Hotel Bentley

I’m afraid the Bentley is dying a slow death and it’s a long goodbye. We spent our wedding night here 37 years ago, after the hotel had been brought back to life and was the pride of downtown Alexandria. The restaurant was THE place in central Louisiana for elegant dining, and it was impeccably decorated at Christmastime. So coming back for a family funeral, we looked forward to returning to the Bentley. I know it’s changed hands and suffered the same economic struggles as the rest of the city, but unless someone sinks another huge chunk of money into the Bentley (replacing basically everything in the guest rooms, updating AC units, renovating tubs/showers, etc), it’ll be a goner. It definitely was not worth what we paid to stay and on our next visit we’ll go to a newer, more modern chain hotel. I’m sorry, Hotel Bentley. You gave us some good memories.

I stayed 2 nights in this grand hotel built in the early 1900s. It looks like a castle with its huge columns in front, stairs leading to the front entrance, and massive size. It has a grand lobby with marble, fountains, chandeliers, and grand staircase. There’s a bar and restaurant located in the basement. Entrances available from the street and to the general public and hotel guests. Parking is available along the street in front. It has undergone an extensive renovation while maintaining artifacts from yesteryear. The staff was cordial, especially Alton, front desk clerk. During my late checkin, he shared the hotel’s history and many of its famous guests, and amenities. Walking the long carpeted hotel corridors, it was very reminiscent of “The Shining”. The craftsmanship is still evident in the floors, ceiling, and building. There were only 2 negative issues during my stay. I was awakened to very loud Country music on my 2nd day. It sounded like it was coming through the vents. Checked the halls, then determined it was the room next to me. Then a housekeeper knocks on my door and asks me when was I leaving. I informed her I would be leaving by 11:00 a.m. hotel checkout time.

The hotel is a nicely maintained historic hotel. The furniture is a little dated but I guess that makes it special. We stayed in a suite but they bathroom only had combination shampoo/conditioner. For a place that makes themselves out to be the premier hotel in the city, I would think they would have shampoo and conditioner for the guests. But other than that, we had a good experience.

I'd always wanted to stay at Hotel Bentley and finally had the opportunity. But it was such a disappointment. The carpet was so dirty that when I walked barefoot to the bathroom, I got junk all over the foot towel. The bathroom floor was equally dirty. The tub drain was broken, so I couldn't take a bubble bath, and water only came out the perimeter of the shower head and by the time it reached me (5'2") it encircled me and wouldn't rinse anything. I had to hang my head over and use the faucet to get shampoo/conditioner out of my hair. The AC sounded like a plane taking off, and breakfast was terrible - watery scrambled eggs, microwaved bacon and soggy toast. When I get to come home from the NE, one of the things I look forward to the most is delicious food. Don't expect to get it here. One morning I got up and the hallway smelled awful. I still don't know what it was. The carpet was damp and the whole 3rd floor reeked. The walls are thin so if you're looking for peace +quiet to get a good night's sleep, this isn't the best option, from partying guests outside to an early morning street sweeper, I got little rest. The lobby is pretty though and the buffet our party had in the Mirror Room was tasty, even though they sat the cheesecake near the heated beans and it was melty.

Refurbished old hotel with a lot of history has a decent restaurant and bar and a lot of good meeting rooms.. My well appointed room had two problems--no internet and a very noisy A/C clunking off and on. Internal accessibilty for handicapped is not very good.

We paid for a room with a River view, which was recommended to us and the reason we stayed at the Bentley. Our view was of lower roof tops and trash. When we asked for what we paid for, front desk said no more River view rooms were available. They didn’t budge. He also said three times that we had made the reservation on line (did that make a difference?! I made it through their web site) and it was for a standard room. I had a screen shot of the confirmation to show: it was river view. When I went on line again after this; their website showed the river view rooms were available for that night. A scam - beware.

The Bentley Hotel is like stepping back in time. Unique experience. Beware of reservations.com which appears to be the Bentley web site but is 3rd party site which charges 50.00 for booking..a hidden fee that is added after cc info is submitted and processed.

So sad this hotel was not what it claims to be. It is a beautiful building but the hotel smells musty and not very clean. Only one person working at the desk and apparently the only person working in the hotel. It was a Sunday and the room view was over the top of a lower building. We asked to be moved to a river view room but there were no towels in the room and the bathroom was not very clean. I had to clean it in order to feel comfortable using the bathroom. The very nice young woman who was running everything in the hotel, had to go to the housekeeping area to get the towels for us. They are very thin towels, not what you would expect for what bills itself as a four star hotel. The windows on the outside have green and black mold looking stuff on them. The owner needs to hire and pay staff if he/she wants to get this building back to what it should be. There were no restaurants in the hotel open and nothing in the area that was open. The downtown area of Alexandria looks very sketchy and unsafe. No one to assist with luggage and no valet parking is available. We are just hoping our vehicle does not get broken into. Until this town is able to revitalize their downtown and the owner makes a true effort to restore this hotel, pass on staying here.

If you're visiting Alexandria, you might as well stay at the Bentley. Even aside from the charm factor, the price is comparable to other hotels with sketchy reviews and much less character. Also, the location at the center of town is excellent, convenient to the convention center, several cute-looking restaurants, an art museum, the Red River, Interstate 49, and Pineville. I was happy to see the Bentley being kept up so well. The staff has shown good insight into what does and doesn't matter to their guests. The lobby looks beautiful and includes some displays about the history of the hotel. Our room was comfortable, pretty, and scrupulously clean. Front desk staff was friendly and helpful. They have free coffee, a little workout room and a take-one/leave-one library. As far as I could tell, vallet service has been discontinued but there was plenty of parking. We had a little trouble figuring out what entrance to use (Basically any of them would have worked. We were being clueless.) and, because the building pre-dates accessibility laws by decades, I would recommend double-checking about any such concerns before booking. The restaurant and the Mirror Room Lounge are also worth a look.