FlyinHawaiian

Any recent updates on the CL hours and/or free breakfasts for Gold and Platinum members for weekend stays at the Renaissance Suites at ORD?

Thanks!

megtravels

No weekend breakfast....hours were 6 or 6:30 til noonish then reopened supposedly at 3 (no food though) til 10...
Closes at noon of Friday (or so the sign said....)

HOWEVER, last week one day the lounge was open all day, the next it was locked until about 4......and to be honest, it isn't worth it anyhow....

for starters the attendant was hardly ever there, coffee, etc was empty twice, there was no regular bread/bagels/english muffins out for toasting, but there was a toaster.

at night the snacks one night were wings, a small plate of cheese, some marinated veggies and what appeared to be a couple slices of smoked salmon.

Breakfast did have eggs and meat (albeit it watery eggs and soggy bacon..)

The breakfast is good though in the dining room.....and i had a very yummy burger at dinner. (I went out once for breakfast to Steak n shake! yummy egg sandwich, hash browns and coffee for 4 bucks!)

If you don't have a car the hotel will take you to an array of restaurants....the EL is across the parking lot...
The parking garage is a PITA though...people in Chicago can NOT park in ONE spot!!! I always just went up to the 5th level! not covered but not crowded!

FlyinHawaiian

Thanks for the reply. I'm looking at weekend rates and the Stay for Breakfast rate isn't too bad, but I'm wondering if I should spring for it or as a Gold, can I count on getting free breakfast at their restaurant since the lounge is closed?

megtravels

I would spring for the rate if it isn't bad...i would not count on breakfast coupons....per the T&C you're only entitled to coupons M-F, if there is no lounge and/or if it's closed for some reason...weekends don't count....when i was there on a weekend i did not get coupons and last week i was there m-f. frankly the lounge there really is nothing to get excited about....if i had the choice i would have booked a breakfast package...(but since i got a non public rate i didn't care....

if i were you i would call and ask a manager if they give coupons....the used to according to some of the posts on this thread....

FlyinHawaiian

I sent an email over to the Renaissance ORD and, with the help of Marriott Concierge, received the following reply:

ohmark

Quote:
"We do have a lounge for are platinium and gold members is open Monday to Friday and on the weekends is off but are offering to the marriott members amennities to the restaurant"

Wonder what the reply means?

FlyinHawaiian

I wish I spoke Esperanto.

megtravels

Hmmmmmmm

SOUNDS like they MIGHT give breakkie.....who knows....if so it's nice that they do it....surprising, but if it's like it was when i are there in the past, breakfast is very good....they actually cook EGGS in BUTTER.....

FlyinHawaiian

The GM of the Renaissance left me a voice message Friday evening on my work number and confirmed that the lounge is closed on weekends and thay they do *not* offer breakfast comps in lieu of lounge access. I'll take her word for it, but the email from one of her subordinates (poorly written as it was) does seem to contradict this.

[Update] The GM called me this morning after I sent her an email directly and she did say that she would honor her subordinate's offer for free breakfast. I thought she did a nice job of taking owership of the problem once it got to her and worked towards a reasonable solution.

Thanks again to Marriott Concierge for helping me make contact with the property.

dalm

Just left the Marriott Chicago O'Hare. Upgraded to CL level. Not a huge room or bath but okay. Comfortable...and housekeepers who didn't keep putting zillions of pillows back on the bed after I had removed them. (This was a first!) Had a nice stay. Two front desk people I dealt with were great (Edward and Angela). When I checked in I asked for free internet as my plat amenity....was told "no" (this was not with one of the above-mentioned FD reps). I went back later and spoke to Angela - asked the same thing and although she indicated the free internet was not supposed to begin until May 7, she agreed to exchange it for my earlier choice of points. ^ I did find out from others staying in the hotel that one wing has already been wired? for complimentary internet...so maybe this is why she agreed.
I also applied a couple of PPs to my bill in addition to using an EEO free night cert. They were going to give me the posted hotel exchange rate until I asked for the Marriott currency conversion rate from the website. Edward knew just what I meant and it netted me an extra $10/PP. It seems you've got to ask in this world....(and sometimes repeatedly!)
Anyway-lounge was nice - oatmeal/scrambled eggs/hard boiled eggs/cheeses/pastries, fruits, yogurt, & breads for breakfast. Honor bar. Evening offerings are cheeses, crackers, celery & carrot sticks, meats, olives, and 2 hot items. Last night it was barbeque pork (quite good) and macaroni and cheese (didn't try it). Although I asked several times for weekend breakfast comps for the restaurant, these were not forthcoming.
There's a nice indoor/outdoor pool (though I didn't use it). Don't know about fitness. Shuttle to/from airport. Food in the restaurant is quite good but somewhat pricey. I liked the option of having one (1) egg benedict for $6.00. Breakfast buffet looked great (eggs cooked to order) but I always eat too much so didn't partake. All in all I had a great stay. I was there for a convention so things were hopping but service was very good. Stayed last year, as well, and enjoyed the hotel then, too.
One last thing - there's an Italian restaurant within walking distance (just across the parking lot) called Gino's East that had great deep dish pizza. When in Chicago.....

