Germany Cologne Renaissance Hotel

[Chris26WI]

The Renaissance Hotel Cologe is in nice location, Magnusstrasse, not far from shopping areas, but a bit more far to the Cathedral. The building dates back to the end 70s and is not really a beauty; also inside the hotel gives you back the charme of the 80s, rooms have been refurnished with new furniture in typical Marriott style, mostly in black colour, nice comfortable chair with legrest, comfortable big beds; the rooms (standard) are a bit too packed with the furniture - or in other words not really big... Marriott.com says at least 24sqm for Quality Room, but seems a bit smaller. Anyway, the condition of the furniture was not 100% ok (the chair quite dirty etc.).

The bathrooms are really boring, not changed since the opening of the hotel - so in 80s-style, dark-grey color and quite small.

Room service is efficient and very friendly; they had a special offer for a "TV menu": pizza, ice cream and drink (beer or mineral water) for only 12.50 EUR - so quite cheap for room service prices. Overall, the service in the hotel is really fine.. very friendly and they always talk to the guest personally, meaning the use the guest's name in talking.

The hotel has a quite nice spa, with indoor swimming pool. There is a hotel garage - charges are 17 EUR for 24hrs.

Overall, a 4-star-hotel - not more and not less. Great service level, nice furniture, but not enough renovation of the interior.

[LoneStar]

I stayed here for $56/night on priceline during Cologne's Karneval weekend -- an astonishingly good deal given the crowds which descend on Cologne during that time, and the hotel's excellent location a block from the big parade route. While my positive experience at the hotel was no doubt influenced by the good deal I received, there is also a lot to recommend the hotel for an "ordinary" stay in Cologne.

The previous reviewer provides a nice summary of the hotel. The rooms are a little on the small side (by U.S. chain hotel standards at least), and I wouldn't try to get more than 2 or 3 people into a room. They are nicely furnished (my furniture was in good shape) and the beds (good mattresses, fine linens) are almost luxurious. You can tell the property was built 20 years or so ago, but they've done a pretty good job of keeping the hotel in good condition.

I've heard some people shy away from booking this hotel because of it's perceived "inconvenient" location. Nothing could be further from the truth. True, it is about a 10-12 minute walk from the Cathedral/Main Train Station, but it is a very pleasant walk if you take the pedestrain shopping streets (Hohe Str. to Breite Str.). You can also easily reach the Cathedral/Train Station by the U-bahn subway line 50 yards from the hotel (Friesenplatz stop), but I can't imagine why you'd do this -- unless you were transferring to another train at the station and had luggage. Indeed, from the Cologne Airport, the total travel time from the airport to the hotel is little more than 30 minutes, including the transfer. The fare is also only 2.30 Euros, with one ticket good on both the S-bahn (the airport train) and the U-bahn subway. The Fresenplatz U-bahn stop is also convenient to get other places in Cologne, although I suspect most tourists would simply walk to most tourist destinations.

I also think the Friesenplatz area is a good alternative to the more crowded and more touristy Cathedral area (which, as I mentioned, isn't very far away). Frisenplatz is the City's #1 entertainment/dining locale, so there are some great places to have dinner within a couple hundred yards of the hotel. One of the city's most famous beer halls, Paffgen, is directly behind the hotel. It features the excellent local beer, called Kolsch, and all the traditional German dishes. For an inexpensive non-German meal, the nearby Farmers Restaurant is reminescent of an American-style chain steakhouse with low prices and good steaks.

As the previous poster noted, the hotel's own restaurant has some good promotions. Currently, there is a 15 Euro price for your choice of schnitzel with sauce, sides, and a drink. Quite tasty. Sadly, breakfast in ridiculously expensive at the hotel (21 Euros for the buffet), but there are nearby bakeries with good breads, pretzels and sandwiches. Try the little bakery on Apostelnstr., less than 5 minutes walk from the hotel. You can also pick up 2 "Berliner" jelly donuts at various chain bakeries for 1 Euro. The hotel offers free morning coffee and tea in the lobby.

If traveling during Karneval or even over a Saturday night, I might ask the hotel staff for a room NOT facing the back, where many of the local bars are. The noise isn't terrible, and the windows are insulated, but you'll still hear some street noise. In general, the hotel staff is excellent, and will go the extra mile for you -- like printing out your airline boarding passes if you ask them to.

The basement pool area with sauna and steam room is also definitely a plus. I didn't have a car with me, but limited street parking and nearby garages were available, along with the hotel's own (expensive) garage. I'd ask the front desk for parking suggestions.

Overall, this is a solid 4 star property and, at current priceline rates, a tremendous value.

[pcg2001]

Here is the review I also posted in Tripadvisor. Since this was a Priceline booking (using BB links!), I thought I should share it here.

I have just returned from 3 nights at the Rennaissance Cologne booked via Priceline, which was

[Jesper]

We stayed 1 night at this great Hotel in Cologne.

A very warm welcome by the staff, we got candy, could choose from different rooms and got a map and other tourist stuff. We had huge room with all what you need.

The hotel is close to downtown and not far away from the Cathedral. You can walk there through the shoppig streets by 10 min. or continue down to the River Rhine and have a good solid meal and a huge beer.

One thing : The breakfast is expensive as in most luxury hotels - so go downtown to Altstadt square and find the caf