Renaissance Cincinnati Downtown Hotel

This review is for the bar area only. We celebrated my in-​laws anniversary in Cincinnati and stayed here a few weeks ago. The hotel itself was amazing, comfortable, and accommodating. So five stars there.
However, the bar staff lacks in basic hospitality and honesty. Our group of 5 walked in to the bar about 25 minutes before closing with the hopes of getting one drink and going to our room, since we had just been out at another bar and were ready to wrap up the night.
As we walked in the bar area there were about 4 patrons seated at the bar and what I assume to be the manager, approached us and said that they already had last call. We understood since it was almost closing, so we turned to leave without a problem.
As soon as we did, the same man said, «well, we can do one drink if you want.» That being what we wanted in the first place, we agreed and took a seat while my husband went to the bar to order.
That’s when things got weird.
I overheard my husband order 3 whiskeys and a gin and tonic. Simple enough. The same man who invited us back in, simply responded with, «don’t you want a beer?» My husband thought it was a joke and just laughed. But apparently he was serious and had no intention of «making» a drink. He solidified this by lying to us instead and said that «unfortunately the key to the liquor cabinet was broken.» At this point we couldn’t believe how ridiculous he was and we said no thanks and left. As we did, the other bar patrons all looked just as confused as us, as they enjoyed their liquor and mixed drinks. Beware! This is no way to treat hotel guests, especially when you’re lying to their face. If he didn’t want to pour us a few drinks why would he bother inviting us back in after we were already on the way out. Beyond rude.

Great updates and nice rooms with a little edge. Restaurant and bar are all nice. Staff seems friendly and knowledgeable.

The hotel and rooms are well decorated however I tried 3 rooms are all were very noisy.

On the surface this hotel is very fancy. Beneath the veneer, it’s worse than a Holiday Inn. I can look past the fact that they charge 16 $ for internet (per day), but the hotel bar closes at at 12:45am on a Saturday night and they are not nice about it. For all the fancy ornaments, the bathrooms are also missing basic necessities like fans. Overall. Very disappointing for the price.

One of the best hotel stay I’ve ever had. Start to finish. Our room was clean and smelled new. It was close to everything. The staff was very friendly and breakfast was amazing being a continental. I would definitely stay here every time I come to Cincinnati.

I was in Cincinnati this month for work and stayed at the Renaissance Cincinnati Downtown Hotel. The building is a beautiful old building with a simple layout. My room was a large king size suite with a view facing the fire escapes. The bathroom was nice with large tile and Aveda toiletry products.
Cincinnati has a nice revitalized downtown and I looked up some of the restaurants in Over The Rhine – lots of great options, but I was too busy getting ready for work the next day, so I opted for room service. The food is serviced by D. Burnham’s restaurant. I enjoyed the short ribs entrée very much.
This hotel is a great for business travelers and vacationers alike. If I’m in Cincinnati, this is where I’ll stay.

This is one gorgeous hotel. Major props to the folks at the Renaissance for maintaining and showcasing the 1900s aesthetic and beauty throughout.
The elevator banks, arches, marble and more all contribute to the décor throughout the lobby. And I hear the grand ballroom is a stunner — next time I need to see that!
Beyond the stunning lobby, the rooms are incredibly comfortable and well-​appointed. The décor is modern and sleek with lots of white, black and gray throughout. The bed was comfy, the bathroom nicely sized — especially the sliding glass door shower. I could actually shave my legs without needing to contort my my body. And Aveda toiletries. Hooray!
A few other important points…
–Fitness room: Spacious & super clean. I spied plenty of machines, weights, towels, water and more.
–Service: Every staff member I encountered was friendly and helpful. They certainly went out of their way to make sure I had everything I needed for a comfortable stay.
–Location: Convenient, downtown location that’s walkable to tons of local points of interest.
High fives for a fantastic Cincy hotel!

This hotel is fantastic. It might not be the nicest hotel I’ve *ever* stayed at, but for a sub-​$ 150 price, it punches way, way, above its weight.
We got placed on the 18^th of 19 floors, in a gigantic and well-​appointed room. The entire building is furnished with beautiful Art Deco touches (though the lobby could use a bit less scent — its smell is alarmingly evocative of a Hollister store).
Right smack dab in the middle of things, helpful front desk staff, and a notable absence of overbearing security guards to scrupulously enforce noise complaints … this place has it all if you’re on a budget, but looking for a touch of luxury.
Wi-​Fi isn’t free, though, which is a bit of a bummer.