An additional thought...I stayed with a friend who came from Germany and is now unsure when she will be able to return due to the volcano disruption of air travel to Europe. The hotel agreed to one additional night at a leisure rate I had booked and then would honor the conference rate. I thought this was a nice gesture. It was also suggested she might want to extend her reservation "just in case" as the hotel was booked during the week. I appreciated the "heads up" and took the precaution to do so. I really liked and appreciated Angela and Edward.

FlyinHawaiian

We concluded our very pleasant stay at the ORD Renaissance Suites; I can see why others are a fan of the property.

Airport Shuttle - Very prompt and comfortable shuttles. I arrived just after midnight and made it to the shuttle pickup area around 12:25 and found the shuttle waiting at the pick up area. We waited until 12:30 and left. The shuttle back to ORD also departed promptly on the top and half of each hour.

Proximity to Blue Line - This is a great benefit; it was very easy to make the short walk from the hotel to the platform via the covered pedestrian bridge.

Room Upgrade - As a Gold, I was given a corner room on the 16th (Concierge Level) floor. The extra windows made the living area nice and bright. The bathroom had a huge walk in shower, but no tub (I wonder if this was an ADA room). Aveda ammenities were nice. HD LCD in the living room and CRT in the bedroom (interesting note that the iPod and VGA connector cables for the LCD were in the bedroom nightstand). A free large bottle of water was placed in the room each day by housekeeping.

Lounge/Breakfast - The lounge was closed on the weekend. After the confusion (detailed in earlier posts) about breakfast, we were placed in the Stay For Breakfast rate and all we had to do each morning was give our room number to the server.

Free Internet - No problems with the new free internet for Gold/Plats. I ordered the daily plan on the login screen and the charges never showed on my final bill.

bdschobel

I believe that every room in that hotel is shower-only, no tubs. That's been the case every time I've stayed there.

Bruce

travelismylife

Unless you get upgraded to the corner conference suite- dining room table and chairs and an extra few hundred square feet. Gotten that a few times- pretty sweet.

allset2travel

Marriott ORD did not offer me (Plt) room upgrade even though there were plenty of rooms available on my day of stay (yes, I checked). I didn't bother to ask for upgrade at check-in since it was for only 1 night. But then, I have been upgraded 100% of the time this year, until now. So the record is broken

bk3day

Just spent 2 nights at the Marriott ORD (my first stay at this property)

Airport Shuttle - Friendly driver and extremely prompt service. FYI, they also make a stop at the Marriott Suites property on way to ORD.

Room Upgrade - Very nice greeting by front desk who thanked me for being a Gold and asked what newspaper I'd prefer.

I was then told I was given a King Suite. While the room was large, it was on the 3rd Floor (in the Annex?) and in desperate need of updating. The carpet looked worse for the wear & the room still had a tube tv.

Also spent too much time trying to connect to the wireless network, even calling the desk to inquire what network they use. The rep gave me the network name but failed to disclose (as I would later learn) that my room had no wifi.

Housekeeping left my notes & papers scatted on the desk exactly as I had thrown them there. Funny, while I appreciate that they weren't disturbed or treated as trash, at the same time I was slightly dismayed at the messy appearance they left that for a moment actually made me question whether the room had been cleaned.

Lounge/Breakfast - Again very friendly staff that went out of her way to engage guests. Evening choices were slim, cookies and some sort of mini parfait looking thing.

Breakfast was oatmeal, hard boiled eggs, cereal, fruit and scrambled eggs. No meat or potatoes were offered.

There was a Starbucks machine with 4 blend choices. I'm no Starbucks fan but was very pleased with the coffee.

Internet - As mentioned earlier, I found out upon checkout that my room had no wifi. Luckily, I carry my own Cat5 cable & it was just long enough to reach into the bedroom.

Signing on to the hardwired service was a bit convoluted with no mention of fee waiver for elites. Good news, the charges never appeared on the bill.

I was told that the hotel was about to be renovated and that wifi service should soon be improved.

Other Speaking of papers, despite asking my preference, no paper was ever delivered.

Bottom line, Great staff and maybe nice rooms elsewhere on property but next time I'd probably opt for the REN.