Renaissance Hotel Amsterdam Schiphol Airport [Master Thread]
 

Just noticed this new hotel on the website of Marriott. The hotel should open in Q3-2018. I just looked up the location and it's not a hotel anywhere near Amsterdam..

So be aware when you book, from what I can see they do not offer shuttle services and there is no real option to use public transport from Schiphol airport. I am from the area and if you want to use this hotel as an airport hotel or you want to do a citytrip to Amsterdam there are much better options. Do not want to be negative, just a warning ;)

I mentioned it in the Amsterdam family thread yesterday, including that it's not near the airport & doesn't offer a free shuttle. Was going to create a stand-alone through next year as it got closer to opening, but no problem w/ starting one now & good to have a local perspective.

Cheers.

From a press release re: Renaissances. Excerpt:

"The design of the Renaissance Amsterdam Schiphol Airport Hotel draws inspiration from Amsterdam Bos, the city’s largest park situated adjacent to the hotel. Because the verdurous park was created in the beginning of the twentieth century, at the same time as Dutch modern art, architecture and design gained popularity, the hotel is peppered with playful unexpected moments that reveal a sense of time and place. Notably, the interiors juxtapose a natural color palette with high gloss furniture, contemporary accents and a modern twist on famous Dutch art throughout the public spaces, buzzy bar and guestrooms."

Booked a stay here for early October. Anyone stayed here yet? Looks like they have decided to offer a free airport shuttle after all, which made the difference for us. Is there an executive lounge open yet or will be captive to the restaurant?

Room description doesn't mention anything about an exec lounge. Please do a trip report after your stay. Thx!

Cheers.

After seeing this posting, I decided to cancel my stay at the Renaissance Amsterdam and stay here instead. I am looking for something close to the airport where I can get some work done. This looks like it will definitely fit the bill. I am staying next week. I will post a review after I arrive.

It's not that close to the airport & might take a similar amount of time to get there. But look forward to your trip report. Thx!

Cheers.

I've stayed in the hotel twice so far. I've been happily surprised by their readiness in the first days after opening: the hotel seemed fully operational. Bar, restaurant (dinner and breakfast), rooms.. most things seemed to be up and running. I believe the official opening date was September 24th (last week Monday). Some general comments:

Reservation
Went smoothly, just like any other hotel via the Marriott app/website.

Transportation
The hotel has a shuttle to Schiphol airport, running about once per hour. It's a 10-15 min. drive but they take a margin because they have to cross a canal-bridge that can be open for a while. I arrived by car and the parking in front of the hotel was not fully operational yet last week (barriers opened and closed randomly), that seems to be fixed now. The barriers open and automatically register your number plate - when leaving the parking your number plate is recognized again and then shows the amount you have to pay. Even though I asked the reception to put the charges on my bill, I have been stuck at the exit twice. This morning I had to call the hotel reception with my cell phone from my car because I was stuck at the exit barrier, they asked me to leave the car, walk back to the hotel, discuss what I wanted to discuss at the front desk, then go back to my car. In total it took me almost 20 minutes to exit the parking, which had me running late for a meeting. It probably has to do with the opening phase.

Check-in
Long wait (about 12-13 minutes) to check-in. One desk available, about 5 people in line. Platinum status was recognized, got free breakfast offered since there is no lounge (explicitly limited to continental, both at check-in and during the breakfast) and a message that the room was upgraded, though I don't know to what since the room didn't meet any of the specifics of room types different from what I booked.

