Mobile, Alabama / Renaissance Mobile Riverview Plaza

November, 1-night, weekend, king guestroom 1106

View from guestroom 1106 after check-in

Gold perks and check-in

We booked the pre-cruise package at this hotel, which includes parking while on the cruise. I had checked several area hotels, and decided this one provided the best value at $149. When I checked in on the app the morning of our arrival, I noticed our room was listed as a riverview guestroom, as if we had already received an upgrade. The app also said that the reservation was for only 1 guest, and my reservation was for 2 guests, so I was not sure how accurate the room type would be. Seems there is still some difficulty with information displaying correctly on the app since the Marriott/Starwood merger.

View from guestroom 1106 in the morning;
Carnival Fantasy in the distance returning to port.

I had received a notification via the app saying that our room was ready, so we went to the front desk when we arrived around 1:00 PM. Our room was not ready, and it took a bit of shuffling by the front desk agent to find us an available guestroom. She said she was giving us a riverview guestroom because we had booked the cruise package. I am not sure if all cruise guests get a riverview room (it did not say that when making the reservation), or if that was actually a Gold member upgrade. She provided a parking key card to exit the garage when we returned, and she said she would sign us up on the first shuttle to the cruise port (after I requested this).

Guestroom diagram from back of door

King guestroom 1106

Guestroom 1106 is a basic room on the 11th floor overlooking the river. The 11th floor is only about half way to the top of the building; however, I cannot really complain about not having a higher floor, since we arrived before check-in time, and the hotel was quite full. In fact, I had looked online to see if I could add a second night--the night before--to our stay, and there were no rooms available. The king corner rooms at this hotel look amazing!

Guestroom 1106

St. Louis airport - STL / Renaissance St. Louis Airport Hotel

October 2013, Weekday, 2-nights, Club Level 2-queen bed guestroom #1002

Check-in and status perks

The front desk agent recognized my status, and she asked if I wanted bonus points for my on-site amenity. I also received a bottle of water and a snack. I was originally assigned standard king guestroom #737 with access to the club level lounge. Guestroom 737 is located in a central hallway area with more guest traffic than an end room, and it has a connecting room door. Since I was going to be staying for two nights, I returned to the front desk to see if I could get a room with a non-connecting room door. One thing I do not like about the Marriott reservation site, is that it does not have a comments box to enter special requests, like many hotels do.

A different employee assisted me this time. He said that most of the guestrooms have connecting doors, and that there were not any rooms available on the club level floors. After a bit more conversation, he was able to find me a guestroom on a club level floor without a connecting door, and at the end of the hall! The guestroom had two queen beds instead on one king bed, and I said that would be perfect. I have one king bed chosen on my hotel profiles; however, when the two-bedded rooms have queen beds, I am happy with that as well.

Guestroom

This hotel has 12 floors, and guestroom 1002 is on the 10th floor facing the direction of the airport. The windows and walls were well soundproofed, because I did not hear any disturbing noise. 

The guestroom contained the basic furnishings: two queen beds, a nightstand, a large desk area with chair, a soft chair, end table, flatscreen TV on an armoire, and a couple of lamps. 

The lamps did not provide enough lighting, and it was very dim in the guestroom. One of the bulbs in the floor lamp was burned out, and I do not think one more bulb would have made much difference. There were not enough electrical outlets in this guestroom. I like to have four accessible outlets outside of the bathroom, and this guestroom did not have that.

A slide-out shelf in the armoire contained a single-serve coffeemaker with supplies, the ice bucket, glass glasses, and a small bottle of complimentary water, like I had received at the front desk.

The bed was super comfy, and the bedsheets were good quality. 

Unfortunately, my photos are kind of fuzzy. Hopefully, they are clear enough so that people reading this blog can see the quality of the guestroom, because I have made reference to another Platinum guest's review at the end of this review, whose experience was different than mine. 

The carpeting in this guestroom, the bedding, and the desk furnishings looked new. Some of the items, like the lamps, looked outdated. 

The bathroom contained a tub/shower combination with a shower curtain on a curved rod. Bathing amenities were provided on the vanity, along with a hairdryer in a bag on the shelf. 

