OH Cleveland Renaissance Downtown

[Tommymac]

Got the room for two nights for a $61 bid through Priceline. With taxes and fees came out to about $139. Not bad for the 4th of July Week.

The hotel itself is older - but very well maintained. Very clean. The decor was tasteful and attractive. It was true to the historical nature of the hotel - we felt like we were staying in a period movie set.

The room was on the small side, but had all amenities except a refrigerator and microwave - as we usually carry our own drinks, the lack of a small fridge was a minor annoyance. The bed was extremely comfortable. Room safe was a nice plus. High quality soaps and lotions were provided. The maid service was excellent. We did not spend much time in the room - so cannot tell about the TV entertainment - we did not watch it at all.

A curious touch was that the wakeup calls were not automated recordings - I dropped the phone when answering it and I was totally shocked to hear the staff member ask if everything was allright!

We were on the interior of the 6th floor Atrium, the pool level, - it was not noisy at all - the pool area was nicely decorated with live plants so it gave the impression of having a nice outside view. The pool itself was samll, but great to grab a few relaxing moments in - and the fitness room had all the gear one needs. A dry sauna was a great touch.

The staff was extremely helpful - one of the Concierge's was not that knowledgable about the area. Maybe he was new. Regardless, he was extremely polite and worked hard to find out the info we needed. We did not eat there - though the Lobby lounge staff gave great service, and mixed good drinks . Minor negative is that the lounge closes at Midnight except on Friday and Saturday when it is open until 1 AM. The Warehouse district is only a few minute walk across the Public Square, but I am not sure how safe it is to walk there that late at night if you want to get a very late nite cocktail.

The hotel does not provide any type of shuttle service - we wanted to go down to the Flats to take the Lolly Trolley tour at 9:30 AM - and had to take a cab, as I did not want to drive in an unfamilair city at morning rush hour. Other downtown hotels do provide this service. The cab ride was only $6 with tip, but still...

Big negative was the cost of parking. It was $25 a day for Valet parking with In and Out priviledges. There were open Public lots right across the street, but the area was not the safest. We bit the bullet to make sure our car was secure.

That brings up another negative. The Public Square is right next to the Hotel, and a lot of vagrants and other less desirable types hang out there at all hours. As long as you stay in front of the Hotel, you are okay - but walk around the corner and you will run into groups of pan handlers and worse at all hours of the day. A plus is that the Tower Mall is connected directly to the Hotel - you can go there without leaving the building.

Another plus side of location, the hotel is central to all downtown Cleveland attractions - we walked to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in about 15 minutes.

This is a non smoking facility - our understanding is that Ohio has passed a law that prevents smoking in any hotels, bars or restaurants. They do provide a smokers area with a bench in the Parking Garage, that is well lighted and in view of the 24 Hour parking attendent, so it is secure.

Overall I would say that this hotel deserves the 4* Priceline gives it.

[bobcook54]

Finally hit this one at $60.00 plus fees/taxes(78.00) after trying for quite a few years.We come to Cleveland for sporting events and occasionally stay overnight. Here's my two cents worth.......

The GOOD- hotel is very nice in the public areas. It has that grand old hotel feel.The staff was friendly and cheerful. The beds were quite comfortable.The hotel is connected to the Terminal tower with all its restaurants, shopping and Skywalk to the Quicken Loan arena(no need to step outdoors)and has a nice indoor pool/atrium on the 5th floor.

The BAD- the room(508) was really small...we had two beds,one of which was right up against the older type heat/a/c unit...you couldn't get out of that side of the bed.The room was just overall a little tacky(bathroom tile been fixed and repaired,grout not matching,etc.) I would expect this from a 1 or 2*,but not from a 4* Renaissance. Parking in the hotel garage is a hefty $23.00,but the outdoor lot right next to the garage was only $10.00 for the whole weekend.

The WORST- the afore mentioned heat/A/C unit was terrible. It had an access door missing and a toggle switch that gave you a choice of run or auto.It also had a round switch that rotated but didn't seem to do a thing. It got quite hot during the middle of the night and I had to crawl across my son to even get to it! I finally turned the whole damn thing off and it cooled down a bit due to a temperature drop outside.

I have stayed at the Hyatt at the Arcade on numerous occasions,along with the Holiday Inn Express Downtown(housed in an old redone bank building) and others and would take them over the Renaissance every time.Granted I have only stayed there this one time and in this one room,but first impressions.....!! I also am a Marriott Rewards member and plan on passing this message on to them.

[Mer9869]

I won this hotel in Mid November 2009 on a Tuesday night for $67. Far below the stated median price of $239. I was quite disappointed however. After coming in very late, and very tired, I chose to just use the hotel parking which was overpriced at $23. The style of the room is dated and had the old, large box style television, which at this stage for a 4 star hotel is unbelievable to me. Many times 2.5 and 3.0 have large flat screens. The wifi was for a charge, and not really cheap either. The pool was in an atrium in the middle of the hotel with views from many room windows with tables and chairs surrounding. It was not terribly large, but was empty each time I peeked. The bathroom did have a pretty and nice marble sink, but I suppose that was the best feature as far as I am concerned. The bed was a small single queen in a room which was the size of a closet. I would never book this location again, and hope that I never get upgraded to it either. I enjoy the Cle Doubletree, Marriott Cle Airport and Holiday Inn Exp much, much more. Really, just about any 3 star and above in downtown Cleveland would take precendent over this location.

* Oh, and the air/heat (?) unit was UNBELIEVABLE. I did not even know how to use it...the air came out minimally and cold no matter how I turned it. It was dated and awful.