The Benjamin Royal Sonesta New York

Where do I start - the check in process was basic, no proper welcome, no warmth. Much like the other reviews posted about this hotel. I almost felt like I shouldn’t of been here, despite paying a premium to be there. Once we got up to the room, it was dusty, like somebody hadn’t dusted in weeks. I had to dust the room myself with wipes. Not what I expected for a 4* hotel in New York. The next morning I checked the bathroom some more and dust was over everything - but more to the point we found a chewing gum (which had been chewed…) near the sink area. Again, this didn’t give me much of a hope that our room was cleaned to a basic level. Overall the experience was below any basic level of 4* expectations. I would heavily suggest you look at other hotels if you’re visiting New York. This certainly isn’t a hotel we will be visiting again.

I stayed here recently after almost 30 hours of international travel, expecting the kind of service and welcome you associate with a five-star hotel. Unfortunately, my experience at check-in was anything but that. Despite weeks of email communication and triple-checking the reservation, payment, and guest names — all clearly listing my full name — I was denied check-in because the booking was under my partner’s name. No willingness to help, no flexibility, just a repeated use of the word “policy.” After such a long trip, I stood there while other guests were attended to, and when I asked to speak, I was told to wait because “they were being looked after.” I didn’t feel like a guest — I felt invisible. To make matters worse, when I questioned why the Concierge team I’d been liaising with hadn’t passed on any of the information, I was told by the manager at the counter that Reception and Concierge are “different departments” and “not really the same business.” I honestly couldn’t believe what I was hearing. How is it that a hotel of this calibre operates with internal departments that don’t communicate? This was one of the most disappointing check-in experiences I’ve ever had. I’m still waiting for a proper explanation — but more than that, I think it’s important future guests are aware of how things are being managed behind the scenes.

We would easily make this our choice for future stays in NYC. It is within walking distance of the East River, MoMA, and many more cultural/historical sights. Plus, there is a great little restaurant two doors down that is PERFECT for breakfast.

We stayed at the Benjamin Royale Sonesta for 6 nights at the end of May to celebrate our Anniversary. The hotel itself is ideally situated for a short walk to Times Square, The Empire State Building and The Rockefeller Centre. The Hotel staff were very friendly and the room was spacious for a large city hotel and kept very clean (see photos) The one thing I think it misses out on is a bar/restaurant but I knew this wasn’t an option before traveling. There are restaurants and bars close by including budget ones like McDonalds and Panda Express as well as more expensive options. A little more about the room. Bed was comfortable. Bathroom was well lit and a nice shower it had blinds on the windows which stopped you seeing what view you had but on looking out the windows were dirty so that stopped the view anyway. They also had black out blinds on the windows which to be honest were a pain one in particular was already broken when we arrived late evening I had to fiddle around to get it to work, i reported it the next day it was semi fixed but we struggled with it for the rest of our stay. There were 3 lifts that serve the floors in the hotel so you could experience a small wait time. We were on the 14th floor and they say New York is a city that never sleeps and you could hear that. Not sure why the windows allowed so much noise though but you could audibly here car horns (multiple) and emergency service sirens (multiple) I guess if you’re local it’s background noise and you soon get use to it. Finally would I stay here again….the answer is yes which should be good enough review in itself.

Amazing Service and the room was fantastic. Room are spacious and bed are comfortable, also the pillow program is a great way to give you a great night sleep. If you are traveling with kids get the Owl program for them, they will love it. Great stay and highly recommend the hotel. Good location as well.