Rooms
I got a room on the 2nd floor, nice room, no specific view or characteristics.
Nice design, very Amsterdam-ish with a touch of the forest (Amsterdamse Bos) next to the hotel.
The rooms are quite noisy: you can easily hear doors from surrounding rooms opening and closing or listen to conversations in the corridor. Curtains are dark enough to continue sleeping when the sun comes up. The a/c seems to work fine. There are a couple of 220v European power outlets, though I expected at least some USB-outlets and a bit more power outlets. Had to unplug the coffee machine or a light to use the iron, for example.
The bathroom has a rain shower and a separate showerhead, the shower is very spacious. The towels seemed to be high-quality heavy towels, but they were quite molting and left a lot of towel fluff behind. Had to wash my hair again after drying them with the towel, because of white fluff spread out everywhere.
The room was pretty dirty (many hairs in the bathroom, dust in the closets and shelves, leftover construction materials in the corners and so on. Housekeeping hasn't visited my room once during my 3 days stay. No clean towels, nothing. I wouldn't have posted it it was based on one experience, but since it happened both times it's worth mentioning. Have another stay in two weeks so I'll keep you updated on the progress.

Wifi
A serious remark on the state of wifi. I have stayed in 2 different rooms and both had an extremely slow internet connection: ping 150+ms, downstream 0,1-0,4 mbps / upstream 2-4 mbps. I couldn't even manage to load marriott.com or other not too heavy web pages. I've tried several times between 19h-midnight and 7h-9.30am. In the bar, the internet seemed to work fine.

Staff
In general staff is very friendly. Reception staff lacks competence in following-up on basic stuff: my room didn't have a remote control for the TV, called the reception and I had to call back 45 minutes later because they forgot it. Same for additional shower gel that I asked for and new towels (since housekeeping didn't visit my room) - had to call or pass by the reception at minimum twice to get easy requests done. Also, the parking issue, resolved via the reception, took way too much time.
Bar and restaurant staff are very motivated, friendly and caring even though they've possibly worked day and night to get everything ready for the opening date. Same goes for the room divisions manager, whom I occasionally crossed in the hallway.

Bar / Restaurant
Nice bar and restaurant, quite busy already in the first week. Had a very nice dinner, prices are okay for the Amsterdam area. As described very caring staff, good menu and good food. The bar was a bit pricey. Breakfast though strictly limited (and enforced) to continental breakfast for platinums using vouchers had more than enough choice in bread, pastries, dairy, juices, Dutch cheeses, meat, some fish, fruits etc.

Gym
I've walked to the gym once, but since there were no towels or water bottles/cups I went to the reception to ask for it. Then a very friendly associate convinced me to run in the forest instead and that was very convenient, just across the road there's a forest/park with easy running tracks. Haven't used the gym in the end.

I've paid around 110 euro/night for the first stay, 80 euro/night the second stay. Prices seem to be pretty low now, matching the surrounding Steigenberger and Tulip Inn. Since the hotel is located in the municipality of Aalsmeer city taxes are really low as well. For the total price I've paid I've had a very good stay and I will most probably come back, hoping the cleaning and reception issues will be resolved when the hotel is fully up and running.

Thanks for the detailed trip report. Much appreciated.

Cheers.

Cost? Doubt Sheraton is going for 80-110E/night (but agree it's a good property).

Cheers.

Just checked out yesterday after a 2 day stay. Picked the location due to the seemingly below market price (82 euro/night I believe) knowing it would be 30-40 minutes each way to get into the city each day. Overall pleased with the visit although they still have a bit of work to do as they move from soft launch to full launch.

Good:

• Rooms are good size for Europe with exactly what you'd expect in a brand new Renaissance
• Breakfast in restaurant for Platinum+ is one of the better buffets I've seen for the brand
• Staff is friendly and looking to help (especially as they're learning and figuring out things for the first time)
• Check in was quick, recognized status and gave "upgrade" but seems like all rooms are pretty much the same and there are no worthwhile views

Needs Improvement

• Shuttle from airport. It runs a 40 minute loop, and at least twice in 3 days I'm convinced it didn't make the scheduled pickup at airport. There is also no signage at airport helping you find it (C23 is the correct spot, not the A area where most other hotel shuttles pick up). FYI current schedule is first hotel departure at 6 AM, first airport pickup is 6:20 and runs until around midnight.
• Toiletries. At arrival the room had 2 lotions and 2 conditioners. After first day maid service we had 2 lotions and 1 shampoo.
• No international power outlets in rooms and no adapters to buy/borrow at front desk. There are 2 USB outlets by the bed, but I couldn't charge my laptop after discovering I forgot my travel adapter at home. Friendly front desk agent happened to have HP power cord he was willing to loan me the first day which was awesome, but had to pick up a new adapter at the airport the next morning.

