The Renaissance, not just a hard to spell word, its a hotel too!!! (Renaissance Madison Hotel Seattle)

Member Name: luigi0778

Product:	Renaissance Madison Hotel Seattle
Date:	15/04/09 (159 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great Road Access, Comfortable rooms, Excellent Amentities, Concierge who knew her stuff!

Disadvantages: Poor decor, long walk to attractions, Costly poor food!

The Renaissance Madison Hotel, is conveniently situated in the upper part of downtown Seattle, and nestles on Madison Street, 5th Avenue. It is right next to the I-5 inter-state highway with easy access, and you will find it is around a 20 minute drive from Seatac Airport. It is part of the Marriot chain, and has the name emblazoned on the side in red lettering.

The actual external appearance of the hotel is not as impressive or imposing as the picture demonstrates, because it is actually near the business district and is swamped by the other sky scrapers, most notably the Bank of America tower, which is the large dominant tower amongst the cluster.

Saying that, the building does look clean, has recently undergone a facelift, and looks quite stylish at night, with the lighting effects near the main doors and reception.

Some of the key amenities of the hotel include:

-28 floors, Two main lifts, with a Gymnasium and swimming pool, and a resturaunt area on the top floor! As I mentioned the hotel has undergone a facelift, and the downstairs bar area was being refurbished while I was there. It looked like it would be very swish when finished!

- 3 Levels of Underground Parking! Just try to remember where you have parked! or its a long walk round! Don't ask how I know this! There is a clean, large sized elevator to the lobby area, and parking is charged at approximately 16$/night.

- 24hr room service, and all the usual extras you would expect from a 4 star hotel. Including a very good Concierge service which was very useful.


MY THOUGHTS

Reception - Despite being the land of good service, I found the reception staff to be largely unhelpful. Being rather jet lagged I had to struggle with obnoxious front desk staff, and found no bell boys around to help, so had to drag my own luggage upto the 19th floor unaided!, and only to find my room key conveniently didn't work. Again unaided I went down, and back up again. How HARD can it be to setup these things, why do those silly keycards rarely seem to work first time.

The last time I stayed at a Hilton, I had a drink waiting for me at reception, and my bags were briskly swept away by a helpful bell boy. No such joys at this hotel. Barely a welcome or a smile.

Food - For a four star hotel the food was very poor. My Eggs Benedict were probably the worst I have ever tasted, and largely the other breakfasts were unappetizing too. Dinners were slightly better, but just average.

Rooms - When I eventually got the key-card system to work, the room I entered which was billed as an Executive double, was quite a bit bigger than expected. It was actually almost, well just like a suite. There was a large bedroom, a GIGANTIC bed, which comfortably fitted four pillows side by side (abreast) across its width. There was then an office with desk and sofa in a seperate room, and finally a large bathroom, with decent bath featuring a whirlpool, and shower cubicle (the size of a carwash). The room had a fully stocked mini-bar, an Ironing Board and trouser press and full tea and coffee making facilities all neatly packed away in a unit. The rooms have the usual TV and Media facilities including high speed internet (at a charge of 10$/day). Sadly though the decor, despite the refurbishment, still looked drabb and old school and something like a 70's council house decorated by the tv character Hyacintch Bucket (read: Bouquet). Altogether though not too bad!

Amenities - I didn't make use of the Gymnasium or Swimming pool. I did use the parking facilities, which were excellent. Albeit a bit scary being underneath a 28 storey building. Concierge at the Hotel were outstanding! The girl on the desk even gave me her cell number (mobile) in case I got lost. I must have given her the impression I had no clue where I was going, and having seen my huge Caddilic Deville hire car, she was probably worried i'd get carjacked in the oriental district. (a no-go area apparantly).

Cost - Well actually alot less than I would imagine. I was on a business trip so cost was not a concern (to me anyway). I noticed though that my extremely spacious room was being billed at around $180/night all-in including the parking, which isnt too bad at all.

SUMMARY

The only let-down for me was the shoddy front desk staff I encountered during check-in and check-out. All the other hotel staff were very friendly (overly friendly) and polite. The Concierge at the hotel were really clued-up caring, and only to happy to help. All-in-all despite the refurbishment activity, and poor reception, I would recommend this hotel to business users, or holidaymakers alike. Definately one of the best in downtown Seattle.

Summary: One of the best places to stay in downtown Seattle, I recommend!!!!!!