Renaissance Cincinnati Downtown Hotel

The only 4 or 5 star thing about this hotel is the cost. This hotel is not a 4- or 5-star property. It’s a solid 3-star. It lacks basic amenities such as a microwave in the room, hangers, and a “Do Not Disturb” sign for the door. Add to that the absence of a VIP entrance or exit, and it’s clear this hotel is firmly in the 3-star category. The lack of a microwave is probably the worst part of staying here. It may be a tactic to encourage room service, but it’s still incredibly inconvenient. Guests have to cover their food, carry it down to the front desk, and hand it over to staff, who then take it behind the wall to heat it. How hard is it to have a couple of industrial microwaves in the lobby—or better yet, in guest rooms? There are no hangers in the room, which means guests must call to request them. It’s a petty inconvenience. Anti-theft hangers are widely used in hotels and vacation rentals, so there’s no excuse for this omission. There’s also no “Do Not Disturb” sign. Again, guests must call down to the front desk to request one—a waste of time for both guests and staff. There’s no VIP entrance or exit, which is just poor planning. During weekend check-in, a professional soccer team monopolized most of the elevators for about an hour, leaving the rest of the guests waiting in a line that filled the lobby. The team had exclusive access to four out of six elevators—during peak check-in time.

I stayed for two nights, and unfortunately, my room was not serviced either night. On the first night, it looked like housekeeping may have started cleaning but never finished. On the second night, no one came at all—even after I called the front desk specifically requesting service. Still, no one showed up. I asked to speak with the manager and was told that wasn’t possible. Apparently, the hotel manager doesn’t even have voicemail, which was surprising. I eventually found the General Manager’s name (Paul) online and left a message directly. No one ever followed up. The one bright spot: the staff at the bar were absolutely fantastic. Friendly, attentive, and professional. But overall, this was a disappointing experience—and the lack of follow-up makes it worse. Clearly, poor service here is a top-down issue.

Overall the hotel is fine in the main areas but my room smelled so strongly of mildew that I could not stand it. I tried everything to get rid of the smell but it was so strong as soon as the door is opened. I am not sure if it was just my room or all of them, but I would not stay here again based on that. Also Valet is only option and $50 a night. Be aware when price comparing also. Overall this hotel disappointed me. Staff was nice enough though and restaurant good, but the dampness and smell would steer me away. And it was sold out so no option for any other room.

Centrally located, solid business hotel walking distance from Reds and Bengals stadium. Super helpful staff. Moss at the front desk was a friendly face for an early riser like myself. Typically overnight front desk people are anti social and drab. Moss was not that

The hotel is housed in what appears to be a pre War art deco building retrofitted into a hotel. The entrance is very understated so much that if tou arrive at night it may be hard to find. The hotel is centrally located as far as Cincinnati is concerned so location-wise it’s fine. Easy walk to Great American Ballpark and the riverfront area. Lobby is understated and decor is fine. Rooms well appointed and noise is relatively low, although the windows are not double paned so even on high floors you will hear police sirens, which are not infrequent unfortunately. The bed is fine, storage fine, cleanliness fine, Internet fine. Issue is with the “smart” tv which if you actually use smart features, like youtube, it will freeze frequently. The lighting could also use some work as because the way the room is configured, if you use the desk (in a standard room) you may look like Bela Lugosi on zoom calls. These older buildings rent not to have ceiling or wall lighting. Also, the room had no bathtub, which I can live with, but had a walk in shower (large) with a roll-in shower door, which had no latch or clasp so it kept rolling open, which allowed water to leak so had to cramp into the shower to avoid that. Good shower pressure, towels very thin. Also, the front desk staff, although extremely friendly and nice, are hit or miss as far as knowing what is going on. For instance, was there two days before I realized I had lounge access. First person told me I didn’t so I assumed I didn’t. Then later when I went to extend stay (another issue) they told me I did. Would have been nice to know. The lounge isnt great but it is a nice extra work space no beer or wine generally, just non alco drinks and light eats only at certain designated times, all of which I missed. I hear there is a nightly happy hour but not sure if they serve beer or wine, as per the above, Lastly, had to extend stay and evidently one of the people did it wrong so although my key still worked I later found out that the system listed me as checked out so housekeeping kept knocking on my door and only found this out bc my Internet stopped working and had to call. The room service, although friendly and prompt, unfortunately brings food from the main restaurant which I can only describe as a step above all you can eat cafeteria food. An average to above average hotel, but if the foregoing issues were resolved it would easily be above average to very good.

They have a fantastic facility with fantastic staff! And for those reasons I stay at this property exclusively whenever I am in Cincinatti. I pay a bit more to be here but it is always worth every penny! The rooms are awesome and because of my platinum status they are always able to upgrade me to a suite. The suites are phenominal.