Reviews Renaissance Hotel Harbourside

Jun 26, 2008
This was an excellent hotel.
The rooms were nice, and looked as they do in the hotel pictures.
The staff were very friendly.
The pool was large, with a large gym with washrooms and change rooms. There is also a sauna and hot tub. The pool and area were bigger than I was expecting for that area of Vancouver.
I walked to the harbour every day and we often ate in restaurants by the water.
There is an IMAX within walking distance, and we watched the 3D underwater movie there, it was a very nice date and we looked rediculous in 3D glasses. It was worth the money.
It was within walking distance to Stanley Park also where i saw a seal and collected shells.
This hotel was very nice and worth the stay, if I return I would be very likely to stay in this hotel again.

Jun 21, 2008
Hotel Location: The Renaissance had an excellent Hotel Location. It is walking distance to great shops at Robson and Pacific Center.

CHECK-IN: Check-in was fast and easy. Clarissa and Anthony took some time to walk us through all of the tourist attractions and activities since it was slow for them. They also sent over coupons and brochures to our room while we were out shopping. BTW, we booked through Priceline.

THE ROOM: Our room was a great size. It was on the 10th floor and it was adjacent to the Marriott on the city side. One nice thing about the room was that it had a wide sliding door which let the fresh cool air in the room. I’m sure the water side was so much better, but we were satisfied with our view even from the 10th floor. The other big plus was a media hookup on the desk. You can hook up your ipod and laptop to the LCD TV using several different connections including HDMI. There were also 4 plugs available that came in handy to charge our phones, cameras and laptops. The bathroom is a decent size and very clean.

RESTAURANTS: We were too busy running around town so we missed out on their restaurants.

AMENITIES: We briefly scoped out the indoor pool and sauna. The sauna was large and clean. I definitely would’ve used it if I had time.

RECOMMEND: I would definitely recommend it.

Jun 16, 2008
We stayed here the first night of our Rocky Mountaineer tour, this was not our chosen option - but we were very impressed. Lots of guests had concerns over refurbishments, but we saw no evidence I think they may have finished these.

Check in was swift, we were given an upgraded refurbished room with a lovely view of the float planes landing strip directly in front of our window, there was no noise from these as they seemed to stop after about 7.00 pm, and were terrific to watch from our balcony.

The bed was really comfortable. The bathroom was small but adequate with fluffy towels and good soap .

A very nice stay. Thank you

Jun 14, 2008
My husband was at the Renaissance for a meeting so I was free during the day to tour the city. Some of us went on the Trolley tour so we could hop on and off with narration on the way.

One day we took Bus #50 to Granville Island...you need a few hours there. We ate at the Sandbar restaurant with a very nice view and the food was quite good.

We had our last meal at the Sequoia Grill with a very nice sunset. It is located in Stanley Park.

Our one drawback to an excellent rating was the wireless network. We had to be moved to a different room in order to get it to work. We were told that we could go to the lobby with our computer for wireless service but that was not an option for us. They put me in touch with the service help line but after holding for an hour, that wasn't an option either. So the wireless in room 1219 works...

The view from our room was very nice and I will include pictures.

We had several opportunities to sample the food through receptions, a banquet and breakfast. It all was very good.

We did not have a car with us but I had read earlier that there is trouble with the car park and it is true. One of our friends who did have a car parked at the hotel experienced a break-in. There were others that same day. I would hope that with better security, this problem would be solved. The rest of the hotel had excellent security.

Other then that, the hotel was quite nice and we would stay there again.

Jun 10, 2008
My family (7 total) all stayed at this hotel for the World Championship Triathlon and really enjoyed this hotel. It was the host hotel which made it convient for the athlete in our family but was very convient to things we wanted to do in Vancouver. My sister and her husband stayed on the 6th floor and their room hadn't been renovated yet but was still fine. We stayed on the 18th floor (club level) and had a very nice room but no view of the water which was fine for my husband and I. The 19th floor club lounge was well equipped with breakfest(only Monday thru Friday). We were not aware it wasn't open on the weekends so the hotel gaves us vouchers to eat at the downstairs restaurant after we complained. We made it to drinks in the lobby every afternoon and the server always remember the wine my mom wanted which was nice. The conceirge was wonderful and gave us very thorough directions to local attractions (walking and driving). The restaurants they recommend were NOT cheap so make sure you specify that if you ask them for reccomendations.

