Union Hotel, Benicia, CA Review

Haunted Victorian! Hallways straight out of the Shining. Even the room furnishings are vintage. Rich storytelling potential. Very Westworld.

This is regarding the reservation process. I needed to make a change in my reservation which required that I actually speak with a live person. After repeated calls to the hotel I have been unable to reach a live person. I emailed the address they list for reservations, and they responded that I needed to speak with someone at the hotel. Again, no one answers, and they have a very inferior message system with no option to speak to a live person. I did find a number to call, which was located in Guatemala. Communication was extremely difficult, and my situation required that I speak with someone fluent in english because it was a bit more involved than just making a reservation. When she was unable to help, or even comprehend what I needed, I asked to be directed to someone in the United States and was told there was no such option. They just make it too difficult. I will be easier for me to just stay someplace else.

Great food great atmosphere nice people you should try it

Mostly clean & comfy with cool decor and possible ghosts. Confusion at check in (totally wrong name). Rooms need more secure locks. Good price, great location & charm. Noisy elevator. Minimal breakfast, bad coffee. Java Point nearby is great.

Always enjoy the service here, plus it's a historical gem. A must if you're in town. Grab a drink or a nice meal. Support your local businesses

The Union hotel opened in 1850 in Benicia California. was quaint and romantic old world charm! Very friendly staff quiet relaxing place there's a Suite on the third floor that is amazing for around $200 and a little less. Ulysses S Grant has spent the weekend. And it was also a very successful famous brothel the 18 hundreds if you never been to Benicia California you should go enjoy it and explore it it's very nice to stay there and visit Andy has at least five antique stores and nice restaurants

Creepy little spot in Benicia California I say it needs a complete renovation from the floor up I would say they need a training and diversity and take a look at their decor pictures on the wall of Caucasian people from 1842 that appears to have come from a plantation auction of some sort so if you want to go back into time or sleepin in museum then this is your place but if you're like me and enjoy diversity and understand people come from all different types of backgrounds this is not your kind of spot don't get it twisted I can appreciate history but not if I'm spending my hard-earned money I'd like to sleep comfortably and not being reminded of will you know they call me Dre Day at the bay and I approve this message

Fantastic food. Fantastic drinks. I've never stayed in the hotel but I hear it's amazing. Go there for dinner now.

I had a really bad experience at this hotel. Someone came into my room during the day, took the bed side tables, broke one of the bedside lamps, and left it on the floor broken. Be careful!, thank god I always take my stuff with me during the day.

Food and service are just OK. You can get better in Benicia

Food was delicious! Service at the outside seating was not the best though...

Awesome Room. Awesome View . Right on the water. Love it !!

Charming hotel with friendly service and a great location. Not ideal if you need a large bed or value lots of outlets or focus a lot on comfortable furniture. Otherwise, great for the night I spent there.

They canceled our reservations at the last minute with no warning and ruined an entire weekend we had planned for months

Had a drink for the first time in the bar. Had a Mother's Day brunch once a long time ago.

Do not use this hotel! It is advertised as a bed and breakfast hotel. They even have a sign on the building that states they are a bed and breakfast hotel but guess what not only did we not receive a breakfast, the lobby was completely locked up there was no one to be found, anywhere! We tried calling the desk but there was no answering service, the phone just rang and rang at least ten times. Furthermore, we never saw or heard another guest throughout the night and morning. It was kind of eerie. I left a note stating that these conditions -- that is, no clerk at desk at about 8:30 a.m. and no breakfast that we paid for -- was inexcusable. They never attempted to contact us and just took our money and ran. The staff of this establishment lacks integrity.

Our family went for Easter brunch. The staff was nice and attentive, and the food was ok.

I came in late for a business event and was very satisfied with my stay. My room was adorable with lots of antiques and the history provided was fascinating. It fit all of my needs and I will stay here next time I come to Benicia! I highly recommend this hotel.

Amazing food. Great drinks, and the owner was very attentive and friendly.

