Renaissance Karlsruhe Hotel
The Renaissance Karlsruhe Hotel is located close to the theatre and opera of Karlsruhe, not right in the heart of the city, but close to the shopping / pedestrian zone as well as the castle and the main station. A tram runs close to the hotel and therefore the main station could be reached easily by
public transportation.
If you arrive by car, the hotel is signed or you can simply follow the signs towards the city centre. An underground parking is available for hotel guests.
The hotel is a seven floor building built in the early 80ies and as far as I know was a Ramada Renaissance in the first years before the Ramada chain was acquired by Marriott. After entering the hotel through a sliding door, one is standing in a somehow small looking lobby. In fact, the lounge is not even that small, but the ceiling is very low and due to the lack of bright natural light and big windows it might appear as a bit dark. Therefore, one has the impression of a smaller lobby than it might in fact be.
There are a few lounge chairs, sofas and tables available for waiting guests. But the atmosphere is nevertheless somehow cosy. In the rear part of the lobby are the check-in desks, usually staffed with two or three agents, depending on the occupancy of the hotel.
On the right side of the lobby with windows to the street is the bar. The bar is built in the room with tables and chairs in front and behind the bar. It is open to the lobby and has not that many seats, therefore is can become sometimes a bit crowded. The Bar is good and they offer quite a few good whiskeys and other types of beverage one would not expect to find here (e.g. Whiskey from Bavaria)
One has to pass the bar if heading for the restaurant, which could be seen as a disadvantage, but honestly I have never had any problems with that.
The restaurant is fortunately bigger. It also has windows to the street, although this means people passing by could see in the restaurant and on your table, but there are of course also tables available further away from the windows. The interior is okay, not very modern but somehow comfortable and warm. The restaurant is open for breakfast and dinner and serves a set dinner menu for a very reasonable price in the evening on some days.
Unfortunately the hotel has neither a gym nor a pool or a wellness area - a bit of a down.
Meeting rooms are available in different seizes.
The interior design of the hotel is a mixture of elements which have been modern in the 80ies as the hotel was built and from nowadays, but they go together quite well.
stays December 11, 2009 - July 03, 2010 - October 30, 2010
Arrival Date: 11 December 2009
Departure Date: 13 December 2009
Room type booked: Queen City View Room (got Superior)
Rate Plan: Stay for breakfast
Room Number: 430
Room Rate: 85.00 EUR
Status of Guest Program: Gold
We arrived at the hotel around 13:45 and parked the car in front of the hotel, because we just wanted to check in, freshen up and then leave the hotel again. The parking in front of the hotel is only short term and space is limited, but we were lucky to squeeze our car into a small place.
At check in a few people queued, it seems, that a larger group had arrived a few minutes earlier and where checking in as well. But one agent was noticing my Marriott Reward Gold Card and waved me over. He checked me and my parents in, notifying me about the upgraded room and got us two rooms close to each other.
After we sorted out some issues with one of my credit cards the keys to the room were given to us. I had to ask about breakfast times and also about in and out permission for the garage. A voucher was given to me for a beverage at the bar.
The room was of the standard appearance of a hotel room. Entering the room one was standing in a small corridor. On the left side was the closet with an in-room safe, iron and ironing board as well as bathrobe and slippers. On the right side was the bathroom with bath, toilet and sink.
The bathroom was looking a bit tired. It did not seem to be renovated, but at least the shower curtain was not old and the shower head was in okay condition. Towels were given for two persons and changed daily, although this was not necessary and even not requested; I had put the towels back on the rack.
The room had two single beds on the right side, moved together to a double bed and two bedside tables with reading lamps on it. A lounge chair with a small table was placed in front of the window, which could be opened.
A desk was placed in the corner of the room on the left side with a phone and a LAN connection and a reading lamp. LAN was available for a fee – again I did not get it, that hotels charge fees for the use of internet and so once again I used my UMTS card in my laptop for the internet. Next to the desk was the TV on a sideboard which also hosts the minibar and the tea and coffee facilities. In this room, which was an upgrade to my booked room category, the tea and coffee facilities were a Tassimo system with pads.
A few (tea / regular and decaffeinated coffee were provided by the hotel). A bottle of water was also available and restocked daily. An amenity – but I think according to the pre Christmas tine and not due to my status – in form of some pralines were also in the room. They came in a small wooden box.
The furniture in the room was okay, nothing too modern, but the room was renovated not too long ago. There were a few scratches at the wall and stains in the carpet, but you have to take a closer look to see them.
The breakfast was served in the restaurant and it was an American buffet with hot items like potatoes, sausages, bacon, scrambled eggs, and cold items like cheese, salmon, sausages, jam, marmalade, fresh fruit and yoghurt, pastries, cereals. Tea and coffee were brought to the table by staff, but also available for self service from the samovar system. Staff was more or less attentive – it could take some time before the clean used tables if the restaurant was full. This was better, as the restaurant was not full
and looking back it might be that there was a staff shortage on that day. The quality of the food was also okay.
The service in the restaurant in the evening was better, even with a fully booked restaurant. A special three course menu was available for 30 EUR with offered a really good value for money.
The service of the hotel was very good. The phone in my room was not working and after I mentioned it to the front desk the phone was changes in less than an hour
Check out was fast, the bill was correct – however I was not asked it everything was okay.
My overall impression of this stay, that the hotel offers a good value for money if you can get a rate of under 90 EUR including breakfast. There is no pool and no gym, but the location is okay and so are the rooms. The service in the restaurant could be improved a bit, but I know it is hard work to proved good and attentive service with only a short number of members of staff.