Tips

• I originally thought the WiFi speeds were atrocious (<2 mbps down, 2-10 up) which was preventing me from getting much work done. Then I wondered if I was getting the regular level instead of the enhanced since I was auto-logged in through the new Marriott feature. After a little googling to see if I could upgrade, i found internetupgrade.marriott.com which let me enter my name & room number to sign up for enhanced and boom I was back in modern era. Don't plan on anything with the regular tier of internet.
• Without a car you're going to be captive to the hotel for food unless you're looking to take the airport shuttle which will take at least an hour round trip. Not sure if there are any food options if you take the 5-10 minute walk across the main road to the office park.
• Discovered several brand new bikes sitting outside the entrance on our last day. Assume they could be borrowed, not sure how much is within reasonable biking distance.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...5b9881efec.png
This could be a reason..

You've made my day! I just tried it and the wifi now literally goes 10 times faster. I already went to the reception 3 times to ask if they could move me to a room closer to their access point or any other solution - in the end they gave me the password to their staff network. Didn't work either. The page that you've shared here directed to a Renaissance Amsterdam Schiphol branded web page for gold and platinum members - strange that front desk staff isn't aware of its existence.

I am currently staying here and was upgraded from the cheapest room to a corner suite.

https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...ab620dc562.jpg
Dinner for Six?

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...ffe3bb8efc.jpg
Whirlpool Bathtub

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...c2c49970a6.jpg
Walk-in Shower

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...9b390b4a21.jpg
Living Room Area

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...b91f61630c.jpg
Sunset View from the Room (River and Airport)

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.fly...7bee854bc6.jpg
Shuttle Schedule - First Come, First Served

Additional Comments
1. I also noticed a strange collection of toiletries - all bottles are body lotion or conditioner.
2. Request for toiletries through the app do not seem to be noticed.
3. They do offer mobile key.
4. They do not seem to participate in "Make a Green Choice". I asked at the reception and was told that they were a new hotel and not yet set up for that. I do not know if that means they will definitely participate in the future.
5. The room service tray charge is EUR 9.50, which I find a bit exorbitant.
6. Breakfast is from 6:30-10:30 - I would expect an airport hotel so "distant" (times wise using shuttle) from the airport to start breakfast earlier
7. I was offered 1000 points or a $5 F&B credit as a platinum amenity.
8. Further I was offered 750 points daily or continental breakfast vouchers for each day..
9. I found the restaurant food to be reasonable, but would not want to have to choose from that menu only during a longer stay. The bar, restaurant and room service all had essentially the same menu.
10. I will try to walk over to the business park. I saw a sports bar and some other possibly other hotel-affiliated locations there.
11. The room has a water kettle and a Nespresso machine.
12. The mini-bar is not stocked, but contains two seemingly complimentary plastic bottles of water.
13. For those who are tracking religious books in hotel rooms - there is a New Testament and a Book of Mormons in the desk drawer.
14. While opening the drawers and cupboards for this post, I also realised that there were a lot of corners with sawdust. The room could use a round of initial, comprehensive cleaning to get rid of this. Otherwise the bathroom, etc. looked perfectly clean to me.
15. There is no telephone at the desk.
16. There are no slippers in the room.
17. I love the bathtub - it also has lights that rotate through different colors of the spectrum. It made for a relaxing winding down in the evening.

I m there right now. Booked a rate for 67 euro. Upgrade to whirlool suite, like the poster above.


Breakfast: you get a voucher for continental breakfast. UPCHARGE TO FULL hot breakfast 5 EUR.

btw i m platinum premier

I stayed here about 3 weeks ago and found the property to be very modern and nice; the staff was also quite good. BUT it is one of the furthest and most inconvenient hotels at Schiphol and because I had just missed the relatively infrequent and hard to find shuttles, the taxi ride (due to some road detours) was over 40 Euros - something I had not realized beforehand.

