The Benson Hotel

02/26/2008 Posted by austinguy26

Beware when purchasing room on priceline. Upon arrival we were told that the hotel only had smoking rooms available for the evening. It turns out this hotel is one of the few that forces priceline buyers to stay in smoking rooms(they opened the rooms up to priceline after all non-smoking rooms were booked). The smoke smell was so strong that we had to sleep with our window open and listen to all of the loud bar goers outside. The beds are memory foam. If you are not accustomed to these beds they are extremely uncomfortable. I barely slept a few minutes. The rooms look like they are falling apart. The wallpaper was peeling, the carpet was stained, and the rooms were extremely outdated ( like a 70's version of a colonial style). I was excited to stay in a historic hotel, but after my experience I would not recommend this hotel to anyone.

Pros: location, lobby

Cons: mattresses, smoke filled rooms, noise from outside, impersonal staff

03/14/2007 Posted by hrider

This a great hotel, friendly service and dogs welcome, they even have dog beds with the Hotel LOGO on them, is that cool or what. Treats were delivered as well with a dog dish. They also will bring a Gold Fish to your room, I guess to keep the dog happy.

10/30/2006 Posted by juniper420

The Benson is a beautiful hotel in a very centrally located part of town. Forget your car because the valet service is $25 bucks a night, and walk to Burnside, just 2 blocks away, where all the action is. The rooms are small considering what you pay for one, but the beds are comfy and the bathrooms are elegant. They have a great New Year's bash in the lobby downstairs, but it's more formal than most Portlanders like to be dressed. Two great restaurants are right at your doorstep here, El Gaucho, a premiere Portland Steakhouse and the London Grill, another very nice place. The service at the Benson is great, from the valet to the front desk personel. The made to order breakfasts in the morning are nice if you dont want to wait for food in a restaurant, but arrive cold and are not very good for the 12-15 dollar price tags they carry. The Benson is lovely, but there are better hotels for the same amount of cash!

Pros: Historic and beautiful, really great location to downtown

Cons: overpriced for what you get

04/03/2006 Posted by theclotheslady

When your with Mom and Dad you just go with the flow. fortunatly, we were at the Benson Hotel, it is close to lots of clubs and bars for the grown up kids to hang while the folks wander the streets of P town. Great service, super breakfast in their restaurant downstairs.

Pros: close, service, restaurant

03/18/2006 Posted by toyo

Been in this hotel before and came back for pleasure, lobby is great, unfriendly front desk but bellman great. Rooms are better than the first time we stayed @ The Benson, no more moldy tiles what a turnaround. Promised will never stay here before but now we definitely coming back

03/17/2006 Posted by portlandian

Loved the spacious lobby. Staff very friendly. Great location. The best Sunday brunch I ever had!!

01/14/2006 Posted by maryevon

We booked a romantic suite for New Years and it came with ripped carpeting and tired furnishings. The turn down service left our bed rumpled and the radio was left on playing rap music. For the $399 price, you would expect a cleaner, more comfortable room with intact carpet. Terrible. Truly a disappointment.

03/25/2005 Posted by thebusdriver007

By far the most elegant hotel lobby I've ever seen! A time travel back to the old days of grand elegance: huge, wood walls, enoumous staircase, classic lobby bar, rooms are clean and with great decor. parents stayed her last weekend and they were very impressed: felt like a vacation, not just a hotel room. location is key: smack dab in the middle of down town so there was tons of activity and things to see/do. Staying here you'll get a real taste of Old Portland.

Pros: Class, Elegance, Value

08/28/2003 Posted by donno

The Benson is regarded as an icon to people in the Portland area, but that reputation was probably earned years ago. The lobby and staff were very impressive, but once you exit that elevator, it goes down from there. The corridors are dingy, worn and depressing. The room was even worse, with the same dinginess but stains on the ottoman, carpet and bedspreads. The housekeeping was lacking, judging by the amount of dust and the stained grout in the bathrooms and the linens were worn and had no life to them. I would imagine the suites are very nice, but there is no trickle down effect here.

Pros: Beautiful lobby, Great music

Cons: Worn, Depressing

05/01/2003 Posted by worldtraveler

What a great hotel. They upgraded me to a small suite when I checked in. (not sure why, but who really cares?) It was very comfortable and had a view of the city. 24-hour rooms service was great after coming in late at night. Thought the live jazz in the lobby was intrusive while trying to have a conversation in the lobby, but found a nice quiet space close by. Service was great!

Pros: Good Service, Free Upgrade

Cons: Busy Lobby Area