Renaissance oozes the allure of a bygone era with its grand lobby, which includes an elegant staircase and an indoor fountain. I found myself wishing I was back at the age when I could jump into the fountain and have someone else (ie my mother) apologize for my uncouthness.
I've stayed here twice and booked the second time because of the great experience I had the first time. My room was clean, quiet, and the bed was comfortable. Staff was very friendly and helpful, and you couldn't beat the location - attached to Tower City and the new Horseshoe Casino!
The second time was a bit of a bummer. I was checking in and the girl at registration shoved a paper my way, saying, "I need to give you this." I didn't look down at it until I was in the elevator and it didn't phase me too much. The hotel was repairing a water pipe and regretted that guests would have no running water until between 4 and 6 PM. I glanced down at my watch and shrugged it off since it was 3:45. I was sure it would be fixed soon.
After a bite to eat, I arrived back at the hotel to my room phone light flashing with a message. I called the message center to learn that the pipe would not be repaired until about 9 PM that night. I wasn't ok with the possibility of not having a working toilet in my room and having to travel down to the lobby just to tinkle. Thankfully I was able to be transferred to a room at the downtown Marriott instead, and the person who helped arrange that (not the same bored girl from check-in) was extremely apologetic and accommodating.
My first experience was 5-star. I docked one star for the overall score based on the 2nd experience. This was due to the check-in girl's less than hospitable attitude (she does after all work in the hospitality industry and could have graciously explained the situation like her coworkers did instead of just shoving a paper my way) and Renaissance's inability to deliver a repair on time. While I understand that part of that may be out of their hands due to whomever is doing the repair, I was disappointed in the delays and the hassle of transferring me to another hotel (where my free parking from Renaissance was not honored, btw).