So I just had a 1 night stay last night, it's a nice property. Was told I was upgraded to a deluxe corner room from the standard room I booked about 8 hrs earlier for 77 eur. Just my 2 cents, when I checked in their system had me listed as a Gold, but the woman at the desk updated it to Platinum when I showed her my card in the app. They offered me 1000 points or a $10 F&B credit (which converted to 8.5 eur on the folio) as a Plat. I took the breakfast in lieu of the points and was informed 5 eur upcharge to full buffet which I declined, the continental was sufficient. Pretty nice spread for a continental breakfast, IMO. Also there were no physical vouchers given. The host stand had a list of eligible guests they were checking off. Housekeeping seems to be learning, my 4 bottles of toiletries were correct, having 1 of each.

I got lucky with the hotel shuttle last night catching it with about 2 minutes before departure and would agree it's a bit tough to see the signs in the dark. The hotel instructions to look for the C15 shuttle stop (or whatever it is) are not super helpful as that sign seems to only point one direction, so if you approach it from the other side of the baggage hall, you may not see it. I just saw a black Mercedes van with a big R on the rear door. Shuttle back to the airport this morning took about 11 minutes door to door. The shuttle seats about 18 people, so unless you're trying to catch it at a really high demand time, I doubt getting a seat would be an issue.

Can you use the 10$ F+B Credit toward the 5 EUR full breakfast upcharge?
I didnt think the breakfast is something special.

Stayed here last week. Nice new hotel. No upgrade as a Platinum in a twin room. But I believe they do not have any twin rooms in a higher category than superior.

Checkin was very slow, there was a line and only one person working the desk. This was at 5pm. Then after checking in, the room key did not work, so had to go down again, and wait in a long line again. Eventually it was cleared up that the check in associate wrote the wrong number on the keycard. Hence the check in time took almost 25 minutes. Not acceptable for an airport property.

Room was fine and clean, still had that new room feeling. The restaurant at the hotel was pretty good, but a bit pricey. Nothing else in the vicinity though.

I do have to add that at the moment they are re-doing the roads around the hotel, and are working on it 24/h a day, so it was quite a mess actually getting to the hotel by car, as this involved talking to many traffic wardens, driving over closed roads etc. This construction was not mentioned on the Marriott website. I know it is out of their control, but this kind of construction is planned months, if not years ahead in the Netherlands, so the hotel must have known about it.

All in all, the hotel was fine for a quick overnight, but has room to improve.

Had a very quick overnight stay here recently as well. Did not use any services other than the room itself, so can't comment on them.

The shuttle bus from AMS runs every 40min from stop C13, which lacks any signage to that effect. I had to call the hotel to find out about where and when to wait. It took about 20min to the hotel with evening traffic. At 6am the next morning, only 11min to get back to the airport.

Check-in was a breeze and the agent offered both 1000 Titanium welcome points and an extra 750 points when I mentioned that I wouldn't have time for the breakfast included in my rate. The points posted quickly.

I got a standard king room which had nice modern decor and was otherwise completely unremarkable.

For €90, I'd stay again. Sheraton or Hilton AMS would have been much more convenient but were 3x the price.

Thanks for the trip reports. Much appreciated.

Cheers.

I'm considering a 4-night stay here on family holiday. We have a car and I'm a bit put off by the outrageous and unjustified parking fee of 17 Euros/day at such location.
- Is there a free/cheaper Parking option nearby?
- Anyone got the email address of the front desk?
- Can the suite awards be used in this property?

Can someone who's been explain where exactly the shuttle pick up at the airport is?

It is very easy to find, when you exit Schiphol Plaza - cross the street twice and you wlll find bus stop numbered C13. For your orientation it is almost under the bridge which connects Schiphol Plaza and hotel Sheraton. But few times (20%) I should wait for the bus - so do not be surprised if the bus is not on time there - just wait. Do not take taxi - it is 30 EUR!