The electrical outlet in the bathroom did not work. I was glad that I had tried to use it the day I arrived, because there may not have been an engineer available to solve the problem early the next morning. 

After the engineer looked at the outlet in the bathroom, he said that he needed to go to the main panel to fix the problem. He said that the switches were not well marked, so it would probably take him a while. He plugged the hairdryer in on the "on" position. He said that he would have radio contact with the hotel operator to call me and find out when it started working. About 10 minutes later, the hairdryer started working, so I called the hotel operator to tell her it was on.

If I had noticed that the bulb in one of the lamps was burned out before this service request, I would have gotten a replacement bulb, too.

I had one other problem with the guestroom that occurred during stayover. One of my replaced glasses after the guestroom had been cleaned was dirty. I do not know if this was the glass I had used, which housekeeping wiped out and reset, or if it was a glass off the cart from another guestroom. 

Club lounge

The food in the club lounge was very good. There were two hot items both evenings, and a deluxe veggie platter. Other items available were cheese, crackers, and mixed nuts. A cappuccino machine, coffee, tea, and bottled water were available all day long. A self-serve honors bar was available in the evening. There were more food and beverage items than what I have listed; however, I did not take detailed notes during my stay, so I am only listing what I recall for sure.

The lounge is located on the 11th floor, on the same side of the building as my guestroom, so the view overlooked the end of the airport. If you plan to just stop and grab something to eat, I suggest not visiting the lounge as soon as it opens, because the food items were never available right away. I visited three times--both evenings, and once for breakfast, and the food was never ready until about 15 minutes after the lounge opened.

Fitness center
The fitness center contained several cardio machines with cardio theater, a weight machine, and hand weights. Two of the treadmills did not work properly. One did not work at all, and another one made a squeaking noise. Both of the inferior treadmills were the only ones available when I arrived, so I started out with the squeaky machine. Fortunately, another guest left a short time later, and I switched machines. The squeaky machine did not make a lot of noise, if you were not the one using it; however, I was not able to hear the cardio theater very well before I switched machines.

Hotel parking and shuttle

The Marriott Renaissance website for this hotel lists self-parking as $10 per night, and valet parking for $12. I was not charged for self-parking during my stay. The parking lot was open--the gate was not down when I entered or exited. I do not know if this is typical, or if parking was not being charged at the time of my stay, or what. The agent did not ask if I had a vehicle during check-in, and I had my car keys in my hand when I arrived. I also asked about the airport shuttle, to see if I could be picked up at the car rental lot when I returned my car the next day. I was told that the first priority of the shuttle service is the airport, and that he sometimes accommodates special requests.

When I called the next day, I was told that the shuttle could pick me up at the Avis lot in 14 minutes, which is exactly when he arrived. The hotel operator called the shuttle driver before she quoted the time. I was impressed with his accuracy! The airport car rental lot is not at the airport, so I would had to take a shuttle back to the airport, if the driver had not agreed to pick me up at the lot. Shuttle service in the morning was excellent. I waited only a few minutes at the hotel, and the trip to the airport did not take long. The shuttle driver was extremely cheerful, and he provided a great start to the day!

The car rental lot is less than a mile from the Renaissance, and I would have walked to the hotel, except that there is not a cross-walk in front of the hotel, and the street is a fairly busy road. There are several hotels less than one mile from the car rental lots; however, most of the area does not have sidewalks for walking. I saw three hotels that looked like they would be safe to walk to from the car rental area: the Hilton is located in between the Hertz and Avis lots, and Holiday Inn and Americas Best Value Inn are located right around the corner from the Hilton in the same block. As much as I would have liked to stay at the Hilton for the convenience, I did not choose that hotel because the cost was quite a bit more. The Holiday Inn cost was also more than the AAA rate at the Renaissance, although not as much as the Hilton.

Misc. and overall

I was happy with my stay for the most part; however, if I had stayed in the guestroom I had originally been assigned, #737, I do not know if I would feel the same way.

