Description: The Renaissance, which opened in 1975, consists of 405 rooms and a handful of suites and apartments. Conveniently located on a quiet street a few blocks south of the Centraal Station, it is a pleasant business hotel consisting of twelve old houses linked together along with some newer construction. This creates some interminable hallways, and if you have a poor sense of direction it may take you ten minutes to get from your room to the lobby (about as long as the walk from Centraal to the hotel). There are no high floor rooms except for those in a separate mid-rise block. The nonsmoking rooms seem to be the furthest ones from the lobby. You need your room key card to activate the elevators, a safety precaution in many hotels nowadays.
The spacious guest rooms are very comfortable and the dark red brick walls add a certain Dutch charm to the interiors and even the hallways. The king bed fills up the room, but there is still enough space for a writing table and a couple of chairs. I have stayed at this hotel twice and have had little troubles here and there, such as an extremely tight room door, a temperamental key card, and a fidgety TV remote control. Other than these little annoyances, I enjoyed my stays at the hotel. Amenities include minibar, hairdryer, air conditioning and operable windows. The bathroom is suitably sized and equipped with good toiletries. The hotel has its own parking facility, although you may not want a view of it from your room.
The business center and a small shop are located on the first floor, which connects to the reasonable Koepelcafe bar and restaurant (see separate article for review). The Brasserie Noblesse is a fancier restaurant, while the Patio Room features simpler fare for breakfasts and meal functions. You can get complimentary tea or coffee in the sitting area near the lobby along with some newspapers or magazines. It was bizarre to see the sitting areas filled with young Japanese tourists one evening, all using their laptops. Get out and enjoy Amsterdam!
The Renaissance incorporates the Koepelkerk (Ronde Lutherse Kerk) across the street as the centerpiece of its conference center. Designed by A. Dortsman in 1671, the Lutheran church (the only round Protestant church in the Netherlands) and its distinctive copper dome were featured in a Van Gogh painting from 1885. There is a mysterious fitness center in the bowels of the hotel, but I did not have a chance to use these facilities. For a fee you can use the sauna, solarium and Turkish bath.
The Renaissance has a certain old-fashioned charm despite being part of the large Marriott conglomerate. Its relative proximity to Centraal Station without being too close is a big selling point to me. The hotel is not picture perfect, but it is very pleasant.
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