Had a large party, took a very long time to even get a server. Drinks aparently were never an option. They asked us re arrange to our chairs so they could better keep track of our meals ( didn't help) . Served multiple wrong items and provided wrong information in meals when ordered. When asked about previous conversation the waiter got very upset. I personally had the salmon. When I asked the waiter what their salmon dinner was like he explained Capers with a wine sauce.. I recieved a blackened salmon with a sweet grape sauce. (I wouldn't recommend it). After all the hostility, confusion and so so meals we had desert and coffee compted.. which was nice but.... I still give the food and service a thumbs down.
Atmosphere was very charming but they were going thru some kind of repairs and the smell of paint and lacquer was very strong..
Good luck on your journey should you choose to visit.

Nice quaint Hotel in Downtown Benicia near the water

The hotel was having a live band and it was very upbeat and fun only complaint was the prices are expensive the staff takes care of you and each other as if you were family

Room was bare, run down, mismatched, non functional, furniture, no amenities, what few there were were cheap. I expected it to be beautiful and romantic like in the pictures, was bitterly disappointed!
The location is excellent, the bed is comfortable, and it's quiet, if all you want to do is sleep it functions well enough but bring your own coffee, cups, condiments, et. they don't supply anything. The front desk help is very friendly when they're there!

Rooms were quaint, but dirty. I couldn't escape the feeling that I was out of work in the 40s. Just felt poor and a little desperate. "Breakfast" was also basically a bowl of granola bars.

This is a well kept, quaint, historic hotel in a quaint historic town. Beds are comfortable, the bathrooms have spacious tubs, and there is ample room to stretch out in. I do wish I had thicker curtains on my window to keep it dark at night but it wasn't a huge hinderence.

Old, but very clean and filled with cool antiques. Beautiful view from my window.

The "breakfast" at the Bed & Breakfast was cheese sticks (not on ice/refrigerated), yogurt (not on ice/refrigerated), and coffee. There were broken and bent curtain rods in our room, they came in and REMOVED our shower curtain and did NOT PUT IT BACK, left us with no toilet paper, and there is no one to call because the front desk has the most ridiculously bizarre hours. Had I locked myself out of the room, there would have been no way to get back in because who would I have called? This hotels only saving grace is the charm of its antiques. Terrible experience. Bed & Breakfasts are supposed to feel homey considering the rate we paid. Would not recommend.

We recommend you to have dinner here and don't forget to have desserts here, and of course you will need to try the latte as well. Everything is amazing and you can set outside now by First Street and enjoy your time.

Excellent meal this evening....Benicia Grill entre. Good service and amazing host. He seemed genuinely interested in pleasing our group. Could not recommend it more highly.

Quaint, beautiful room. On 1st street that's lined w/ lighted trees, sidewalk cafes, restaurant & bar right there (historic district).