I read a recent review from a Platinum guest on TripAdvisor that does not match my experience. He stated that the rooms are past their prime, and that the linens were holy and thin, which was not true in guestroom 1002. He did not provide his room number, nor did he say if he had a club floor level room. He also complained that the front desk agent asked to see his AAA card for the AAA rate he had booked. He did not like this because he did not have his card, and he claimed that this is the only Marriott hotel from his last 80+ stays to request his card. My experience has been that I need to show my card about 50% of the time. The agent at this hotel requested my AAA card at check-in, also. I do not understand why a AAA card holder would not be carrying his card. I carry my card in my wallet, because if I ever need towing, or unlock or gas assistance while traveling, I would need to show my card for this service.

The first guestroom I was assigned was not a club floor room, and I was initially told that there were not any club floor rooms available. Most of the reviews for this property on TripAdvisor are good, although the review from the unhappy guest, and this review from me, are the only two recent reviews I could find from Platinum guests who had booked a AAA rate. Reading about his experience, and thinking about mine, makes me wonder if the hotel does not treat Platinum guests who book the AAA rate the same as they do Platinum guests who book the regular rate. I also wonder if the dissatisfied guest's complaints stem from the fact that he was asked to present his AAA card, which he did not have.

I thought the AAA rate I had booked at this hotel was an excellent value. And, although I do not have any reason not to choose this hotel again, I have been far more impressed at other Marriott properties. One time, when I had an incident like the non-working plug in my guestroom, at a Marriott Courtyard, the engineer knew that I was a Platinum status guest, and before the end of my stay, I was told that I would receive 5,000 points for the inconvenience. That was a pleasant surprise, and I will always remember that stay.

Montgomery, Alabama / Renaissance Hotel and Spa at the Convention Center

March 2013, Sunday night, 1-night, Presidential Suite #1227

Status perks and check-in

view from balcony

The perks I received at this hotel are like nothing I have ever received before, and I may never get to experience again. This was a fabulous and impressive stay!

The front desk agent at check-in told me that I had been upgraded to the presidential suite. I did not get overly excited before I saw the guestroom because I have received great upgrades before: honeymoon suite, hidden/secret room, conference room suite, and even presidential suites. This was, however, my first presidential suite upgrade at a Marriott Renaissance hotel. I received a conference room suite at the last Renaissance I stayed in.

I also received my choice of Platinum bonus points or an amenity, and late checkout.   

Presidential Suite #1227

This suite is located on the top floor next to the concierge lounge. It is amazing! The size is well over 1,000 square feet. I was so amazed that I did not leave the guestroom for several hours after we had checked in, and that was at my husband's urging after we heard Bubba Hall playing while out on our balcony.

Bubba, if you are reading this, I wanted to insert a link to your website in this review, but the site on your CD is not working. Let us know if you have a new web page.

half bath

The guestroom double doors entered into a marble entrance that is larger than our master bathroom at home. This area contained two flags--USA and Alabama, two entry tables, mirrors, beautiful wall hangings, and a coat closet. There were no hangers in the closet. A half bath was located to the right beyond the coat closet.

American flag in foyer on left

The rooms inside the suite consisted of the foyer, half bath, living room, dining/meeting areas with two tables, kitchen and bar, bedroom with sitting area, and master bathroom. There was a large furnished outside balcony as well.

A round table with four chairs was located straight ahead from the entrance, and there was a baby grand piano on the left, next to a conference table with seats for eight.

conference table, piano,
bar & kitchen

There were five comfortable seats at the bar on the other side of the piano. A flatscreen TV was mounted behind the bar, and a cordless telephone was on the bar.

The kitchen contained a medium size fridge (about half size), large ice maker, sink, microwave, and coffee maker with supplies.

living room beyond
round table

The ice maker was filled with ice! My husband--who likes lots of ice, and often complains when a hotel does not have the ice maker on--was thrilled! Well... maybe the amount of ice was a little overboard, but it was still impressive.

ice!

There were not any dishes in the cupboards, and there was not any paper towel or a dish cloth in the kitchen. My husband said that is because they do not expect you to serve yourself in a room like this. There was a service entrance door into the kitchen from the hall, and there was a large pantry in the kitchen.

Beautiful chandeliers and plants were in the dining/boardroom table area, as well as throughout the entire suite. The piano was beautiful--I wish I had kept up my lessons, so I could have played it.

