GamecockGirl

After my stay there this weekend (no upgrades at all once again for me -- props to those who have been able to get them), I would say it just doesn't feel like a "special" hotel to stay in, but it does have the awesome location. The lighting in the room and bathroom were both really bad. The bathroom mirrors, which seemed cool at installation not that long ago, are having problems with burnt out bulbs that must not be easy to replace, because about half of my mirror was out.

BobR

Since this property was basically the only option in downtown Asheville until recently I have stayed here many times over the past 20 years. Its always fine but never manages to be great. My most recent stay (first one in three years) revealed a small lobby refresh (mostly new furniture) and minor room updates (carpet, furniture and paint). Unfortunately the rooms still feel dated (e.g. shower curtains and tiny tubs).

Checking-in for my one night stay as a platinum got me breakfast, a quick gesture towards the Refresh room, and absolutely no upgrade (despite the hotel being somewhere around 10% occupancy).

There are now better choices in downtown Asheville, a new AC (a block away from the Ren), Indigo, Hyatt Place and the Aloft all have positive aspects -- price generally drives my choice in Avl these days.

Marriott15

I 100% agree with you! The lobby is nice but the rooms are dated!

I stayed at the brand new AC and the newness of the hotel and rooftop bar was amazing. But if breakfast is important to you then like Bobr said the platinum breakfast at the renaissance is a lot better!

CMK10

Stay Report - 2/13 - 2/14

Location: The hotel is well located if you want to be in Downtown Asheville. It's a hair to the north and east of some of the downtown fun but once you've parked your car you can walk to all of downtown. It's also right near US 70 and I-240 so getting places and getting to the hotel is very easy.



Hotel: The hotel is an older property, and definitely looks that way from the outside, but the recent renovations have it looking really attractive on the inside. There's either self parking for $14 or valet for $19 (you could probably try street parking but they enforce heavily in Asheville), there's a surprisingly large indoor pool and decent sized gym on the 2nd floor, a lobby restaurant and kind of disappointingly small bar in the lobby, a small store with curios and snacks and a Refresh Room which has free coffee, soda and water for elites. Do note there can be long waits for elevators in the morning







Refresh Room





Check In: Only one agent was on duty when I arrived so I had to wait. The second agent who came out didn't seem very knowledgeable and gave me information that contradicted what the other agent was saying and everything took a while. Not what I wanted after a 3.5 hour drive.

Room: Pretty nice. Desk area, large SmarTV, comfortable bed with outlets next to it and a nice sitting area. The bathroom while renovated is still pretty small though. Wifi was spotty especially in the morning when it stopped working entirely. Thankfully soundproofing was good.







Breakfast: Incredible. This was a real surprise as I eat at many of the same old buffets you find everywhere and this one was actually decent. There was an omelet bar, the usual breakfast meats including great bacon but also biscuits and gravy, meat and vegetable frittatas and some other fun choices. And service was incredible, each guest gets a small mango smoothie with breakfast and the staff were amazing. This was the best part of the stay.

Overall it's a bit of an older hotel but the location and the breakfast make it worth a stay. I'd be back.

Nash_Andrew

Stay Report 7/6-7/7/2020

One night stay driving through Asheville. Overall, a pleasant hotel that, though clearly old, has been remodeled well and makes for a pleasant and convenient stay in downtown Asheville. We stayed on a AAA rate and paid ~$115 all-in plus $14 to self park. Note that all the hotel's F&B was closed due to Covid-19, but the hotel was more occupied than I expected. I'd put occupancy at around 30%, but that's just a guess.

Easy drive up and check in. Friendly valet told us where to self-park (we grabbed a parking pass from the front desk). Check in person was friendly and efficient. Checked into a king facing the mountains on the 8th floor. Lobby was deserted as expected due to Covid. Elevators might be a bit slow / backed up if the hotel were full, but of course we didn't have any issues due to low occupancy.

I'd guess the hotel has been renovated - basically top to bottom - within the last couple years. The room seems to have gotten a complete makeover, with the only surviving artifacts of the previous regime being an under-window AC unit (albeit with wall controls), a legacy countertop in the bathroom from the previous generation's remodel, and all brass door handles on the closet, front door, and connecting room door. Pleasant if generic remodel otherwise, with a comfy bed and a nice work light and desk if you need to work in the room. Only complaint about the room would be that, at least on our side, you could hear the music they play at the porte cochere through the window glass. However, by the time we returned to the room around 10pm, they seemed to have turned down the volume so we didn't hear it. If traffic noise bothers you and you are a light sleeper, you might want to request a room on the "city facing" side of the hotel.

The best thing about this hotel is the location. You are a three minute walk from the edge of downtown (use the stairs through the back parking lot). All the restaurants, bars, breweries, etc. are just a few mins walk away.

Note the photos in the above post by CMK10 are a very accurate representation of the property.

Overall a great stay with nice staff and a fantastic location, though certainly nothing you'd be blown away by.

cfabar1

Do people prefer this hotel to other Marriotts in the Asheville area? I was surprised to see the AC is a category 7 while the renaissance is a category 5 for example. I’m curious why.

Marriott15

Ac Hotel is newer and located in downtown Asheville on the main street. Also has a rooftop. If you are redeeming points,I would 100% go with Renaissance. 60k points a night for the AC and 50k a night for the Aloft is ridiculous. These should be priced at 35k-40k.

All three charge parking per day too. Renaissance has no reason to charge either. They have a huge parking lot.

zjmeyerIL

Just checked into the Renaissance Asheville for a 2 nights stay. As a Platinum member, I booked this hotel so I could get a 4pm checkout. My room wasn't ready when I arrived at 2pm but not unexpected as they have a weird 5pm check in time. However, when I came back to get my room keys and requested a 4pm check out, I was denied since the hotel "was full". What's the best course of action to report a hotel that isn't honoring Bonvoy "guarantee" benefits?

Marriott Bonvoy Lurker

Hi zjmeyerIL,

I'm sorry to hear about this, and I've contacted the hotel's executive management about your experience and the 4 p.m. late checkout guarantee. You should hear from them within 5 business days, but we'll continue to follow up on this until you receive a response.

Thanks,

Robert V.
Social Media Liaison

khabah

My partner is staying at this hotel as a Titanium Elite. SNAs were only for high-floor rooms, and that's all he got. They're not offering a full breakfast either, and they adamantly refused to give him a 4 PM checkout, saying 11 AM is the most they can do. He pushed back and eventually secured noon, then was told to check back on his day of departure to see if they can do later. He's leaving today, went back to get the checkout straightened and they once again said they won't give him anything past noon, so he threatened to call corporate. One "oh wait let me check" later, and he got 4 PM.

Marriott Bonvoy Lurker team, is there any way to report this hotel for being so difficult? Based on the feedback above, it seems this isn't an isolated incident and the staff are either poorly trained or actively going around the rules.

khabah

Marriott Bonvoy Lurker

Hi there, we'd be happy to assist with sharing your Partner's concerns forward, but would need to speak with them directly to do so.
Please have them connect with us via email at [email protected] with their stay details and any other info they wish to share, so we can escalate this issue accordingly.

Best regards,

Riley E.
Social Media Specialist
Marriott International

ForbesHall

I had a similiar issue with this hotel earlier this year. Only when I contacted Marriott Bonvoy Assist on Twitter was my checked out changed to 4pm. No one at the hotel bothered to tell me I was given a late checkout. Sounds like this hotel is still up to its shady practices.