I stayed at this location the first week of opening. Luckily the Cleveland Browns were around :). This location is trendy, hip and has a awesome happy hour. I was able to crash a party while I was there, which made my trip all worth the while.
The room décor is modern and eclectic. I love the bathroom art. I wasn’t expecting this for a Marriott Brand. The beds were really comfortable and the concierge lounge was subpar. I’m not used to the lounge being on the main floor. My view was awesome. I’m usually not a fan of the Renaissance brand. This location gets my vote.

This was my first visit/​stay. As a Marriott Rewards Platinum member, I always try to stay at a Marriott property. The front desk staff was friendly and helpful. They explained about the history of building and the features which was nice. The rooms were very comfortable and decorated in a New York type theme. D. Burhnams, the hotel restaurant is very good! I would recommend to others and will be back. I think they need to continue to work on improving as they are only about ⁹⁄₁₀ months old. I was a little annoyed that the website days the concierge lounge was open till 10pm on Friday evening but actually closes at 11am. All in all a nice stay.

Restaurant aka D. Burnam’s = Delicious.
Staff = Exceedingly friendly, warm and helpful
Décor = Modern, trendy… though George Clooney pillows are a bit much
Rooms = Spacious, well-​lit and really comfortable beds… but don’t bother opening the blinds. The views are… horrible. I got to see a brick wall on one side and someone doing laundry on the other. (Yikes!)

The Renaissance offers a great first impression — but loses its luster the longer you stay there. The recently-​remodeled common spaces are stylishly decorated — but lack comfort and utility. The covered egg-​shell chairs in the lobby, for example, look kitschy — but are awkward to sit in. Some of the lounge furniture shares the same characteristic. Our group was attracted to the cocktail lounge because it looked inviting. However, the seating became an awkward and uncomfortable distraction. Lighting was also poor.
Guest rooms are spacious and well decorated, but impractical for use. The wall-​to-​wall shower was HUGE and beautiful. However, it lacked enough heat and water pressure to enjoy. WiFi was costly, so I ended up trekking to The Westin, around the corner to use free wifi in the lobby there.
This property is Marriott’s take on a boutique hotel. It feels a boutique. but very little like a hotel.

This is a nice hotel using a building which used to be a bank originally built in 1901.
I really enjoy traveling to the midwest; folks are usually incredibly friendly and my experience with check in was no exception; it was a breeze, staff extremely helpful and knowledgeable.
Valet parking is pretty reasonable for a downtown hotel, $ 35/​night. The valet folks were also very nice and my car was ready in very reasonable time.
Rooms are very comfortable, beds as well. 40′ flatscreen TV, and there are outlets on BOTH bedstands, a nice touch!

So Marriott has been stepping up their game lately in their branding of their Renaissance offerings and this hotel is a prime example of the brands refresh. The hip and funky boutique-​ish design is really trying to mirror their Autograph Collection hotels. What I really do appreciate is that they aren’t going for the same cookie cutter approach of the past. While many of the Renaissance have a similar look and feel, Marriott has tried to make each one unique in its own way.
Pro’s:
+ This place is brand new. ~3 months old in Nov. 2014, so it still looks shiny and not worn down
+ Tiered Internet– Love it or hate it this the way all hotels are going. If you have high enough status, it is free
+ Location– Nice location in downtown that is within restaurants of varying price points and more importantly it is ~1 mile walk to Paul Brown Stadium or ~.4 mile walk to the Reds stadium.
+ Staff– They were pretty friendly and helpful
+Beds– standard Renaissance type. Comfortable mattress and bedding
+Shower– Tall Shower head
+ Bathroom Amenities — Actually provided more than just the soap and shampoo. They also stocked the mouthwash, lotion, body wash, and vanity kit. They also had a large magnifying mirror that lighted up.
+ Gym– Had a decent sized gym with all new equipment
+ Safe included with room– it is located in the closet
Con’s:
— Street Noise– the windows don’t seem to block out sound that well. Even with being on the 17^th floor, I awoke multiple times during the night due to trash trucks and I could hear the street noise.
— Bathroom design/​construction — the sink faucet seemed short and wasn’t over the basin enough and would cause the water to spill out. Also, the show had some annoying construction flaws. The little alcove seemed to be a bit off and the bottles of shampoo/​conditioner would continue to fall off the ledge, especially when they were a little wet. Also, the shower door has a stopper on the door as to not break it, which is fine; however, it would continue to roll open and not stay as closed as it should
— Water pressure wasn’t the best
— continental breakfast– unless you have a voucher for a free meal, the quality of food is nothing to write home about
Tips:
*Allow for 15 minutes for valet, which is $ 35/​day
* Concierge lounge is one the first floor, and like most hotels, its hours are geared towards the business travelers. M-​Th 6:30 AM –10 PM, F 6:30 AM– 11 AM, Sun. 5 PM– 10 PM.
* While they do provide vouchers for a continental breakfast at the restaurant downstairs to makeup for the closure, i.e. you order coffee, tea, and/​or orange juice, you will be charged for this.