The living room beyond the round table across from the entrance was completely furnished. It contained four chairs, a sofa, coffee table, end tables, lamps (and chandeliers!), and a flatscreen TV. A gas fireplace was located under the TV, and there was a telephone, hotel directory, and local information on a built in cabinet against the wall.

The balcony was accessible from the living room through two sets of glass double doors. There was also a door at each end, from the bedroom and the dining area. We had an excellent view of the river and the hotel fountain below.


Double doors entered into the spacious bedroom from the living room. The bedroom contained an entry table, king bed, night stands, lamps, telephone, alarm clock, suitcase bench, couch, two chairs and a table with a lamp, desk with a lamp and chair, flatscreen TV, and gas fireplace. A large safe was in the cabinet next to the fireplace.

bedroom

There were beautiful chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, and the room was well lit. The river view from the desk was great. I would have enjoyed working at the desk, if I had been working and staying in this room for a couple of days. There was access to the balcony through a glass door near the desk.

balcony door from bedroom

The sleep quality and comfort of the guestroom was excellent, except that we were awakened in the morning by the activity in the concierge lounge next door. It was not noisy in the lounge; it is just that the head of the bed is against the wall between the two rooms, and we could hear activity as food was being setup. If this had not been a leisure stay for us, we would have been up well before any activity next door.


The spacious bathroom was fabulous! There were mirrors the length of the long vanity with two sinks. The light fixtures were beautiful. A good quality hairdryer was in the cupboard under the left sink. Bathroom amenities provided on the vanity and by the tub, included mouthwash and toothpaste.

The large whirlpool tub filled from the ceiling, and there were two shower heads and a bench seat in the tile shower. All of the towels were plush and high quality. A separate toilet room contained the toilet, and a table with towels and tissue.










Concierge lounge

evening

Several food items were available throughout the evening. There were three hot items, a large assortment of cold meats, cheeses, and fruits, and a few packaged snack items.

The quality and pricing at the honor bar was good, although most guests were not honest. I only saw one other beverage written on the sheet besides ours, and I observed guests who came to the room to get beer. Additionally, when I returned later for a second glass of wine, the wine bottle was almost empty, although no more beverages had been added to the list.

Food items in the morning included a similar array of cold meats, cheeses, and fruits. Other items included scrambled eggs, bacon, breads and bagels, yogurt, granola, cold cereals, coffee, tea, juices, bottled water, and milk. Full size candy bars, and snack size packages of chips were available after breakfast.

evening

A working computer and printer were located off to the side of the sofa and TV sitting area of the lounge. I did not have any trouble printing documents, although I did not see a stapler or other office supplies available.


Food & Beverage
This hotel has several dining options, although we only visited one.

Wintzell's Oyster House is located on the bottom floor on the corner of Commerce and Bibb Streets. We tried to go to this restaurant for lunch the day of our departure, but there was a long wait for a table, and we did not have time to wait.

The Exchange is located next to The House restaurant on the corner of Tallapoosa and Commerce Streets. We visited the patio area of The Exchange, which is where we met Bubba Hall. The atmosphere was pleasant, and the seating was comfortable. There was a tent canopy around the patio, and gas heat lamps kept the temperature comfortable. The only thing I did not like about the lounge, is that smoking is allowed on the patio. In Michigan, smoking is not allowed outside at any establishment that serves food, and I sometimes forget that this is different in the south.

Pool area and fitness center
The pool area is located over the parking garage on floor eight. The pool was not open, although my husband used the whirlpool tub. He said it was clean, and that the temperature was good. The area was a good size with plenty of outside seating and loungers.

A large fitness center and the spa were also located on this level. I did not use the fitness center because we walked outside down by the riverfront. There is an outside walking track around the perimeter on this level, and we ended our walk on the track. I observed several cardio machines in the fitness center when we entered the room to get water.