I didn't hear any contruction noise which other guest wrote in their reviews. The only downside to the hotel was that not every room has been renovated so make sure you ask if you want a renovated room

Mar 18, 2008
Saw a rate of $99 with AAA card, and decided it looked pretty decent for the price, so booked it for one night...a Saturday. It is not close to the water as it appeared to be in the photos. Just a view of the water if you got high enough to clear all the other buildings surrounding it...we didn't.
Check-in was fine, even got our room much earlier than requested. Parking is $20 a day, but you can only park there if you have a rather low clearance vehicle height wise.
Room was better than I expected, as I was very concerned walking down the hall and seeing just how old this place really is. Two balconies with doors, but you have to be very thin to access them...rather useless balcony's to say the least, thin or not. Room was clean and spacious, and the bed was very soft and cozy. Water pressure was pitiful in the bathroom.
The pool was warm and looked clean. The hot tub was simply filthy. Scum buildup all around it. The exercise room was very well equipped...quite impressive. We never heard any building noise as mentioned in other reviews...maybe because the noise from the streets over powered it. This is not a quiet place as it absorbs every sound around it.
Had no issues, they didn't even ask to see my AAA card. For $20 more, I could have stayed at numerous places I saw later to be much nicer and newer looking. Maybe next time.



Mar 10, 2008
Good quiet Hotel Location close to Robson St, Harbourfront and Stanley Park.

Very friendly staff, great buffet breakfast where our kids (3yrs and 1yr) were made to feel most welcome.

Don't be alarmed by current reno's, just in the rooms (floors are closed) wouldn't have known there was any reno's happening if the hotel website hadn't mentioned it. There was no noise...however, we were a weekend stay. The rooms do need the upgrade, clean and comfortable just a bit dated, I hope the price stays reasonable post reno.

Pool is great! Not advertised but they have a kids play area beside the pool, a tree fort type of play set. Again made the place seem very kid friendly for a Hotel Location I would generally think of as business oriented. Great workout facility too...right beside the pool and kids play area.

Would definitely stay again. Kid friendly atmosphere might have been due to weekend stay, perhaps Sun-Thursday there is more of a business crowd?

Jan 14, 2008

Pros: Right on the harbour in a great Hotel Location. Lobby area, bar and gift shop were very nice.

Cons:
This hotel is undergoing major renovations to rooms so I'm not sure why we were put on the 14th floor (for two rooms) and then were later told they were doing construction on the high floors. We were all woken at 7 am to loud drilling and banging, it was awful!!! As my group wanted to stay in and have a lazy movie watching day, we finally decided to switch rooms to the 5th floor. The move was no problem and the bellman helped us, although it was annoying to have to pack everything up again. After switching rooms, we went to buy the movie and it said we couldn't charge. We found out that the front desk had accidentally switched our accounts backwards. Had to go down and give a credit card again. The front desk was friendly and apologetic, but I just don't understand why they couldn't have put us on a lower floor in the first place (the hotel was NOT sold out, maybe only 40% occupied). I would only consider to stay here again AFTER the reovation, as I saw the pics of what the new rooms will look like and I do think it will be fantastic.

TIPS: Do not self park--VALET, it is only a few dollars more a night and a whole lot less confusing.

Jan 2, 2008

The Renaissance Harborside was a big disappointment to our trip. It definitely does not live up to the other (full service) Marriott's I have stayed at in the past. I am using my reward points for this stay. One positive thing is that we got a Harborside view instead of a city side view (despite what the reservation says) - so its fair to say they upgraded me. Another good thing is that the gym&pool are 24 hours.

So - on to the ranting...
1) To our disappointment, the club lounge was closed for construction.
--a) We were issued vouchers for "nightly h'ordeurves" and "breakfast buffet"
--a1) The Club Lounge usually offer free unlimited food and drinks (bottled water, soda) for all registered guests. The one "appetizer" voucher got us ONE order of a "small item" from the menu at the "Coal Bar". And we even had to pay for the VOSS.
--a2) We love to relax and kick back in the club lounge - this "Coal Bar" was - well its a BAR - not really a relaxing and kicking back experience for us.
2) There was no room safe
3) The whole place has an odor.
--a) The entrance from the garage smells like a nursing home.
--b) The room, and even the hall ways have an overwhelming (fragrant) cleaning agent smell. (it doesn't necessarily smell BAD...its just always present and distinct)
4) There are 2 new high rises blocking the view of the harbor.(My room was on the 12th floor)
5) There was no complimentary bottle of water (usually ~20oz) in the room.

one word sums it up - OLD

I'm going to move across the street to the Marriott Pinnacle. At the very least their lounge is not closed.

Renaissance Hotel Harbourside
1133 West Hastings Street
 Downtown Vancouver