PTahCha

Just had a 1 night stay at the Renaissance.

Checked in around 11pm. The check-in agent was friendly, proactively offered 4pm check out and bottled water (they are baby sized). There are more water in the lounge and at the gym.

The room is showing its age, but functional. My view was of the parking lot, of which self-parking was $22 for overnight. They no longer have a guard station - instead, you pull a ticket to enter, and the front desk will give you a tag that gives you in/out privileges. Interestingly, the housekeeping staff hid 2 of the 4 pillows in the closet. Also, they provided a minimal set of towels.

As @elmira56925 had pointed out, the gym is large for a hotel gym, with lots of equipment.

The restaurant is probably the best part of the hotel, since they open late.

For breakfast, the lounge and the restaurant share the same buffet, which is your standard toast, scrambled eggs from a bag, bacon, sausages, country potato, and runny oatmeal. There are also some cut fruit and yogurt cups.

ElevatorEnthusiast

9:10 PM arrival and 11:56 AM departure - assuming the Renaissance is the better choice for $100 less than the Marriott since both seem to require a shuttle?

OhDoctor

As noted above the Marriott technically doesn't require a shuttle.. just have to cross over a few roadways that may or may not have formal crosswalks. But you can tag along with a flight crew, as they make the crossing frequently.

cfischer

also note that the Ren shuttle is both less frequent and it doesn't pick up FROM the terminals. Is that worth $100? Probably not.

elmira56925

the Peloton makes it worth the wild for me. Plus u can well down 1-9 to the local liquor store (yes go at ur own risk).

Hoof Hunter

Just a heads up for anyone with a reservation or planning to stay at the Renaissance in the near future. I received this letter from the hotel a couple of days ago (1/31/2024). I had an upcoming reservation to stay here. Thankfully, I got this info early. Kudos to this Marriott Convoy property for being proactive with the communications.

Needless to say, I cancelled my reservation and now I'm struggling to find a suitable replacement for my overnight stay in the area. I'll have a rental car, so transportation won't be an issue. Any suggestions are welcomed of course, but really just wanted to inform people here, in case they had plans or thoughts that might include this hotel.

Here's the letter that I received from the hotel

"Dear Hotel Guest,Renaissance Newark Airport Hotel is working with the City of Elizabeth Department of Health and Human Services and the New Jersey Department of Health (NJDOH) to chemically treat the water at the Hotel after two guests had been reported sick with Legionnaires’ disease, a severe form of pneumonia caused by Legionella bacteria. It is unknown whether the hotel is the source of bacteria that caused the ill individuals to become sick.

In response to the reports of the two guests who became ill, the City of Elizabeth Department of Health and Human Services along with NJDOH, and with the full cooperation of Renaissance Newark Airport Hotel, initiated an investigation to determine if the building is a source of Legionella exposure. Testing results found Legionella bacteria in water samples collected from the hotel’s water system. Currently, we are developing a plan to disinfect the hotel’s water system to kill any remaining Legionella and prevent more from growing.

The purpose of this notice is to make you aware that Legionella bacteria has been detected in the hotel’s water. The risk of getting sick from a building's water supply is low, especially for healthy people. Your individual risk for Legionnaires’ disease may increase if you are 50 years or older (especially if you smoke), have chronic lung disease, have a weakened immune system, or take medications that weaken your immune system. If you have one of these health issues, take these extra steps during your stay as precautions:

• Do not take a shower, even a cool shower – since it could create water droplets in the air. Instead, take a bath, but fill the tub slowly. Try to minimize your time in the bathroom while the tub is filling.
• It is fine to brush your teeth, wash your hands or wash dishes, but fill the sink slowly to avoid splashing and producing water droplets in the air.
• It is fine to drink cold water from the tap but start with cold water when heating water for tea, coffee, or cooking. You cannot get Legionnaires’ disease by drinking water.
  • If you have swallowing difficulties (i.e., water often goes down the “wrong pipe”), consider using bottled drinking water for drinking.
• Never use tap water in any respiratory therapy equipment (e.g., CPAP, BiPAP) or humidifiers.

People can get Legionnaires’ disease by breathing in aerosolized water (small water droplets in the air) containing Legionella bacteria. Legionnaires’ disease cannot be spread from person-to-person. Symptoms of Legionnaires’ disease can include fever, cough, shortness of breath, muscle aches, and headaches. Symptoms occur within 14 days after being exposed to Legionella bacteria.

If you or any person who visited the hotel with you begins to develop symptoms of Legionnaires’ disease within 14 days (two weeks) after your stay at Renaissance Newark Airport Hotel, please seek medical attention right away. Bring this letter with you to show to the doctor. Legionnaires’ disease is treatable with an appropriate antibiotic.

If you have questions about your hotel reservation, please contact the Renaissance Newark Airport Hotel at 908-436-4615 or [email protected]. If you have questions about this public health investigation, please contact the City of Elizabeth Department of Health and Human Services, Monday through Friday 8:30am-4:30pm at 908-820-4124. Be sure to include your name and contact information. Additional information about Legionnaires’ disease can be found on the NJDOH’s website at: https://www.nj.gov/health/cd/topics/legion.shtml.

