Comments on our stay
We're home from our stay. We stayed 7 nights at the Renaissance, split between a 4 day and a 3 day stay (up north in the middle).
First the good - the rooms, while on the small side were nice - the bathroom was very functional and the furnishings seemed new. We were on the 12th floor, which was a club level. The first stay faced north, and the second south - I'd request a south view in the future, you can see down to Jaffa from there and it's gorgeous (although the north view wasn't bad).
The not so good - the service wasn't great. Housekeeping seemed to have an issue with towels, we had to call to request the right number each day, and sometimes it took two calls. (example - one day they didn't leave hand towels or washcloths - when we called we got hand towels but not washcloths). We had an issue with a very leaky sink faucet - took two calls to get someone to look at it and they had to fix it the next day. To be fair they did offer to move us, but we were in the back half of the stay, and it was too much of a pain.
The lounge was easily the worst international lounge I've been in. The food choices were OK, probably about equivalent to a US lounge. Breakfast was Ok, but some days the only choice for coffee was the expresso machine, which did not make brewed coffee. Sometimes they'd have pots of coffee, some days not. When I asked, the staff would just shrug their shoulders. One day, I was in the lounge at 6:30 (it opened at 6) and there was almost nothing there - a few pastries, and I think the hot stuff (eggs and pancakes) but no fruit, coffee or juice). Pathetic. (I emailed the manager, since he'd given me his contact based on the low rating I gave the hotel on a survey from the first stay, and he comped us a day at the restaurant - that was OK but not great). The lounge was also small, with inadequate seating when busy.
There is a Sheraton next door, and they are apparently building a W in Jaffa. If Marriott and Starwood merge their loyalty programs and I can get Starwood benefits, I'd probably try the Sheraton next time.