Renaissance Fort Lauderdale Marina Hotel — Hotel in Fort Lauderdale

We have stayed at this Bonvoy/Marriott property twice. We like this hotel for its closeness (approximately 10 minutes) to the cruise port (Port Everglades), walking distance to shopping (Winn Dixie grocery and Total Wine) and restaurants. The rooms are comfortable and clean with a coffee maker and mini fridge, and we have always gotten a nice padded chair by the pool. There were several free cabanas, couch seating areas, and large umbrellas. The seating choices were better than Embassy Suites which is also near by.

No pool service, but you would order a drink in the bar and lunch and the bartender would bring lunch in a bag to you. The pina colada was a really nice full size, no dinky plastic cups.

A shout out to Manuel, at the front desk reception who just had started his evening shift and worked with Ramy Elamoury, director of the front office, to quickly resolve a supposed additional charge by the receptionist who had checked us in to our satisfaction. As a Bonvoy Gold member who had never encountered the extra fee before, the situation had the potential to be contentious but Manuel in working with Ramy assured us with professionalism and went above and beyond by offering us a restaurant credit for the inconvenience.

We have eaten at the bar/restaurant twice now and both times, the food is good tasting and with good portion sizes. I had the Mahi Mahi taco appetizer, and three full size tacos came with chips and salsa. It made for a good, filling dinner (although it could have been a little hotter in terms of temperature) while my husband got the big turkey sandwich with chips (his second time) and was well satisfied. After dinner, we relaxed in the modern, airy lobby, and Manuel stopped by to check to see if everything was to our satisfaction.

The room was a bit dark in terms of lighting and was done in shades of grey. It was clean and the bed was comfortable. There was a mini-fridge and coffee maker.

There is only one working elevator in December, the other one is out of service, so it can take a while since the working one is slow, even the doors open slowly. If you can walk up the stairs, see if you can get a room on the lower floors. Unfortunately, the stairs across from the elevator only take you to the ballroom floor; you have to use the stairs at the end of the hall. On a positive note, there was free coffee in the morning by the elevator and later raisin oatmeal cookies in the afternoon.

Breakfast is available for a charge. A hotel shuttle for $16 (for 2 people - same price as Uber) van to the cruise ports is also available. Last time we took it, it made two stops before it got to our ship which resulted in over 30 minutes rather than 10 minutes, so we took an Uber this time. As a warning: be careful standing under the trees outside. The wind blew a dead 4-foot branch with spiked fronds down next to me. As another guest who saw what happened said, "Today is your lucky day!" Indeed, just a few more inches, and I would have had a concussion or never made it to our cruise.

Besides the hotel restaurant/bar, Boatyard is restaurant is next door but expensive considering I was going to be having all you can eat food on the cruise. In the past, we went to Kelly's Landing which was a few blocks away and had a fantastic Lobster roll with huge chunks of lobster. They had the buttered lobster (hot) or the cold one made with mayo.

The hotel is a few blocks to the 17th street drawbridge opens on the hour and half hour 7 am - 7 pm then as needed, so you can see the sailboats pass underneath.

We were able to stay under the Starwood program for a combination of points and dollars which made the Renaissance the most affordable option and...

My recent stay at the Renaissance Fort Lauderdale Marina Hotel left much to be desired. Despite initial impressions of a promising stay, the reality fell short.

When first entering the hotel it seemed as if it would be a very nice stay but looks were definitely deceiving. We arrived from the airport around 8pm on Monday evening. Checkin was very easy; however, there was only one working elevator to get to the hotel room. All hotel guests were left to utilize the one working elevator which ending up stopping on every floor to let guests on and off.

Our room was on the 8th floor and was for the most part acceptable, not as outdated as some of the other reviews had mentioned...but nothing spectacular.

It offered standard amenities like a mini-fridge, safe, and a Keurig. The room was furnished with a king size bed, small chaise style couch, desk and TV.  I would note that if you prefer soft mattress..veer clear of this particular hotel as the bed was extra, extra firm and that is no exaggeration.  I have never slept on such a hard bed.