Just one additional info - the food there was excellent.

Thank you very much. That's exactly what I looking for!

Restaurant

We stayed at the Renaissance for one night in October before continuing on to Rotterdam.

Hotel meet our expectations. There is shuttle service to the airport, but we missed one of the shuttles and ended up doing a cab for 25 euros. Room was fine if nothing special. Hotel was a bit larger then we thought it would be - the lobby felt like a football field.

There is no lounge so we had breakfast in the restaurant due to our Platinum Elite status. Breakfast had a nice cook to order station. Otherwise pretty standard fare.

Some pictures from our visit: https://www.thetravelingexpats.com/r...chiphol-hotel/

Very recent stay here. Upgrade ( AMB/LTTE) to suite identical to that pictured in the review by CBellero ( above). Great accommodation.
The shuttle service appears to have improved ( now 50 return trips each day, including at 15 minute intervals during peak times...other times 30 minutes). The stop is easy : out the plaza, over the crossing to the 3rd kerb, turn right past a few B stops, C13 is right there ( unfortunately it’s not signposted as a Renaissance stop). The bus pulls in just a few metres past that C13 sign. The hotel sent a pre-arrival email with those details , and the times. It was pouring with rain/blowing a gale for my late night arrival but still not difficult.
Breakfast hours have changed ( now 0600-1100), addressing the concern in one of the comments above. As to be expected, good bread, cheese, pastries. I didn’t eat the hot dishes, but they looked decent.
I didn’t find the trip downtown onerous ( shuttle plus train: it’s 35-45 minutes depending on the connection)
The building is genuinely ugly, but the interiors are nice.
I prefer it to the Sheraton , even before considering the fact that it’s often not much more than 1/2 the price. The ‘cost’ is the additional time to reach the hotel ( shuttle is 10 minutes) , plus the lack of a lounge.
I was VERY pleasantly surprised ( but decided to ‘give it a go’ based in part on the Travelling Expats review mentioned above).

3 years since the last review ?
I’m thinking this is far from a popular hotel :eek:

Just checked in, as Titanium, and got told breakfast is no longer included “due to a policy change”. They added they are in progress of adding a lounge, but it’s not open yet.

I was too tired to argue, but surely this goes against the Bonvoy T&Cs? Anything you guys would do if in my situation?

Rules seem pretty clear:
Europe:

• Properties without a lounge or an approved alternative will offer daily restaurant breakfast for the member and a companion.

Compensation $100...

Unfortunately it could be a pain to argue about this - I gave some pushback (Palm Desert hotel Paseo, Autograph collection) on the same problem but they just kept denying the benefit. I will not stay there again. Apparently Marriott corporate won't do anything either when you bring this up.

BTW: I stayed there once, while I was below Platinum, it's a nice hotel but a bit of a pain to get there due to mobility issues. I usually stay at the Hilton Schiphol airport (or Sheraton when going to catch a morning flight).

Marriott property Hall of Shame
 

Personally if I was in your shoes and I could easily be as a fellow Tit with Lifetime Status I would be insulted.
Quite frankly its petty and disrespectful.They deserve a scathing review.
If you don't wish to escalate to MOD or GM while in house
then a formal complaint to Marriott Guest relations is in order.
How they rise to the occasion will everything you need to know if your Bonvoy relationship is worth the journey anymore.
Personally I wouldn't accept anything less than 10,000 points as they are near worthless these days with
Bonvoid in house devaluations.
If that doesn't work I would contact the Office of the President @ Marriott

This is some of what happens when you issue credit cards with complimentary Platinum status to anyone with a pulse who will pay an annual fee.
Hotels reduce and eliminate the tangible benefits to turn a larger profit @ the expense of elite recognition to the membership base.
Expect Marriott to get worse each passing year as all they know how to do is raise prices,devalue and reduce benefits.
I continue to stay in just a handful of their properties that can fairly well take care of the guest and seek higher ground in other brands/programs typically.
Let us know how they respond and good luck.Wishing you a satisfying breakfast benefit on a future stay