Ah the Renaissance period, a truly remarkable era for so many, with so much to live for. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterised by an effort to revive and surpass the ideas and achievements of classical antiquity.
So what does the 1973 Renaissance Heathrow hotel have in common with its namesake of the 16th and 17th centuries? Well, to be honest, nothing. It's yet another brand of the behemoth Marriott hotels group and the topic of my fifth review in the series of six as I review every Marriott hotel at Heathrow Airport, London.
Marriott says this about the Renaissance brand: "Renaissance Hotels connects travelers to the spirit of the neighborhood through its theatrical design, entertaining evening bar rituals, and engaging Navigators, extending an open invitation to experience the unexpected both inside and out of the hotel." In plain English, I have no idea what this is supposed to mean other than perhaps suggesting some evening entertainment, which there wasn't and would never be expected at an airport hotel!
Previously, we've reviewed the Moxy, Sheraton, Sheraton Skyline and Courtyard hotels.
The Renaissance was until the 90's known as the Heathrow Penta hotel. It then became Renaissance and as such part of the Marriott family.
With 649 rooms, an executive lounge and some excellent runway view rooms, I was keen to stay here and see what it was actually like.
The reception area is huge, and it's busy, seriously busy. The massive reception had no fewer than six staff all working flat out to check in customers which seemed to be a mix of airline crew and individuals, in equal measure.
Check in was swift though and I soon had my allocated room - whilst it was a twin (all I could get), it was runway facing.
The Room
The hotel has the usual mix of entry level rooms and executive/club rooms, the latter conferring access to the hotels executive lounge.
My runway facing room felt comfortable but you really can tell this hotels age. I originally booked a standard room but was upgraded to a runway / club room on the day, as a result of my Marriott Platinum status.
As you can see from the photograph, rooms are basic in style and I'm not sure if I liked this or not. I'm still not sure.
The Executive Lounge
The lounge is available to those with Bonvoy Platinum and above status, as well as those booking a club room. I worked from here most of the day and found the place to be generally pleasant. Canapes and limited alcohol was served at 6pm although, like with the other Marriott properties that I have tried so far, the food and drink offerings just weren't up to the same standard as you find at Hilton's.
The Restaurant
You have two choices of places to eat here at the Renaissance.
Informally, the bar has a full menu 'Bar Eleven', or, if you seek more formal then there is the Market Garden Restaurant. I chose the former as I was just in that kind of mood, and I'm pleased I did.
I had the starter of Baked Camembert followed by the tower burger, washed down with a Guiness. The bill came to less than £35 which I was impressed with. Service was also top notch with plenty of staff waiting the tables and food arriving quickly, despite the place being fairly full.
Conclusion
At £128 a night including breakfast (with my Bonvoy Platinum status), this hotel represents very good value for money and sits about middle of the road in terms of cost compared to the other Heathrow Marriott properties that I have tried recently.
I really liked the staff here for both warmth and service. I'm not sure the room was my cup of tea but this is an old hotel and the Renaissance brand is a strange one - there aren't many of them left in the UK, so I couldn't tell you what the brand standards are or if this place was consistent - I just didn't have a benchmark.
As I have stated previously, Marriott divides its brands into five levels from 'Luxury' such as St. Regis, Ritz-Carlton, JW Marriott through to 'Select' which encompasses the budget/lower tier brands such as Moxy, Courtyard and AC Hotels. The Renaissance sits in the 'Premium' Marriott band, which also hoovers up Marriott main brand hotels, Sheraton and Delta hotels. This felt right to me - this hotel is neither luxury nor basic.
I would definitely stay here again, for the right price. But do cross check with the Sheraton Skyline, especially if you have status, because the lounge and rooms at the Skyline are just nicer, if there isn't much price difference.
Rating (Not Recommended/Recommended/Highly Recommended): Recommended
Add comment
Comments