NC Asheville Renaissance

[Aprilmay]

Just returned from a wonderful stay at the Asheville Renaissance in Asheville, NC. Everything about this experience was great, and I hope to return to the beautiful city and the Renaissance very soon.

Location....

The location of the Renaissance is perfect. It is located directly in Downtown Asheville and just steps from many unique restaurants and shops. We drove to the Grove Park Inn for dinner at Chops, which is only two about three miles away. The Biltmore Estate is also about five miles down the road.

Check-in....

Check in went rather smoothly. The gentleman at the front desk mentioned almost immediately that my "stay was booked through Priceline." "Oh, no," I thought, "The Priceline room!" Then he said that we would be in a room with two queen beds, that there were no king rooms available. (I had faxed the hotel a request a few days prior asking for a king non-smoking room, as we were celebrating our wedding anniversary.) I mentioned our special occasion, and his tone changed. He hit a few keys on his keyboard and said "Well congratulations. I'll put you in a king suite on our Club Lounge level." The Club level includes daily continental breakfast, appetizers and desserts nightly, as well as a full bar. He also gave us two coupons for a free full breakfast buffet in the hotel restaurant. We were ecstatic!

The room...

Our room was on the top floor, floor number twelve. Initially when we entered, there was a man wearing a hotel uniform sitting at the desk fooling with the telephone in the room. He looked quite shocked when we walked in, and apologized and ran out (maintenance, perhaps?)Anyhow, we had a gorgeous downtown view. The room was spotless, and of adequate size. There was a king bed, a small writing desk, two arm chairs, an TV cabinet, two side tables, and a mini bar with a coffee pot and two bottled waters. The bathroom was small, but also adequate. The shampoo, lotion, etc. was Bath and Body Works' Lemongrass Sage scent , which I loved! The towels were quite large and very cozy. The shower boasted a massaging shower head that was great. There was also a lighted makeup mirror and hair dryer on the wall.

Service...

The service overall was great. The front desk clerk began on a poor note, but perked up when I mentioned our special occasion. He offered maps of the downtown area as well as a larger scale map with highlighted directions to the Biltmore Estate. The breakfast coupons were also a really nice touch. Oddly enough, housekeeping knocked on our door at 5 pm while we were napping. When I opened the door, she said "Turndown service." A bit early for turndown service, I thanked her, but said that it would not be necessary right now. She gave me a handful of chocolates and scurried away. (????) Service in the Orchards restaurant was perfection. The servers were attentive and professional.

Common areas...

The common areas in the hotel were very well kept. The carpets were clean and without stains, the elevators were quick, and the club Lounge was classy and comfortable. The hotel is in great shape. We did make use of the fantastic indoor pool and hot tub. The room that houses the pool is enormous and open, and decorated with gigantic plants and trees. The tiled walls are in new condition. There are big towels available as well as locker rooms with showers and lockers. The locker rooms were spotlessly clean and offered Bath and Body Works soap and antiperspirant.

This was a solid three-star hotel, and I would love to win the Renaissance again on Priceline. I paid about $51 for this stay, which is a steal.

[Desirees]

Another good report about the hotel...

I had booked two rooms for a two night stay there, and had called the hotel at the suggestion of Thereuare to ask for connecting rooms. The person who answered the phone said that the hotel does not have any connecting rooms. My husband called the night before we went, and another lady who answered said that she will make a note that we are looking for connecting rooms but she will not be able to confirm anything since we have PL booking.

When we reached the hotel, the bell hop met us and escorted us to the reception where the check in agent was very nice. He told us he had given us connecting rooms on the 4th floor. We asked if there was anything available on a higher floor and he said he could give us room on a higher floor but they would not be connecting. Since we had two small kids we chose to take the 4th floor connecting rooms.

The luggage came up with us and the bell hop brought in ice for us for both the rooms. The rooms were really nice, the beds were extremely comfortable. One had a king and the other had two queen beds. Minor gripes were that the bathroom was really small. The shower head was set at such an angle if you were not prepared water would shoot put past the shower curtain and hit the door and then the floor. That area on the door where the water hit was all bubbly and the paint was peeling with water hitting it so often. The carpets also seemed to be a little worn. I really like the toiletries - they had mint and thyme shampoo, cr