The Benson, a Coast Hotel

Fabulous Hotel!

Prós: Everything. Especially the bartender. He is so knowledgeable about scotch, etc. He's wonderful. He the reason we stay there every holiday season. I forget his name but he's been there forever.

A classic hotel

Prós: The lobby alone makes this place worth it. Top notch all around.

Prós: Location was great and allowed us to walk to nearly everything we wanted to do. Lobby bar was amongst the best I've ever been to.

Contras: Parking was not explained very well, and expensive. The valets ignored us for over 10 min before we drove off and parked in the garage that was less than a block away. Turned out to be the same garage the valet uses, and has a tunnel connected to the hotel. Room was dark due to only having one small window in the corner.

Happy Overall

Prós: This hotel maintains it older charm and the rooms have a more modern vibe. The beds were super comfortable and I actually slept well. Lots of USB charging ports built in and plenty of electrical outlets. Is a good overall stay for a vacation weekend or business trip.

Contras: I felt like the staff could have been a little more engaging.

Comfortable and convenient location for business

Prós: Very comfortable bed and staff was quite friendly. Great lobby and building with a ton of character, historic architecture, marble, and classic woodwork. (If you want a sleek, modern, generic place that looks the same as a hotel in any other city, this is not the hotel for you.)

Contras: My room (1212) was quite small, especially the bathroom. Because I wanted a single large bed and the hotel was pretty full, I think maybe I had that oddball room that most older hotels have that are squeezed into a non-regular space. In this case, it also happened to be near housekeeping, which was noisy in the morning with carts being banged around. The room was fine but smaller than one might expect. The bathroom was ok for me but would have been an issue for someone who spends more time getting ready. There was not even enough room to stand squarely in front of the tiny sink because a bookcase/shelving unit was put on the wall right in the area in front of sink. I had to shave at an odd angle, off to the side of the sink.