Misc. and overall
This Renaissance Montgomery Hotel is a beautiful building, as are all the buildings in this area. It is well maintained and clean. I observed magnificent paintings in the guestroom, and in all public areas. I was surprised that this hotel was only a category 4 property. It is being raised to a category 5 at the end of this month, which seems like a more accurate category.

view across Commerce Street

If I lived near Montgomery, I am sure I would have used my Marriott category 4 certificates for weekend getaway stays at this hotel. I liked this hotel better than one of my favorite Marriott hotels in my home state--the JW Marriott Grand Rapids. The JW Marriott used to be a category 4 hotel, and the category has since risen higher than what it should be, in my opinion. That hotel was raised to a category 5 last year, and now it is being raised to a category 6.

The riverfront is within walking distance of the Renaissance Montgomery Hotel, and the area is clean and well maintained. There are several restaurants across Commerce Street, and there are other sights nearby, such as Hank Williams Museum. I had no idea this was such a fabulous area when we booked this stay. I was disappointed that we did not have another day to explore the area.

Seattle, Washington / Renaissance

May 2011, Memorial weekend

Status perks

I did not initially receive any perks as a Gold member. In fact, I did not even receive the corner suite I had reserved until after I inquired about this. When the front desk agent provided our keys and said we had a king room on one of the higher floors, I said, "We have a corner king executive suite, don't we?" She said that there were not any available. I told her that I had booked an executive corner suite; the Seattle Pride Package. She checked the computer again, and then provided keys for a corner suite on the 19th floor, along with a coupon booklet. This was not as high of a floor as we had originally been given; however, it was a suite.

The agent did not code our keys for access to the concierge lounge, nor did she mention it. She had talked about how to access the Internet as a Gold member, so I thought that maybe the lounge was not open for the holiday weekend. Later that day, I learned that the concierge lounge was accessible for water and soda even though it was not staffed, so I stopped back at the front desk to inquire about this. The employee at that time, apologized that we had not been given access at check-in, and she coded our keys for lounge access.

Guestroom

facing entrance &
connecting guestroom

The guestroom was comfortable; however, it was not as impressive as I had expected. The room description on the website and on our reservation confirmation listed the room as 497 square feet, and the room we received was NOT 497 square feet. It was more like 350 square feet. When looking at a photo of a king corner suite on the website, the description is 335 square feet, although all the other areas list the suites as 497 sq. ft. I am not sure if there are two different corner suite rooms, or if the description needs to be changed on the website. It is possible we received a king corner suite (335 sq. ft.) instead of the executive king corner suite (497 sq. ft.) that we had reserved since our room was not on the concierge floor. The website only lists five suites though, and I could not find two different suite types. I wish I had been more diligent about the details and differences at the time of our stay, because I would have inquired whether we had been given the correct room type. I did not scrutinize all the details until after we had returned home. My suggestion for guests who reserve an executive king corner suite--bring your printed reservation with you!

facing toward beverage center
across from bathroom

There was a comfortable sitting area when entering the suite, which included a couch, floor lamp, one end table, desk and chair, and flat screen TV. The suite had a connecting door to the guestroom next door. I liked the exterior wall of windows, which made the room look larger.

The bathroom was located between the sitting area and the bedroom, and there was a beverage center and closet across from the bathroom. The small fridge never got cold, and we tried adjusting the thermostat several different ways. The safe in the closet was large enough to hold a laptop. A second smaller flat screen TV was located in the bedroom. It was mounted on the wall in the corner since the bedroom was quite small. There was just enough room to walk around the foot of the bed, with a small nightstand on each side of the bed. Large windows made up both exterior bedroom walls; however, they needed to be cleaned. There was a nice suitcase bench/window seat on one wall. This guestroom did not have any Renaissance bathrobes, which I observed other guests wearing to and from the pool. I missed that because I had packed light this trip, and did not have a warm swimsuit coverup to wear.

bedroom

I had filled out the Virtual Concierge form online a few days before our arrival, requesting turndown service and early check-in at 1 p.m. Since our key packet had not been prepared, and we were initially given the incorrect room type when we checked in at 1 p.m., I was not too confident that we would receive turndown service that evening. When we returned from dinner, turndown service had been provided. Amenities included two local chocolates, and two bottles of water. Our room had not been refreshed. I'm not sure if the bottled water was part of turndown service, or if those had been delivered to the room because of my Gold status. The water bottles were not left next to the chocolates.

