Renaissance St. Louis Airport Hotel — Hotel in Berkeley

The room was clean and comfortable, but there were enough odd little inconveniences that we definitely noticed. The water pressure in the shower (which we were excited about, given the giant rain head) was absolutely non-existent... like it sort of ran off the bottom edge of the head, straight down to the drain, so you were forced to stand right up against the wall. The mini fridge was only sort of cold, and we checked that it was turned to the coldest setting. We've done a lot of traveling for work over the last few years, and have come to expect an in-room microwave...not so much at the Renaissance. There was an old microwave tucked away in the hallway with the ice machine sitting on a busted old shelf, by a tash can that was almost overflowing one of the days we walked past. The main floor and elevators had an odd smell--we couldn't figure out if it was a cleaning product we aren't familiar with, or some sort of air freshener spray, or what, but it was strong enough for the 6yo to exclaim loudly about how "it smells funny in here!" as soon as she walked in. It also made my allergies go bonkers, so even with my daily antihistamine, my sinuses were a wreck after 5 minutes in the lobby and I was beginning to cough. Luckily, the scent wasn't in the actual room, or I probably wouldn't have made the full stay.

We were in town visiting family, so we didn't look into all the amenities the hotel might have offered. It was still abundantly clear that they'll nickel and dime you to death. Wifi access is $10/day; at the Hilton you just sign in with your rewards info and use it for free. Despite being far removed from the downtown parking shortage with an ample lot, there's no free parking to be had. Even though we'd flown* in, thus avoiding the $20/day parking fee, my sister had to shell out $5 to come up to the room for less than an hour the night before we left. There's no valet either, so my mom (with her handicapped parking sticker) still had to walk halfway around the building to get to the front door. Breakfast at the in house restaurant (Eedos? Eddos??) was forgettable and overpriced. Again, having spent plenty of time in hotels with lower official rankings than this gave us a rock-solid understanding of every hotel buffet ever: fresh fruit (melons and berries), not-quite-eggs (the pourable stuff, no cracking shells), bacon, sausage patties and gravy, biscuits, and a selection of pre-made baked goods. Edible and totally fine when it's included in the stay, but not something I was happy about paying $13 for the first time. The second morning we went down, we were shocked at the end of the meal when we discovered the price had jumped up to $26 a person. Apparently, the first day had been a special 'short buffet', and nobody had mentioned it; I have no idea what was missing from the less pricey version, aside from a vat of congealed oatmeal with a skin so thick I couldn't tell what it was before stirring. Needless to say, we would have ordered very differently if we had known, because there's no universe where that buffet is worth $26 a plate, even with the option for custom omelettes (still made with the pourable eggs). Another odd note is that the flooring in the restaurant area is severely buckled and uneven; it was marked to warn people, but it was still treacherous enough that I was glad Mom wasn't there having to navigate it.

Overall, it was just a weird vibe. It looks like it really wants to be an upscale place, and there's some interesting decor on the main floor. But it didn't hold up against the lack of amenities that are included at SO many other places, especially when it's the exact same stuff. *The only thing we used that was a standout was the free shuttle service to and from the airport; the drivers were quick af, and they were right there at the airport when we landed so we had no wait. That said, the front desk was terrible at explaining when we could expect the shuttle back to the airport when we were leaving. It was incredibly stressful trying to figure out the timing, but the...

When we arrived the staff was nice, we went to our room, aprox an hour later we went to have dinner in the dinning room with our DIL and grandson who came to see us. There were 4 other tables in the dinning room. We waited 15 minutes for a drink order, another 10 to place an order. We ordered 4 steaks at $30.00 each and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The steaks were 3 MR and 1 WD. 35 minutes later our meals arrived. BURNT on one side grey on other. ALL 3 of the MR steaks were RAW. The fat had not rendered at all, while tendons showing, parsnips were COLD HARD and uneatable. The server never offered any refills, or returned to ask how the food was. When she did return it was to hand me a bill. I looked at her and asked for a manager, she looked surprised. Each steak had 2 bites out of it and none of the sides were touched. I explained to the manager I would be happy to pay for 1 steak but I was not paying for the other 3. I also stated I would pay for the drinks and my grandsons meal as he did eat. She looked at me in surprise, and stated I should have said something!- I did as soon as I saw the server!, We had been at the table for an hour and half at this point and hungry ready to order a pizza. She then expected us to wait another 20 minutes while she went to "talk" to the chef. Told me to sign the bill which I refused until it had been corrected. After another 20 minutes I was presented another bill. I had been sitting at the table at this point by myself as I sent my family to go get a pizza so they could eat . This is unacceptable. The air vent had not been cleaned in forever as I took a picture and presented it to the manager on duty, the dust was hanging off of it, this affected my spouse who had to have 2 breathing treatments because of the poor air quality. I was told this was unusual and the room would be taken out of service as soon as we left to be cleaned. We returned for a second chance on the 8th at midnight and were given another room after traveling 14 hrs. Ordered a pizza and went to bed, My spouse was again unable to breathe, and required 2 treatments- upon inspection there was again dirt and dust blowing out of the vents , once more I presented a dated picture to the head of housekeeping the next morning and I was offer for my stay to be credited- I refused she then offer to credit my 20,000 reward points- this has not happened. I will not be staying at this...

The Renaissance St. Louis Airport Hotel should really be called The Renaissance Motel. Where do I start honestly!!! If I could give this hotel ZERO stars I would. I am extremely shocked by the experience I had from a Marriott hotel brand. I went to STL for a work trip, I checked in late Sunday night due to travel delays. Upon arrival in my room I wanted to freshen up before bed, I turned on the sink in the bathroom and to my surprise I didn't having running water- it was droplets coming out the faucet. Thankfully the shower had running water. The bed is uncomfortable with a very thin comforter. When I returned back to my room Monday evening to my shock my bed was not made, I still had trash in my room and when I opened the fridge to put water bottles away I learned the fridge didn't work. I went to the front desk (the young lady and maintenance gentle man was professional I must say) regarding my issues- I asked to switch rooms since my faucet wasn't working and was told unfortunately we are fully booked and gave me some $10 Marriott vouchers to accommodate the situation. Now Tuesday when I return to the hotel from work,- I noticed my toilet water looked foggy. I flushed the toilet and noticed it didn't flush instead water was rising. Now I am beyond frustrated with this hotel with all these issues. I was directed to Paul the front desk manager to discuss my issues. He called for maintenance to come to my room to figure out the issue with the toilet. I asked to be moved to another room and again I was told unfortunately we are fully booked. He offered to reduce my rate which doesn't help me since it was a work trip. I informed him of that information and he implied he would give me points instead. I still have not received any points from my horrible experience at this hotel. The maintenance man upon entering my room stated to me your room was not suppose to be on service this room was out of service for guest due to all the issues from the faucet, to the toilet and the fridge. He was very professional and helpful with fixing my toilet, it did take him 1hr to fix the issue at 10pm. The only benefit of this hotel is location only 8 mins from the airport and car rentals businesses. Food options are slim only fast food...