Desert Rose Inn

Always like this place. Unfortunately we were told it was becoming a Comfort Inn in Jan 2013. Hopefully it won’t change too much. Always clean and the staff is very friendly!

Wow. It’s been a long time since I’ve found this much value in a hotel. I needed to stay in Benson, a small mining town, and given the location and low price of the Desert Rose Inn (formerly the Holiday Inn Express) I wasn’t expecting much. I was very happily surprised from the moment I arrived. It’s a small place with not much around, but it is immaculately maintained, open and bright. The staff was very friendly and quickly checked me in, and gave me some very good recommendations for dinner (try Magaly’s Mexican food in «downtown»). My standard room was clean, and although not large, it was well laid out and very comfortably furnished. The bed was perfect. The cowboy theme borders on the kitschy, but overall it didn’t really detract from the rest of the experience. The bathroom had enough counter space to hold all my stuff; I really dislike it when you have to balance everything on the back of the toilet. And although it’s fairly near the freeway, I could not hear any traffic noise. They have free wifi and a full breakfast buffet in the morning, something I really appreciate. There’s even a pool on the grounds. I was especially impressed with the service I received at checkout – I had an unexpected, major change in plans, but the front desk handled it with a few clicks and a smile, not the kind of hassle I have received at other hotels.
I have to travel a lot for a major corporation, and I wish our «approved» hotels were anywhere near this good. The major chains could take some lessons from this terrific hotel.