July 25,2008 We just completed a 5 night stay at the Benjamin.
Husband,wife and 12 yr old daughter. After a great deal of research on TripAdvisor , we selected the Benjamin and were thoroughly pleased with our stay. We had Room 1610 which is a corner room with one bedroom with a Queen bed , a fairly large living area with a popout sofabed and a galley kitchen. We booked the room on the hotel website about 4 weeks in advance.
We requested a room with a balcony and they were able to meet that request. The room had a small balcony overlooking the corner of 51st and Lexington. The room was spotlessly clean. We utilized the galley kitchens fridge and coffemaker. Everything in the room was in working order with no glictches. Some reviewers had mentioned waiting on elevators, I believe the hotel was full and we did not experience any problems with the elevators. The only negative , my wife thought there was not enough space on the bathroom counter , which is very small.
All of our interaction with the staff was pleasant. They all seemed eager to please , and with a smile . We did not utilize the fitness room or restaurant, we did go in the bar one evening and it was nice. I would definitely stay again if and when we return to NYC. Good cafe about 2 blocks away , very reasonable prices, Morningstar Cafe , 949 2nd Av Also check out the EssaBagel about 2 blocks away , very good .

What a great staff and a lovely New York hotel!!

We stayed for four nights in a king suite in the Benjamin Hotel. The location is wonderful across from the Waldorf-Astoria and walking distance to Grand Central and Times Square. Staff was helpful. The suite held a king bedroom with a large separate living area with a desk. There was also a very small kitchenette with full sized refridgerator and microwave. Coffee was supplied in the room. The bedding was very comfortable and the pillow menu was a nice treat. My only warning is that the bathtub is very slick! We both slipped getting into the shower the first time and came close to really hurting ourselves! We did go to the very pleasant bar downstairs but did not eat at the restaurant or room service so I can't comment. I would definitely stay at this hotel on future trips to NYC!

We stayed there with our kids for three nights. It is a great place for families. Two big rooms, a small kitchen and a maybe too tiny bathroom, but ok. The rooms are clean and well kept - nothing broken or hidden in the corner as you experience often. The sofa bed was a little too soft.
The location in the heart of manhattan is great, for all sightseeing trips and also for the view out of the windows (it was the television for our kids...). The service is excellent no matter what we were asking for. Quick and respondent.
We forgot the backback of our little son in the trunk of the taxi the night we arrived. His little teddy was in that backback and he was very sad an crying really hard. They offered him a little teddy for free the first night. The concierge (especially Gina Bianco - thanks again) tried very hard to find the taxi driver by calling many numbers to get the backback back again. And it really got found!
And also check out: we were not sure about the amount of the minibar. They just deducted all we were not sure about without even arguing.
In summary: We were really happy in this hotel, a really great place to stay during vacations in New York city. We would recommend this hotel anytime again.