The Union Hotel is listed in my mothers prized bed and breakfast cookbooks. As such I researched thier famed recipies and was very much looking forward to the experience. It could not have been much worse. First off this was the hotel my wife and I stayed at the night of our wedding. As we were having an evening wedding I made several calls to the hotel and left messages on two consecutive days in order to determine what I needed to do for a late check-in as we would not anticipate arriving at the hotel until after 11pm. I never recieved a phone call back. Thankfully my best man was able to contact the hotel as I had been very unsuccessful (as he was currently staying in Benicia) and his mother was on standby just in case. They sent in a late check-in information to his email which detailed a very bizzare and extremely insecure check in procedure. I will not detail the security issues here but basically anyone off the street could get into your room if they wanted to. When we arrived there was no hotel staff around. Period. We go into our room on the third floor to find it was in disrepair and not clean. There was dust on the top of the counter surfaces, as well as rings from drinks, and some kind of sticky residue. The bathtub/shower had mold all over the curtains lower 6 inches as well as mold in the jets on the crazed (read superficially spiderwebbed in cracks, but fine) surface of the jaccuzi tub. The bed was lovely to sleep on and clean, though it was missing a rail on the canopy. The night stand lights worked fine but they had not had three way LED bulbs installed so the LED lights just went on full force with no dimming. The wifi was included but incredibly slow (facebook had trouble loading). The TV was tiny in our room but worked fine. There was a fridge (which was a nice addition) but we found that it had some previous guests starbucks drink still in it. The chair in the corner needed repair as the bottom fabric was torn down from the side about 6 inches. The lovely chaise lounge needed cleaning badly and looked as though a filthy dog had been sleeping on it (which would be the nicest posibilty I can think of). The old elevator was a bit spooky but works fine. Be careful though as it does not sit level at the 1st and 3rd floors (I dont know about the 2nd floor). The continental breakfast consisted of boxed cereal, cereal bars, fruit that I know was there the night before, muffins, and there was one other packaged thing that I can not remember at the moment. The items the hotel was famous for as a bed and breakfast were no where to be found. They opened it up at 7:30am for guests and by 8:10am all muffins were gone with no more to be had. The close up the office at 9:45am and do not open for check in until 3pm which they stop at 6pm. Checkout is at 11 am but good luck finding the nice young gal the owners have working there. She has too much to do by herself. For the price I paid I can not believe how bad this was. Not returning phone calls, things in disrepair, not having a staff there at all times for guests, it is just a miss-leading mess. Thankfully my bride was not in a mood to be fussy after a fully day of wedding activities. Benicia is a lovely place. I can not recomend this hotel.

My wife and I went to the union hotel for breakfast. I got a seafood omelet and she got eggs Benedict. Both were really good and fair prices. Awesome bloody Mary's. Staff was excellent.

Food was fantastic. Service a little slow and there were only 2 tables of patrons.

Great place in middle of downtown. Thursday night and 2 GOOD live bands playing nearby, plenty of restaurants and bars a short walk away.

Great food and nice atmosphere. Very friendly and great service.

Rooms not maintained curtains poor screens missing bathroom supplied small amounts .... bed poor.... food good in bar....... would not stay there again ..... but it was a girls get a way so we enjoyed the pier to yak n sit on n watch the world go by......

Cool hotel with lots of history, dated, but it should be so that's part of the charm. Right on 1st Street in downtown benecia.

Totally my favorite restaurant in Benicia! The food is extraordinary & one of the friendliest & best kept secrets of Benicia for music & dance. Gabby the owner ensures your experience is exceptional!

It was an older hotel so you could hear anyone walking or talking in the hallways. It was a comfortable and good stay over all.

Great rooms. We stayed on the 3rd haunted floor. Jacuzzi tub.. Yellow checkers.
A score of you book during the peddlers fair!

The Union Hotel (Hotel) is a nice little spot, situated close to the bay. It has outdoor seating, in both the front and on the patio, a bar, and tables available inside. It is decorated sparesly with "Italian vibes", but the center of attention is the huge stained glass windows. The food is primarily Italian, and was fairly priced for a sit-down restaursnt (~$10 appetizers, $14-30 for items ranging from pasta to a sirloin). They also have specials available, one of which was ricotta ravioli in a mushroom sauce when I visited, which was delicious. The beer selection was decent, a few on tap and several bottled options. The hotel was nice as well, quaint and comfortable. Being a historic part of the town, it may seem outdated if that's of great importance to you, but it does have a rich history which a few bar patrons and the receptionist/clerk informed us of. All in all, it was a great time and I'd absolutely recommend it to family and friends coming from out of town.

Friendly staff and quaint atmosphere. Rooms filled with antique furniture. Morning buffet consists of muffins, yougurt, o.j. and coffee and more. Beautiful stained glass window in hotel bar/restaurant. Menu looks great.

Very cool vintage hotel with period furniture but modern plumbing. Comfortable beds and a warm atmosphere. We've stayed her about 8 times and I must say it IS haunted though, so please be respectful of the spirits or it might get a little noisy at night.

