Places we would send our closest friends.
We stay, we pay attention, and we score what we found against a published standard. A Benson Select is worth building part of a trip around. A Benson Icon is worth making the journey for.
Open Sky Zion
Open Sky Zion is more than an extraordinary place to stay near Zion National Park; it’s an experience worth making the journey for. Secluded luxury tents, sweeping desert views, private outdoor showers, stargazing from your own deck, and remarkably thoughtful hospitality create a rare connection to the landscape without sacrificing comfort. Open Sky doesn’t simply provide a base for exploring Greater Zion; it becomes one of the most memorable parts of the adventure.
Cadlao Resort
Cadlao Resort captures what makes a stay in El Nido special, with tropical gardens, warm Filipino hospitality, and spectacular views across Bacuit Bay toward Cadlao Island. Its peaceful setting feels removed from the energy of town while keeping El Nido and its world-famous island-hopping adventures within easy reach. It’s the kind of place that makes the resort itself a memorable part of the Palawan experience.
Las Terrazas Resort
Las Terrazas Resort combines the laid-back character of Ambergris Caye with spacious beachfront accommodations and easy access to the Belize Barrier Reef. The relaxed setting, personal hospitality, and ability to move effortlessly from a quiet morning by the Caribbean to snorkeling, diving, fishing, or exploring San Pedro make it an exceptional base for experiencing Belize. It’s the kind of resort that lets adventure and island life fit naturally into the same trip.
Villa La Valencia Cabo
Villa La Valencia brings together the beauty of the Los Cabos coastline with spacious accommodations and a resort designed for days that can be as relaxed or active as you want them to be. Its beachfront setting, impressive pools, thoughtful service, and easy access to the adventures of Cabo make it especially well suited for couples, families, and friends traveling together. It’s a comfortable, polished home base for experiencing everything Los Cabos has to offer.
Fairmont Le Château Frontenac
Le Château Frontenac is one of those rare hotels where where you stay really does change the experience of the destination. Perched above the St. Lawrence River in the heart of Old Québec, the history, architecture, and location make staying here feel like part of Québec City itself. Step outside and you’re immediately exploring the cobblestone streets of Old Québec, but staying inside the Château is an experience all its own.
Gaylord Texan Resort & Convention Center
The Gaylord Texan is big, fun, and unapologetically Texas. The soaring atriums, indoor gardens, restaurants, pools, and sheer variety of things happening around the resort make it especially fun for families and groups who want more than just a place to sleep. With Lake Grapevine outside and plenty to explore around Grapevine and the Dallas–Fort Worth area, it’s a memorable home base for a Texas getaway.
Kahana Baler Bed & Breakfast
Kahana Baler is exactly the kind of small, character-filled stay we love finding. The warm personal hospitality and relaxed tropical setting make it a comfortable home base for exploring Baler. The food was a surprise highlight, with creative spins on traditional Filipino dishes that had us looking forward to every meal. It’s personal, distinctly local, and the kind of place we’d happily recommend to friends headed to this part of the Philippines.
Kamana Sanctuary Resort & Spa
Kamana Sanctuary Resort & Spa offers a peaceful escape on the shores of Subic Bay, surrounded by the forested hills and tropical beauty of the Philippines. Its secluded waterfront setting, spacious accommodations, warm Filipino hospitality, and easy access to the adventures around Subic make it a memorable alternative to a traditional city or beach resort. It’s a place to slow down, enjoy the water, and experience a quieter side of the Subic Bay area.
Couples Tower Isle
Couples Tower Isle has the relaxed, romantic feel we want from a Caribbean getaway, with a beautiful stretch of Jamaican coastline and an atmosphere that makes it easy to slow down and enjoy being together. Daily included scuba diving was a highlight for us and adds real value to the all-inclusive experience, especially for couples who want more than just a beach vacation. Add in the resort’s distinctly Jamaican character and easy access to Ocho Rios, and it’s a Caribbean stay we’d happily recommend.
An award runs for the years shown. Past recipients stay on this page because the recognition was real for its period. It is not a withdrawal.
