Just average - expect little service if booked through a 3rd party
We visited The Benjamin in NYC from Oct. 5 - 8, 2012. This hotel was offered as part of a package deal that included airfare, and oddly the only way we could secure the specific flights that we wanted was to purchase this specific package. That's relevant because we travel often enough to know that when you don't book a hotel room directly with the hotel or chain, you rarely receive the same level of service. The Benjamin proved to be true to that theory, unfortunately, as this was a special trip for us.
SERVICE
After reading every review we could find on this hotel (great on the booking site; not so agreeable on a site that is popular with frequent flyers), we noted that the Manager often comments on the reviews, implying a real care for customer service. We decided to reach out to him in advance of our stay and explained that we are celebrating a few special events, and that while we were aware (per above) that we hadn't booked directly with the hotel, that we hoped they might be able to offer anything to make the experience even more memorable (seriously, we didn't know what to expect: A slight room upgrade; a box of chocolates; a bottle of wine; a bottle of water....anything would have been a "story" to share). Instead my email directly to the Manager went COMPLETELY IGNORED. It certainly was transmitted as it didn't bounce back. And as I acknowledged within the email to him, we understood if they could offer nothing. But what I didn't expect was to receive absolutely NO REPLY whatsoever; a "gosh, sorry, wish we could do something" would have been better than nothing at all.
I'm sure people celebrate there all the time, but for us, as I mentioned this was particularly special because my husband and I celebrate our wedding anniversary in a different country annually and never repeat, so this was our sole US anniversary trip and we hoped to make it very special. In addition to this, our birthdays are five days apart and in the same week, and it was our first time ever travelling without our children since having them. So.....many people have many stories, and while this is probably low on the celebration scale, to go unresponded to was surprising. We have no grudges over no perks; just believe the ignorance was unjustified.
CHECK-IN
After checking in we were asked if we had a preference as to what floor we stayed on, and we said no preference at all, that our only request was to be far removed from the elevators. We had checked in quite early and rooms weren't ready yet, so we were told to return later, thus we couldn't immediately see our room assignment but were assured that it would be quiet. Imagine our surprise when we returned in the afternoon to find that we were booked into room 1806: The second room from the elevators.
THE ROOM
We assume that we had the most basic room possible, given that we weren't upgraded. The design was such that when you walk through the door, you are immediately in the bedroom area (no long corridor as some hotel rooms have). To the immediate right was a closet. When our bags were brought to the room the attendant noted that we did NOT have a luggage rack in the closet as we should. He then told us that this is okay because we can put our clothes in the dresser drawers. This was irritating because we prefer NOT to use dresser drawers when travelling to avoid whatever unseen uckies may have been left in the drawers. Again, unimpressed. Good service would have been to retrieve one for us.
The queen size bed was immediately in front of us, and immediately after the closet was a small kitchenette. This was a feature that had been very important to us so that we could eat cereal and milk in the morning, and keep cold bottled water in here. Caution here: They pack it so full of their own beverages for sale at a 300% markup, that the only available area fit a 1L jug of milk in the door, and then the small fruit bin in the bottom was available. We put two x 1L bottles of water in here and the fridge was full. 
The armoire that housed the dresser drawers was quite substantial in depth, and stood against the wall between the kitchenette and bathroom, immediately across from the bed. The TV was also in here (more on it later). Because the armoire had the substantial depth of dresser drawers, it left little space between it and the bed...meaning that to get to the bathroom only about an 18" wide path existed - if one of you was entering the bathroom and the other leaving, you would have to wait at the side of the bed for the other person to pass because of this lack of space.
BATHROOM
The bathroom was a decent size, and what did impress us was that the shower was also a bath tub, which is not a given in NYC. What did NOT impress us was that the recessed plug for the tub would not contain the bath water and thus drained at a fast pace, and therefore the only way to enjoy a bath was to keep your hand or foot on it so that the pressure was firm. 
TV
The television operates via wifi with service that lost reception every few minutes or so. Yes, we had the audacity to come to NYC and watch tv at night a few times, but it was so annoying that we couldn't watch many of the channels we wanted to because "no signal" was consistently received.
PILLOW CONCIERGE
We read about the pillow concierge service on the Benjamin's site, and noted that it is substantially hyped. Upon our check-in there was no mention of it. Our pillows were standard hotel fare, and never did we have a visit or hear mention of any pillow concierge the entire stay.
THE LITTLE THINGS
After a 6am flight, walking all day, and collapsing into bed after a late night in Times Square, we were awoken on our vacation (where we now craved sleep) to a 6am ALARM that the cleaning staff had failed to reset or remove when making the room. Note that the alarm clock is near the door and not on the night table, necessitating that you get out of bed. And play the "swat at every recessed button game" to hope that you found the right one. Only to go back to bed and have it go off again ten minutes later. GRRRRRRRR. 
ELEVATOR
When reading other reviews prior to our trip, we noticed that many people commented on the slow elevator service, and thought this would be no big deal; we were wrong. Being on the 18th floor, this service was a little more important to us than had we been located on the 4th floor for example (so if you're given a choice, go low). On Saturday morning, we spent over ten minutes watching the two elevators go by us in both directions over and over again, never stopping. Eventually, we discovered, that if you head into the stairwell there is a service elevator there for staff use. We started using this because it was the only way to not waste precious vacation time. We were caught a few times, but those employees who happened upon us were great about it, and joked about how slow the elevator service is, especially on weekends.
LOCATION
The hotel is very close to the #6 subway line, and about three blocks from the E line. We agreed though that if we returned our preference would be to have a hotel that is a little closer to Rockefellar Centre/Fifth Avenue area. We walked back from a Broadway Theatre on Saturday night and the walk was nice, although I wouldn't have wanted to do it in high heels. There's just not much going on in the immediate vicinity. 
OVERALL IMPRESSION
There was no "wow" factor here. No one went out of their way to impress us; management couldn't be bothered to respond to a prepaid patron in advance of the stay; the over-hyped pillow concierge was never offered; the in-room amenities of the kitchenette, tv, radio and bath all failed us. It's a nice enough hotel, but had we not purchased a great package, we would have been upset. There is absolutely no way, even for a hotel in NYC, that you should ever agree to pay the full rate. There are better hotels to be found in the price range, offering either a better location or enhanced services.