The bathroom was rather small but clean. We had a small tub/shower combo and was provided with regular size bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and bodywash.

But the glaring issue regarding the elevator only worsened the very next morning. Upon leaving our hotel room to head to the breakfast buffet....we waited several minutes for the one elevator to open. We discovered (along with other guests) that both elevators were not working at this point.  There were NO signs posted to advise hotel guests that both elevators were down and to use the stairs.  Since our room was on the 8th floor so we had to carry all our luggage down the 8 flights of stairs to checkout as well. Needless to say, we passed by many other disgruntled hotel guests along the way who were also forced to use the stairwells to go either to the lobby or to their rooms.

Moreover, maintenance issues extended beyond the elevators – the broken parking garage gate and the strong, musty odor in the lobby's hallway were disheartening signs of neglected upkeep.

The only redeeming aspect of our stay was the breakfast buffet, which boasted an impressive selection, providing a silver lining to an otherwise disappointing experience. Breakfast options included sausage links, bacon, homestyle potatoes, scrabbled egg, grits, French toast, oatmeal, yogurt parfaits, pruchetta, a nice selection of fruits (bananas, raspberries, blueberries, pineapples, blackberries), frothy smoothies and a selection of breads and pastries.

As a Marriott Gold Elite member, I usually expect a certain level of service, yet even a perk such as a request for a late 2pm checkout was unable to be met due to alleged overbooking, leaving us feeling undervalued as guests. I would also add that we called several times that morning to the front desk and guest services to request more towels. The phone rang and rang....and rang....no one picked up each time we called.

Regrettably, despite the potential this hotel may have, the evident management problems, delayed maintenance, staffing and lack of communication make it an unwise choice for future stays. Thankfully, our subsequent lodging choice exceeded expectations, reaffirming our decision to avoid this establishment in the future.

Parking info: Valet parking is $35/day Self parking is $30/day

Breakfast Buffet: $22/person

Internet/wifi was...

Short story: in general, clean, good service, great common areas. Food and coffee is expensive for what you get. 5 stars for service, but 3 stars for other stuff.

Service/cleanliness: great, very accommodating. I stood here two separate times within two weeks. Our first stay we had some issues with unclean bedding, we mentioned it and were credited and the problem was resolved. This was obviously an isolated issue, because in general the hotel is very clean. We like it a lot and would stay here again confidently.

Hotel condition:

Here is the great stuff- the lobby, cafe, and breakfast area are all very beautiful and modern. I worked in construction for years prior to starting my photography business. I notice the finishes of every building I go in.

But when it comes to the room, I feel a little let down. Especially for the price. Again it is clean and everything, but the rooms don’t have the same elegant, modern, well maintained design as the lobby area, and it left much to be desired. The rooms feel too simple, as another guest mentioned in conversation “prison-like”, cold, and plain. The room could use better lighting, more up to date furniture. the desk in the room kept popping the built-in fuse when our electronics would be plugged in. I see scratches on furniture in obvious places and the repairs: the restaining is rough. The bathroom has peeling paint all over the ceiling and obvious, poor drywall finishing repairs. As a person who works remotely, I did not want to stay in the room for work. So I spent my time in the cafe working. That’s really my issue.

For the price you pay, you should enjoy staying in your room for work if needed. I really think complimentary black coffee and a continental breakfast should be standard for the price. Instead, there is a cafe where coffee is $4 and a bagel is $6. The lady chuckled when I asked her the price of the bagel.

The breakfast buffet is $16 per person, which is way better than grabbing anything from the coffee bar. I really enjoyed the food at the buffet. Great variety. Eggs, sausage, French toast, parfaits, smoothies (Tiny portion though), breads, muffins, and a great fruit mmm mesh fruit selection etc. it saved me round trip uber to a breakfast spot. So the buffet was definitely worth it for the price. (But not...