Nobody can buy an award. We visit, we score, and a qualifying score still does not compel us to give one.
Where a stay was hosted, we say so on the page. Scores are private to the property. What is published is the award and the years it covers.
Stay somewhere
worth remembering.
Be part of our private travel membership with hand-picked resorts and unforgettable experiences minus the hassle of timeshare or vacation home ownership.
We bought in so you don’t have to.
Simple, by design.
We personally travel the world finding extraordinary places and negotiating preferred-member access. You simply select which of them you’d like to experience too.
Members do three things.
Select your stay
Choose your destination and tell us the dates you have in mind.
We arrange it
We confirm availability and send your confirmation. You just show up.
Places that made the list.
Making memories and living life more fully.
Bull Sharks in Playa
They gather off this coast for a few months a year. Close enough to count the scars, calm enough to stay a while.
The walk at golden hour
Costa Rica’s Pacific coast empties out just as the light gets good. Most evenings, the beach is yours.
Hot chocolate at the bottom
The part of the day nobody photographs, and the part everybody ends up remembering.
First chair, fresh snow
Up the mountain before anyone else, on a morning that still has every track left in it.
And so much more…
Hosted personally by Paul & Diana Benson.
We're lifelong adventurers who believe travel is one of life's greatest investments. Not because of the places you'll go, but because of the memories you'll create and the people you'll share them with.
The Benson Preferred Guest List is simply our way of sharing some of our favorite places and experiences with our circle of friends, family, and people we're glad to know. Read more about our story →
Extraordinary places, the world over.
From Whistler to the Amalfi Coast, Niseko to Turks & Caicos · a growing collection of luxury resort destinations, hand-chosen and added as inventory opens.
Questions, answered
Is this a timeshare?
No. There’s no ownership interest, deed, points system, or long-term obligation · it’s a private membership for access to resort stays, and you can cancel anytime.
Is airfare included?
No. Members arrange and pay for their own flights and ground transportation.
Do members get member-only hotel rates?
Yes — because we arrange stays directly with each property rather than through public booking channels, members receive rates and terms that aren’t published or available to the general public. See how membership compares to other travel clubs.
Are you open to partnering with hotels, resorts, and other properties?
Yes — we’re always looking for distinguished, place-defining properties that meet our standard. If you represent a resort, boutique hotel, private residence, or unique experience, tell us about your property and we’ll be in touch.
Are resort fees included?
Your resort accommodation is covered. Any mandatory resort fees, meals, and local taxes are disclosed before you confirm a stay.
How long can I stay?
Request 3–7 nights. A full membership year covers up to a five-night stay for two; additional nights may be available based on inventory.
Can I bring more people?
Yes · add adults or children to your membership at signup or later. Your total party is limited by the accommodation’s capacity.
What if my preferred dates aren’t available?
Stays are subject to availability. We’ll suggest alternate dates or destinations to find something that works.
When can I book my stay?
Your dues prepay your stay night by night: a 3-night stay once you’ve paid about two-thirds of the year, four nights a little later, and the full five at a year (or prepay the year up front to book right away). Booking uses your one guaranteed stay for the year; additional stays may be available subject to availability.
Browse the properties.
The resorts available to members. New properties are added as inventory opens · join the list to be the first to know.
Choose how to begin.
Read the full Membership Terms & Disclosures before joining. Invitation-only, limited to founding members.
Guest List
- Free account · log in anytime
- Browse the collection & request stays for any open inventory
- No monthly dues · pay per trip when you book
- Upgrade to Priority whenever a membership opens up
Always free. Upgrade only if you want a guaranteed stay.