Very old hotel, but interesting. I loved our room, but did not like the curtains....I felt like the people on the street could see me, but other than that, would definitely visit again!

The place had the Historical feel to it some updated amenities. The Hotel Manager was very nice. But sadly, no ghost. That would have been the icing on the cake.

Excellent food, elegant atmosphere & defined setting. 1st time, definitely not our last....

Stopped in with friends for drinks at the bar. Friendly, helpful bartender on duty. Pleasant atmosphere. Will return.

Good food and friendly staff. They were busy with a big wedding party, but did not feel ignored. My steak was cooked perfectly.

Not bad, great location with lits of nearby restaraunts

This place is old, unique, clean enough to be healthy and dirty enough to be happy. If you re looking for modern with all the amenities including the white glove test, this is not your place. If you want a real comfortable bed, a quiet evening with lot s of dining choices and the ability to take a nice walk in the evening, then you found it at the Union Hotel. Oh yeah, the prices are a bargain.

They're are two rooms that are reputedly haunted by ghosts!

Used to be a very nice hotel. The place is run down now and badly in need of maintenance.

How beautiful hotel and friendly bar are! Here was the best memory and a great luck in US!

Right now I want to give them a "1".. There is a note in the elevator that says if you go to the 2nd or 3rd floor to send the elevator back to the first floor or it gets stuck and the 2nd or third floor. When it does the doors repeatedly open and close. It is an old elevator and sounds like a large door. I am here on Business for a week and would think that it could be repaired. Also the Police were called here at night as there was a loud fight on the third floor.. The hotel is very cool but it has not been peaceful which is amazing as the the rest of the town is peaceful...I am getting ready to take the stairs to the first floor to see if I push the button on the first floor maybe it will stay there...&^*&^%*&%*^%(^

This evening participated in Vezer Wine Dinner at the Union Hotel. Excellent pairing of dishes with wine. Besides out of this world wine, some of the BEST food we've had in quite sometime. Thx to Gabby at Union for hosting such wonderful event!!

Our first time. Erica was exceptionally cordial, warm and friendly. The room was very nice with a great view of the Carquinez Straight's.
Can't go wrong.

Beautiful Hotel in the heart of Benicia, excellent personal service. Clean and quiet.

O.k. i got a handle shower releases in one bath room it's was easy

This is a difficult review to leave, the owner and manager were very apologetic and accommodating. The room however was filthy, I even had to do bathroom repairs while I was there. What I will say though, they made it all square when they comped my room and apologized. They explained that they had a new employee and I am sure that has been rectified. If so, give them a shot. Just be prepared for parking, you have to park nearby on the street, but should be fine.

This hotel has been on my list for awhile now because the room I wanted to stay in always booked. We stayed in room Coast Lotus and it was perfect, it was worth the wait! We went for Mother's day(2020) but decided to stay a second night upon arrival seeing as how the following day was my birthday. The restaurant connected to the hotel, although closed for dine in was taking orders for pick up. EVERYTHING we ordered was delicious Gabi! Seeing as how I was loving the room, food, view, my favorite part was the jetted spa bath tub. This hotel is definitely on my most visit again soon list!

Good waitress good company good people all-around good Thank y'all

A wonderfully historic hotel in downtown Benicia. Each room is uniquely decorated with period furniture. I would not give this hotel a five star rating, but it's the historical context and the uniqueness that brings me back. There are many places to eat along the street front as well as boutique shopping for antiques and thrift items.

My family and I were in town for a family wedding. At first we were excited to be staying in 4 rooms of this great old Inn. That is until we arrived. The outside was very run down and to top it off check in was at 3. We made numerous phone calls inquiring why no one was there for us to check. It was 4 before anyone showed up. Needless to say we didn't stay. Very sour taste in our mouths. If I could I'd give the Inn zero stars.

Nice, quaint; haunted???
Friendly helpful staff but limited desk hours. Pet friendly! Will he back. My new go to for the East Bay.