spacious with a desk and chair area. It had a little kitchenette for us to use. The bathroom was a little small, but worked fine for the 2 of us. I liked the new black and white marble floors and shower tiles. The subway is on the same block, walking distance to shopping, MoMA, Rockefeller, restaurants, near Paid Baguette for yummy breakfast pastries. The daily house keeping service was great and non intrusive. The lobby is small but beautifully redone. We were only in our room to rest midafternoon for an hour and to sleep at night after a long day of fun and sightseeing in the city. Would definitely recommend this hotel for mid range price and location.

Sonesta did precisely what I suspected it would do when it purchased the Royal Benjamin. It ruined the hotel's charm without any meaningful upgrade. It is now the very definition of average. The design is stunningly stupid. There were only four hangers in the closet of a suite , largely because they put the dresser in the closet. There's no space to hang more than four items, and obviously, the hotel is aware of that. Moreover, the doors were terrible scratched, the furniture was uncomfortable and tacky, and there's no space in the bathroom bor bath towels. I found them on the bed. Sonesta didn't renovate the hotel; they chepened it.

Spent four nights for my 25th wedding anniversary - wish it could have been much, much longer! I will admit that I was a little apprehensive about booking this hotel, due to some prior reviews. However, we booked a terrace suite on the 24th floor, and the views and the room simply could not have been more spectacular! Courteous staff; immaculate lobby; and location, location, location, right in the heart of the City. We had thought to use ride-sharing, but ended up walking to most of our destinations. There is no restaurant on-site, which is a bit of a downer; but there is a cafe literally next door with excellent food; and two doors down is an elegant sidewalk Italian restaurant. I had heard that NYC is an eater's paradise, and my waistline certainly agrees! I wanted to extend an extra special "shout out" to Anya, the concierge. We were so busy running back and forth the entire time that we did not get the chance to meet her in person; but Anya was like the "Ghost of Christmas Present" in the background making certain that our room was perfect for us, with extra special touches that literally took our breath away. We saw so many, many beautiful things during our trip; but the Sonesta is the one constant that we keep referring back to as perhaps the absolute highlight of our stay. We simply could not have been any happier.