Solo Membership
- Priority access
- Luxury stay each year, for one (up to 5 nights)
- Book 3–7 night stays, subject to availability
- Priority Pricing on every stay
- Add a guest anytime · adults $50/mo, children 13 & under $25/mo
- 3% annual increase · cancel anytime · 3-day cooling-off period
Priority Membership
- Priority access
- Luxury stay each year, for TWO (up to 5 nights)
- Book 3–7 night stays, subject to availability
- Priority Pricing on every stay
- Add family at signup · adults $50/mo, children 13 & under $25/mo (adjust anytime)
- 3% annual increase · cancel anytime · 3-day cooling-off period
Envoy Membership
- Everything in Priority
- A guaranteed stay at a higher-end property — or 2–3 stays each year at our luxury destinations
- Envoy Pricing on every stay
- Add family · adults $50/mo, children 13 & under $25/mo
- 3% annual increase · cancel anytime · 3-day cooling-off period
Ambassador Membership
- Everything in Envoy, plus additional perks
- Up to one stay every month — or guaranteed stays at our highest-end properties
- Ambassador Pricing on every stay
- Add family · adults $50/mo, children 13 & under $25/mo
- 3% annual increase · cancel anytime · 3-day cooling-off period
Now accepting new members · spots limited. Get updates on new destinations and openings.
Request your stay.
Choose a property, room, and your dates. We'll check availability and confirm · you'll see the status under My Membership.
Stays are subject to availability. Specific resorts and dates are not guaranteed until approved.
Welcome back, Member.
Your requests
+ New requestLooking for somewhere specific that’s not in our current selection? Tell us where you want to go and when you’re looking — the Benson Concierge will get back to you as soon as possible with our best options.
Plan trips together
Build a multi-stop itinerary, split rooms with friends and family, and add activities everyone can see. Share your trip with one link.
Places worth writing about.
How you’d say it out loud. The web address comes from this.
Hold ⌘ or Ctrl for several. These become the “stays in this area” links on the guide.
This sets the voice. A guide that fakes a memory costs more trust than it earns clicks.
Optional, but this is the difference between a guide and filler. Nothing gets invented if you leave it blank.
For a guide you’ve already written. Your words go in exactly as pasted — nothing rewrites them. The AI only reads it, pulls out the metadata, and tells you how it would fare in AI search.
One per line. Or paste a spreadsheet with a header row for per-guide control:
destination,property,connection,note,focus,days
Quote any name with a comma in it — "Roatan, Bay Islands". Multi-value cells split on ;. Cap is 200.
For rows without their own. Leave it here — it’s the honest default for a long list.
Roughly 30–60 seconds each, one at a time. Close the tab if you like — progress is saved as it goes.
Things you and Diana already know. Every future guide for a destination inherits its memories automatically — say it once here and you never retype it.
In your own words, as you’d say it out loud. This gets quoted into future guides exactly as written.
Decides whether a future guide may write “we”.
Short form is fine — “Roatán” finds a guide called “Roatán, Bay Islands, Honduras”.
Leave blank if you or Diana said it. Filled in, the guide credits it instead of claiming it.
The “Follow our adventures” grid at the bottom of /our-story. Nine slots, three per row — fill three for one row, nine for three. Each tile shows your photo and opens the Instagram post it belongs to.
The timing layer. Pick a guide, say which months it is at its best, and give it the Benson Test. Guides with months set appear on /when-to-go and grow a timing block on their page. Leave months empty and nothing changes anywhere.
No guide yet — this creates a draft to hang the timing on. It becomes the guide when you write it, and shows on /when-to-go once published.
Paste a When-to-Go article (the Costa Rica format) and the sections below fill themselves. Nothing saves until you review and hit Save timing.
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Round-ups — a curated list that answers a time-based question like “Where are the best places to go in January?” It links out to timing pages and guides; it never becomes a long article. Lives at /when-to-go/collections/<slug>.
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The voice rules live here as text, not in code — change how every future guide reads without a deploy.
Placeholders: {{destination}} {{featured_property}} {{nearby_properties}} {{connection_context}} {{connection_note}} {{focus_areas}} {{word_count}} {{suggested_days}}
{{destination}} and {{connection_context}} are required — without them a guide has no subject or no voice rules.
All three required. A voice missing “going back after years” fails on the one guide that needs it most.
What’s working.
Where members come from · first touch
Attention by section
Most-viewed properties
The collection & partners.
Properties
Concierge Network
B2B inquiries · properties, tourism boards and experiences
Membership capacity
— of — memberships available · one per resort week held. (— members · — held off-membership.)