I have never seen snow in Paris before. Quite unexpectedly, it was snowing during March!  This was my first stay at a Renaissance brand hotel and I was very impressed. The hotel is extremely modern. However, a Renaissance hotel can be more expensive than other Marriott hotels. Book far in advance to get the best deal.  In this review, I will go over what to expect in a standard room and the breakfast offerings for those with elite status.

Location

There are many great restaurants and cafes nearby. The Arc De Triomphe and its metro station is five minutes away walking. The Metro makes it easy to reach other places in Paris.

Check In

It was almost midnight before I arrived, so the hotel lobby was not crowded and it did not take long. Unfortunately, the rooms with the balcony were not available so there was no upgrade. The Prestige Wave rooms at this hotel are the largest standard rooms before suites.  This hotel has no lounge so breakfast in the restaurant was offered as an alternative.  At night, the hotel has really funky lights.

Room

This room was 344 sq. ft but was designed to feel spacious. Luggage can be stored in the cabinets across from the restroom. A king bed was present and there was also a rollaway.  If 3 people are in the room there is an extra 30 euro charge.  The window had a curve to it which I have not seen before. Outside, the view is not to impressive you will just see the avenue. The amenities were okay, but they did provide mouthwash which can be useful.  For an European hotel, there was no bidet.  Unlike, my last hotel in Nice the air conditioning worked wonderfully.  Complimentary water was put in the room since we have elite status. Since these pictures were taken at midnight, I forgot to take a picture of the minibar and its contents.  At the desk, the outlet was designed for US plugs which I have never seen before at a European hotel. It was a nice design element because I could leave my adapter in my backpack.

Gym

I went downstairs to the floor that has the business center and gym. While I did not use the gym, the amount of equipment on display was impressive. They also had towels, water and fruit.

Breakfast

Makassar, is the breakfast restaurant in the hotel. Since there was no lounge, this hotel provides elite customers with a breakfast coupon. Guest are suppose to bring the certificate and present it to staff. At this time I used SPG Gold status to get breakfast. There were plenty of options to choose from the buffet. Menus are also provided, I am not sure if elite customers can order off the menu. For those without Marriott elite status the breakfast cost is outrageous; it would be better to walk down the street to a local cafe.  All the food was really good, except they could not get the eggs right! Over the course of the stay, I went down at different times and the breakfast room was never over crowded. The morning of my flight back to the US they had the food out, but they were not expecting anyone to be their early. If you are one that likes to get your breakfast as early as possible be careful that they are ready. Hopefully, if you need to eat an early breakfast before departing they will be ready.  Breakfast during the week starts at 6:30 and on weekends starts at 7:00; always ending at 11 am.

Final Thoughts

Since, this was my first stay at a Renaissance I cannot compare it to others in the brand. The room was a great size unlike my previous experience at Le Meridien in Nice. I believe Renaissance is the Marriott version of Le Meridien. They both target the same niche of travelers. Keeping it short, Renaissance is much better. If you read my last review you would know I did not enjoy my experience in Nice. I recommend anyone looking into the Renaissance to check the price and see if it is a good deal. You can also check out my review of the Westin Paris Vendome. This review will be the last installment of my trip to France.[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]