LessO2

Thanks for your response.

If you were in it for a comfortable bed (regardless of upgrade or not), would you say Ren or Marriott?

Starbucks

Beds are equal, so throw a coin...

However without upgrade Marriott beats the Ren.

Hoc

The REN states on its webpage that it has laundry facilities. Are these self-service washer/dryers, or only laundry pickup and delivery? Also, is there a fee to use the Health Club?

Starbucks

No fee for Health Club usage at the REN. Never saw self-service washers at the hotel; laundry pick-up is available.

Hoc

Thanks. I guess I'll just have to bring an extra couple of shirts and underwear on my run.

Counsellor

A good plan anywhere in Europe, unless you're planning to stay in one place for about a week. In that case, you should be able to locate a laundry (not laundromat -- those are not common most places) that could do your shirts in 3 to 4 days turnaround.

Having laundry done in a hotel tends to get pricy.

Hoc

Yeah, I guess I've gotten spoiled. Just about every hotel I've stayed at for the past year or two has had a washer and dryer available for guests.

iztok

Does either FS or REN (at about the same location) have a lounge? If not, do they offer free breakfast for Plats? (Wed-Fri stay in November.)

I am meeting my family there (using my points for everyone to stay) and my sister is bringing her kids (1/5/8 year old). Which one would be better for kids (why)?

Counsellor

Neither has a concierge lounge as we know them in the U.S. Both offer Platinums (and in my experience Golds) free breakfast.

The Rennaisance has an interior "atrium" garden that might be attractive to a family, but other than that I'd say they are equal. I've seen families with children both places.

If you get the suite upgrade, the Rennaisance room is 64 square meters, so plenty of room. Upgrades to suite with the Marriott seem (in my experience) less certain, and the upgraded room (i.e., the non-suite) is small.

Hoc

What I did not realize is that the people in Munich in general do not seem to believe in air conditioning, and the Rennaissance is no exception. There is no functioning A/c in the rooms, so I sweated all night, and did not get much sleep there. My friend, who had a different hotel across town, experienced the same thing in her hotel. But this seems to be cultural, as the airport, the museums, the trains, the restaurants and shops, all did not have any significant air conditioning. So, I had to change shirts three times a day there, since it was in the 80s most of the day (and even hotter inside).

Starbucks

I am glad to tell you that the Marriott is finally doing room updates. New interior looks much better than the old one and rooms do get the new flat tv as well. I spend a weekend in one of those rooms recently and will switch most of my stays from the REN to the Marriott next door from now on.

As stated earlier unless one is really into space and therefore is happy about the junior suite upgrade at the REN (90% success as Plat) i would go for the Marriott. Both hotels will grant full buffet breakfast on every day.

jfulcher

I had no success at the REN in a suite upgrade - in fact I feel like they gave me the worst room in the place. I had to go up one elevator - go to the other side of the hotel and then up a 2nd elevator to get to the 6th floor I think it was. It honestly took about 15 minutes to get to my room from the lobby. I was on points so maybe that swayed things. Also it was very hot the particular days I was there and of course the REN has no A/C and it took calling the front desk 4 times to get a fan which barely helped. I can't sleep unless I'm cold - so I wouldn't recommend this hotel to anyone during the late spring-summer months.

I would go for the FS Marriott in the future as they do have A/C there.

Also not much around the hotel, however there is a good biergarten in a residential area nearby.

Hoc

But both hotels are only a half block or so from the U6 stop, which is a direct line (about 4 stops - 8 minutes) to Marienplatz where you can get lots of beer, nightlife and food.

Counsellor

Six stops on U6 to Marienplatz (about 10 minutes and you're in the center of Munich):

Nordfriedhof - near hotels, where you get on
Dietlindenstr.
Münchner Freiheit
Giselastr.
Universität
Odeonsplatz
Marienplatz

MikeBU

Staying at the Munich Renaissance is like stepping into a time machine and traveling back to 1981.

Seriously, aside from the Revive bedding that MI funded centrally for all hotels, I don't think anything has changed since the day this place opened.

Renaissance has become my go-to brand these days as their quality has generally risen to meet or exceed full-service MI, but wow... not here, not until they renovate.

I would wager that this property will not be flagged a Marriott brand for too much longer.

ETA: The CY near the Hauptbahnhof is quite nice; I happened to stay there the night it opened a couple of years back. Standard fresh European CY design, similar to domestic Full-Service rooms.