Marriott acquired the Renaissance Hotel Group in 1997. The acquisition doubled Marriott's international presence. The former Ramada Renaissance and Stouffer hotels were the original core of Marriott's Renaissance Hotels brand. (The acquisition also included Ramada International, but not Ramada in the United States. Marriott divested Ramada International.)

The Renaissance Hotels properties were positioned similarly to Marriott's core Marriott Hotels brand, but they were less consistent. Marriott turned the lack of consistency into a strength by stressing their individuality and distinctiveness.

Long before Marriott launched Autograph Collection, Marriott sometimes used Renaissance for hotels that had their own distinct histories and personalities, such as the Mayflower in DC and the Blackstone in Chicago (both of which have now moved to Autograph Collection).

Long before Marriott had 30 brands, Marriott used the Renaissance brand for new full-service hotels in cities that already had Marriott-branded hotels.

Long before Marriott had Delta Hotels as a conversion brand, Renaissance served as a conversion brand for existing hotels that were not a good match for the Marriott Hotels brand (although Renaissance seemed to have higher standard then Delta Hotels).

Renaissance is still a brand that's all over the place.

That said, I've had good experiences at Renaissance Hotels. In my mind, it's a notch above the Marriott Hotels brand.