Sincerely,

Renaissance Newark Airport Hotel"

ElevatorEnthusiast

Thanks for the update on the Renaissance - I moved my upcoming reservation in two weeks to the Marriott, which was offering PointsSaver Redemptions.

ElevatorEnthusiast

When I went to cancel the Ren, I noticed the property notes in my reservation say that the hotel is currently experiencing an issue with their water supply - but does not clarify the issue directly.

Topher22R4L

Well let me clue you in. Their water supply is contaminated with legionairres disease and it has not been remediated. I went to check in on Thursday and stopped to read the attached memo in the lobby.... UH WHAT? not notified by the hotel and if i hadnt stopped to read this who knows if they'd even have mentioned it. I called my ambassador immediately and she rebooked to me to another hotel for the evening. WILD that you're not notified of this.

IAHtraveler

Made a reservation for this property today for later this week and got an email referencing this attachment titled "Letter". Ridiculous that they don't have a warning before booking on the app and that they're allowed to remain open. Needless to say, my reservation has been cancelled.

Coffeemadman

I have a reservation here in September and only noticed this when I logged in and checked the booking. Quite the bold move for a hotel to be telling you to actively avoid taking showers!

Marriott obviously also take efforts to make it clear they do not own or operate the hotel itself…

I was surprised there wasn’t a “if you want to cancel you can do with no penalty” in it.

ElevatorEnthusiast

Looks like the operator of the Ren is MCR, which seems to operate the Sheraton Times Square, Lexington, and many limited-service properties. I’ll be avoiding them, for sure.

1st Class Gekko

I received this email today from the Renaissance Newark Airport indicating you could get some sort of Pneumonia from the water. See email below. Has anyone seen this? The recommendations seem ridiculous! Thoughts do I cancel??

We are delighted you have chosen to stay with us and would like to wish you a warm welcome to the Renaissance Newark Airport Hotel. As our highest priority is always the safety and well-being of our guests, we want to inform you of a remediation process currently underway at the hotel in cooperation with the New Jersey Department of Health ("NJDOH") and the City of Elizabeth Department of Health and Human Services ("EDOH").

Recently, in cooperation with the NJDOH and the EDOH, the hotel collected and tested a variety of water samples from throughout the hotel's water systems. The testing revealed Legionella bacteria present in some of the water samples collected.

The hotel undertook these tests in response to reports of two guests that contracted disease, a serious type of pneumonia, after travel to the Renaissance Newark Airport Hotel during the past year. It is unknown whether the hotel is the source of bacteria that caused these people to become sick.

The hotel is working with the NJDOH and EDOH to chemically treat the water and swiftly implement a plan to permanently disinfect the hotel's water system to kill any remaining Legionella and prevent more from growing.

The risk of developing Legionnaires' disease from a building's water supply is low, especially for healthy people. However, your individual risk for Legionnaires’ disease may increase if you are 50 years or older (especially if you smoke), have chronic lung disease, have a weakened immune system, or take medications that weaken your immune system. If you have one of these health issues, take these extra steps during your stay as precautions:

• Do not take a shower, even a cool shower – since it could create water droplets in the air. Instead, take a bath, but fill the tub slowly. Try to minimize your time in the bathroom while the tub is filling.
• It is fine to brush your teeth, wash your hands or wash dishes, but fill the sink slowly to avoid splashing and producing water droplets in the air.
• It is fine to drink cold water from the tap but start with cold water when heating water for tea, coffee, or cooking. You cannot get Legionnaires’ disease by drinking water.
  • If you have swallowing difficulties (i.e., water often goes down the “wrong pipe”), consider using bottled drinking water for drinking.
• Never use tap water in any respiratory therapy equipment (e.g., CPAP, BiPAP) or humidifiers.

People can get Legionnaires’ disease by breathing in aerosolized water (small water droplets in the air) containing Legionella bacteria. Legionnaires’ disease cannot be spread from person-to-person. Symptoms of Legionnaires’ disease can include fever, cough, shortness of breath, muscle aches, and headaches. Symptoms occur within 14 days after being exposed to Legionella bacteria.



If you or any person who visited the hotel with you begins to develop symptoms of Legionnaires’ disease within 14 days (two weeks) after your stay at Renaissance Newark Airport Hotel, please seek medical attention right away. Bring this letter with you to show to the doctor. Legionnaires’ disease is treatable with an appropriate antibiotic.



Should you have questions at all, we welcome you to contact a hotel representative via email at [email protected] or via phone at 908-436-4615. If you have questions about this public health investigation, you may also wish to contact the City of Elizabeth Department of Health and Human Services directly, Monday through Friday 8:30am-4:30pm at 908-820-4124. Be sure to include your name and contact information. Additional information about Legionnaires’ disease can be found on the NJDOH’s website at: https://www.cdc.gov/legionella/index.html.



Thank you for your loyalty.





Sincerely,



Renaissance Newark Airport Hotel

1mileman

at least you are getting a heads up. Cancel if you are fearful, plenty of other hotels in that area to switch to if you want

Eujeanie

I would cancel and not just move to a different hotel nearby, move to a different hotel that is on the opposite side of the airport, there are hotels all over the place.