This renaissance is amazing! We came in late at night, and the staff were amazing. We were given a free room upgrade for our one night, and the room was very spacious, and modern. This is beautiful new hotel in downtown Cincinnati, great job Marriott!

Very new hotel and thus a very nice hotel. Everything’s very clean and has that «new car smell» if you will. But there are some drawbacks to being brand new.
The door to my shower wasn’t quite level so water would flow out onto the floor. The window at the end of the hallway was broken. The egg chairs in the lobby are very strange, though the pillows on those chairs are even stranger…
But overall it was a good hotel, pillows very comfy, staff very friendly, superb location. Since I’m a Starwood guy, I’ll always try to stay at the Westin, but the Renaissance a top backup.

You guys were awesome. Seriously. Our crew was on the loud side of things and you handled it with grace and tremendous service. It goes without saying that you won me over with your beautiful tea service, friendly smiles, sexy and historic interior and madly-​delicious charcuterie boards. In the words of Arnold Schwarzenegger, «I’ll be baacccckkk.»
Before you read on, know that I didn’t rest my head on the most-​likely fluffy and inviting pillows at the Renaissance but I did set up camp in their downstairs bar for a good 4 hours of coworking and tea parties. Which reminds me, they have outlets built in to the hightop bar tables (genius) and great wifi. Plus, who can fight off the lure of natural light flooding in to the room via the floor to ceiling windows facing onto the street?
**be sure to check out the sexy and modern bathrooms with motion-​detected mirrors.
Thank you for your patience and welcoming us with open arms.

Pros:
— Very cool vintage building with modern, clean, gorgeous décor
— Comfortable bed
— Courteous staff
— Good food, and great happy hour specials (at least when I was there on a Wednesday) on food and drinks
— Makeup mirror, soft towels and Aveda products in the bathroom
— Exceeded my expectations for the price
Cons:
— $ 13/​day for internet in room. Seriously? I don’t even remember the last time I paid for internet in a room.
— The heat would not turn on in my room. It was the first cool night since they’ve been open. They said the boiler just needed time to warm up, but hours later there was still cool air coming out.
— Breakfast menu was pricey in the restaurant downstairs.

Wowza! What a great Marriott property!
It opened 3 weeks ago and it was cool to stay in a brand new room!
Marriott did an excellent job w the renovations as I think it was an old bank building.
The rooms were spacious and loved the décor! The colors are grey, black, and splashes of a little color. The bathroom was sweet… Cool full wall scene of a woman’s hand. The shower was big and the vanity was spacious.
The bed was extremely comfortable with nice linens.
There outlets everywhere which is key for a business traveler.
Love the location as you are about 3 blocks away from the stadiums.
The elevators are a little slow, and plan on a 20 min wait for your valet parked car.
I would stay here every time I visit Cincinnati!

I had one of the best experiences of all my travels at this hotel. It deserves 10 stars. 20 stars. ALLLL THE STARS ON Unilocal, s#!t!
Let me explain why. It’s a BRAND NEW HOTEL! Like a week or 2, I believe. The lobby is decorated IMMACULATELY! Posh Gold fixtures everywhere, including the elevator doors. Ahhh! Just look at my pictures. Just beautiful! It’s an old bank and designers did their best to preserve the history.
What really separates this hotel from all the other fancy hotel stays I’ve had… SUPERIOR CUSTOMER SERVICE! Front Desk staff were AMAZING, and über-​friendly. It was my best friend’s birthday and we wanted a drink right away. The Bellman took our bags to the room so we could do so. We were given a SICK ROOM upgrade which turned out to be AWESOME! The room has a mini-​fridge and there was this awesome mural on the ballroom wall. I’ve never seen that anywhere.
The staff are extra attentive. The Bellman took our bags upstairs while we retreated to the bar to get a post-​rush hour traffic anxiety killer. His name was John and he left us a nice handwritten note that I absolutely loved. Who doesn’t want that??? They went out of their way to make us feel welcomed. I get a warm and fuzzy feeling just thinking about it.
There’s a bar on sight that’s pretty durn awesome, too! Drinks and Food alike. This place just kept on winning and winning.
The location is downtown Cincy, we had to take some random narrow alley to find it. So, we were confused. Valet is $ 35. Pricey but that’s what hotels are charging these days. There’s also lots of construction in the area but isn’t close to taking away from the sheer EPICNESS of this hotel.
If you have the cash to fork over… Staying here is a NO BRAINER!