Michael Rowland, The Benson Hotel’s chef concierge, is leaning against an impeccably polished baby grand piano in the aptly named Grand Suite, ticking through just some of the notable names that have called The Benson home for a night or more. He gets through several along the lines of Whitney Houston and the Emperor of China before he remembers a small piece of trivia. “Oh yes, and Elton John played on this piano.”
Rowland is a wonderful storyteller, and he recounts The Benson’s story with unmistakable pride and genuine enthusiasm that brings the property to life. Indeed, he’s one of the hotel’s longest-standing employees, and his commitment to hospitality and the hotel itself have made him the only Oregon member of the prestigious international concierge society, Les Clefs d’Or. Be that as it may, The Benson is also the sort of place where the story seems to tell itself.
For instance, step through the hotel’s revolving front door and let your breath catch at the sight of the rich wood-cloaked lobby stretching in every direction around you. You might not know you’re looking at the largest collection of now-extinct Circassian walnut in the world, purchased directly from Russia’s imperial forests for an exorbitant sum during the hotel’s construction, but as soon as you find it out, you realize it’s just about exactly what you were expecting. Certainly, you weren’t expecting any less.
The Benson was constructed and debuted as the Oregon Hotel in 1913 by lumber baron Simon Benson, one of Portland’s most celebrated businessmen and philanthropists to date (both Simon Benson Day and Simon Benson Week have been formally declared by Oregonian officials). A self-made man who emigrated from Norway to the United States at the age of 16, Benson worked his way to Oregon where he revolutionized the lumber industry, amassed vast holdings of land and resources, and dreamed of helping Stumptown take its rightful place as a world-class city. He retired from lumber at the age of 60 to focus on public service, which among other things meant installing “Benson Bubblers” (the burbling bronze drinking fountains dotting the downtown landscape) to further the cause of the temperance movement (Benson was a teetotaler), and constructing a hotel that could stand tall on a world stage.
From the day it first debuted, the hotel’s unique touches both small—rare electric lights in the closets, Benson’s antique family cuckoo clock in the lobby—and large—Austrian crystal chandeliers overhead, Italian marble floors underfoot—have drawn notables from around the world to experience its unique brand of elegance and hospitality. Every seated president since William Howard Taft has stayed here, as have countless CEOs, a smorgasbord of celebrities in their respective heydays, entire NBA teams (per Rowland, many have grown fond of the room doors’ extra-tall lintels), and hundreds of fiercely loyal regulars.
But many hotels have achieved reputations of grandeur at one point or another. What has kept The Benson so relevant for more than a century? Perhaps a willingness to adapt.
Expansions, restorations, “refreshments” and changes in ownership have all been implemented since Simon Benson reigned as proprietor (today, The Benson is one of the Coast Hotels). For the hotel’s 287 already luxuriously appointed rooms, that has meant the arrivals of Tempur-Pedic and pillow-top beds, flat-screen HDTVs and iPod-friendly clock radios, custom down duvet bedding, individualized climate control, and an ever more extensive range of appliances and services. The soaps and shower products are Gilchrist & Soames. The nightly wine tastings in the lobby are complimentary. The organic bamboo bathrobes, each embroidered with a golden Benson “B,” are some of the more luxurious I’ve donned.
And as if it weren’t all enough, the food and bar offerings are not to be overlooked. Though surrounded at its Southwest Broadway address by landmark Portland bars, restaurants and attractions, visitors needn’t leave the building for exceptional gastronomy. Adjacent to the lobby is renowned Argentinian steakhouse El Gaucho, offering the choicest cuts, superb wines, desserts flamed tableside and a dedicated cigar lounge.
Integrated into the lobby itself, the Palm Court bar and restaurant—with a team helmed by the talented and invariably personable lead bartender Jonah Kobayashi—can sling drinks as adeptly as any cutting-edge local craft cocktail haunt (while maintaining a killer wine list housed in a secret cellar to boot). Its drink menu features classics, original creations, and a complete third section dedicated to Manhattan riffs (order the Portland take), while each bottle on the back bar is harder to come by than the last (think Hardy’s Essential Element series) and the fare is correspondingly exceptional (I can’t recommend the waffle-pressed Cubano enough).
Is it all starting to sound exceptional? Then you’re beginning to get the complete picture. And each new surprise—whether the towering custom-made mirror on the marble staircase or the next perfectly crafted drink you sip—is just one more indicator that The Benson will enjoy as much success in its second century as it has in its first.
The Benson Hotel || 309 Southwest Broadway, Portland || coasthotels.com/hotels/oregon/portland/the-benson-hotel
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