The Good is Very Good, But...............
We stayed a whopping (for us) 10 nights, so got to know the hotel very well indeed.
Location is midtown, so close to many NYC favorites - Grand Central Station, MoMA, Top of the Rock etc.
Hotel lobby is unprepossessing to say the least. Hotel greeting was very warm (Christine), and our room was fine - comfortable and spacious-by-NY-standards lounge room and small-but-quite-ok bedroom. The bathroom was tiny - we alternated! Oh, I nearly forgot, we also had a generous kitchenette, with a large refridgerator; we could have, but didn't, prepared meals in our room.
There are only 2 elevators serving the entire hotel, which is nothing like adequate - we were on the 20th floor, so had a lot of waiting to do, both coming and going.
Internet is available at a price, though I noted some rates where it was free.
Catering was a letdown, mainly because of its unpredictability. The National, a street-fronting restaurant that is nominally part of the hotel, is the sole option for in-house dining. They also provide the room service. It is a weirdly inconsistent restaurant; some of the staff are as good as you will find in NYC or anywhere else for that matter (Robyn and Ronnie embody warmth and professionalsim), while others act like they just don't want to be there.
And they have odd rules, closing off certain areas at certain times for no apparent reason. That said, the place does a roaring trade, so they are clearly hitting the spot for a lot of punters.
The hotel's hidden treasure is the concierge desk, tucked away at the right hand end of the reception desk. We took a while to find them, but when we did, they - Gina and Anya take a huge bow - they were incredibly helpful (and funny, which we liked).
Almost next door to the hotel is a great convenience store - we stocked our refridgerator with snacks and beer, but shopped elsewhere for wine. And just down the hill is a diner which provides a good breakfast.
We enjoyed our time at the Benjamin probably more than this review indicates; the trouble is that the downsides - lack of elevators and patchy experience at the National for example - take the place down a tad.
So I'll close by saying again that the best of the Benjamin - people especially - is elite, joyful and warm - I hope that's what you get most of if you stay there.