Food & Beverage

view from lounge/dinner

Marriott had an online offer for a free entree for Gold members--buy one, get one free. We dined in the R View restaurant/lounge on the top floor that evening. The food was excellent quality, and this was an excellent value with our coupons. The only disappointment was that I ordered the Seafood Cioppino, and the restaurant did not have any mussels. Extra fish was included in the dish to make up for this. My husband ordered the Halibut, and we had two Happy Hour beverages. We also had a free appetizer coupon with the Seattle Pride package we had booked. Since the restaurant was not open for lunch the next day, our server let us use the coupon for the Slider Sampler to-go. The Slider Sampler included two each of the following sliders: salmon, chicken, and beef. They were delicious! Seating in the lounge was self-seating, and we chose a table on the highest level with corner windows. We had an excellent view. The windows were much cleaner than the windows in our guestroom.

Pool

The pool and hot tub were located on the top floor just down the hall from the restaurant/lounge. The exterior walls were all windows with another great view. We did not stay long because the hot tub was not very warm. We were fortunate that we had been able to enjoy the view without a lot of commotion while we were there. There was only one guest/child in the pool area when we first arrived. We observed several families and children heading to the pool area while we dined. I had noticed when we reserved our room at this hotel, that not many hotels in downtown Seattle have a pool or hot tub.

Business center and Concierge lounge

I was finishing up some business at the start of this leisure trip and needed to print several documents. First, I tried to print them in the concierge lounge. The desk computer required a signon, and I did not notice the computer for guest use, which was turned off against the wall. I then tried the business center on the bottom floor, and found there was a charge for printing documents. I stopped at the Concierge stand in the lobby to ask if he knew the signon for the concierge lounge computer, so I could print from there. He told me about the guest computer in that room that was against the wall, and he also showed me a computer in the lobby near the front desk. I was surprised to learn I could print as much as I wanted from the lobby computer for no charge! I used that computer and did not try the one in the concierge lounge.

When I first checked the fridge in the lounge after the Front Desk agent coded my key for access, it was empty. Later that day and the next morning, it was stocked with bottled water and soda. I was happy to be able to get a couple bottles of water during our stay. The room looked comfortable, and there was also a table and seats outside. We had thought we might take advantage of the sitting areas to relax that evening; however, we ran out of time.

Overall
I was happy with our room for the price we paid. I was glad I had not paid full price because I would have been seriously disappointed. Before I discovered the Seattle Pride Package, all the room rates I found at this hotel were over $200, and the corner executive suites were over $250. My husband always likes to have a pool, so I booked this hotel mainly because of the pool--and, because I am a Marriott Gold member.

Our room rate with the package was $151, which made this stay a good value. Other than the free appetizer coupon that we used in R View, our package did not include much of anything except a better room rate. The coupon booklet we were given with the appetizer coupon contained mostly ads for Happy Hour specials, and a couple small discounts. We used only one of the discounts; 15% off at Sazerac. Since we only stayed at the Renaissance one night, we used our coupon after we checked out because we stayed at a different hotel for two nights after this stay. That review will be next!

Aruba -- Renaissance Aruba Resort and Casino

February 2010, two-nights, king tower guestroom

Status perks and check-in

I filled out the Virtual Concierge form before our arrival because we would be arriving before check-in time. Apparently, this request had not been processed correctly because our room was not ready before check-in time, even though this hotel was not full. The front desk employees kept telling us to return in an hour or so, so we returned to the front desk three times before being assigned a guestroom. Staff members were cordial, and in the end we received two rum punch beverage coupons, and two breakfast coupons. I am not sure if we received these perks because of my frequent traveler status, or if it was because the guestroom was not ready until later.

hotel pool

Guestroom

We had a guestroom on one of the higher floors overlooking the side patio and cruise port. I was glad we did not receive a room overlooking the inside lobby of the hotel. 

The bed and chairs were comfortable, although the room was not very big. There was a sliding glass door, which opened to a very small balcony just large enough to stand on. There was a fridge in the room as well as bathrobes and slippers. I did not use the Internet during our 2-night stay.