Renaissance Walnut Creek Hotel — Hotel in Pleasant Hill

I’ve been on a hunt for a venue for my daughter’s 1st birthday. I’ve been in contact with Jillian, sales associate for about two weeks now, I’ve asked for pictures, layout, collateral regarding the event space, but she was only able to produce one picture of two tables, and the pricing PDF, nothing else. I was able to drop by Friday 1/19 in hopes to see the venue area, but unfortunately it was occupied, which I totally understood. I then asked if we were able to see the event space this weekend, she stated that this Saturday 1/20 it was booked, but on Sunday 1/21 we can come anytime and ANYONE would be able to show it to us. Keep in mind, I have the pricing already, and fully ready to submit a deposit, choose a catering menu which ranged from $50-$60 per person, and so forth, but couldn’t consciously do so without seeing the venue space. I called this morning at about 9am, and spoke to the man who worked the front desk, he said that if we are to come now he would be unable to show us due to him being the only one in the front and he is unable to leave the front desk. I asked the best time to come, and he said 2pm because there will be additional staff members that can help and assist. My daughter, husband, parents and I, walk into the hotel at 2pm, spoke to Maria at the front desk and let her know we were just here to see the venue space, she stated that she was the only one in the front and that the other staff were in a meeting, she said it would be about 20-30 minutes. We said okay, walked to their cafe, ordered a smoothie and entertained my 9 month old daughter for about 20 minutes before going back to the front desk. Maria said they were still in a meeting, I asked if there is any possible way for her to ask how much longer, and she flat out said no. I said okay, we waited another 10 minutes, and they were still unavailable. I was so frustrated, that we had already wasted 30 minutes sitting in an outdated lobby/cafe with a $10 smoothie that was below par. ALL WE WANTED TO DO WAS SEE THE EVENT SPACE! It’s literally as easy as unlocking a door, and turning on the lights, which I don’t. believe was unreasonable, but she was still unable to help nor apologized for the inconvenience. As I walked down the hallway, I saw a door open with about 6-7 people at a table with name tags on (Not one of 6-7 people could unlock a door and turn on the light???,) I interrupted the meeting politely, and asked for the manager, I explained the situation to Holice Travis, general manager, he had no sympathy at all when I explained the situation. I immediately just walked out. To work in hospitality and run a hospitality driven property, to me, this was unacceptable. I myself work and manage a property where customer service, communication, and attentiveness to our clients are EXTREMELY IMPORTANT and I would be extremely appalled if someone had this type of experience at my property, and would have DONE ANYTHING to turn their sour taste around, clearly that is not the environment or mentally The Renaissance Hotel possesses. As for being a manager, I can tell you it starts from the top and trickles down, so for Holice Travis the general manager to not display the sympathy or attentiveness that a hospitality general manager should, was extremely disappointing. I have lived and worked in Walnut Creek area pretty much my whole life, and NEVER will I refer this establishment to anyone I know or come across. Avoid at all costs, there are other superior luxury hotels in the area, don’t waste your time...

This is a very nice hotel. I have to say that I was attending a wedding in Brentwood, but I could not find a hotel that I liked so I chose to come to this hotel which was 40 mins out of the way. The room was nice, but the night we arrived the bathroom light went out. They came to change the switch the next day which I did appreciate. At least I didn't have to call. When they did fix the light switch so the light in the shower did work finally, however they didn't fix the fan. This is a pet peeve of mine about hotels with no bathroom fans or an open window. I just make no sense! Also, on vacation, I LOVE taking baths. Unfortunately, this sunken tub I was looking forward to did not provide an adequate bath. The drain did not hold the water in the tub. I disappointedly went ahead and just took a shower. This was a bummer because it's one of a number of reasons I chose this hotel in the first place. We have never had room service before but decided to treat ourselves for Saturday morning. We got back very late and didn't get to bed until around 2 am. We specifically put on an order sheet to come between 10:30 am and 1`0:45 am. We get a knock at the door at 9:50 am for room service delivery when we were fully asleep. I really did not appreciate this! We were not awake when the food arrived so it sat there for 30 mins while we got up and awoke. By that time we most of the food had gotten cold. To me, this ruined the experience. Also, if it possible to have the maid service turn off any alarm clocks as they clean the room? The night before we had driven 4 hours to come into Walnut Creek. We didn't get to bed around 2 am. At 5 am the alarm clock went out and woke both me and my husband up.

One last thing, I really don't get have to pay the very expensive fee of $30 a night to valet just so the gym patrons can take up all of the parking. This is a hotel and priority should be given to the hotel patrons and not the patrons of the gym. This was an added expense which will cause me to never stay at this hotel again. There is not suitable street parking!

Overall the hotel was very nice, but I splurged on this hotel really wanting a great experience that was worth the money. It was a nice experience, but I truly don't feel it was worth the money. We would have stayed somewhere cheaper without the added expenses. It truly is the little things in the eyes of the consumer.

Thank you for providing us with a nice stay, but I would not splurge on this...

I visited the hotel to see the Club Sport facility, said to be the best in the area. On arrival, parking was the first obstacle. Being a "member" of Club Sport, the logical choice was to go to the 'members' parking area. It was closed, secured with an RFID badge entry (Club Sport members typically use a barcode card to enter other clubs, not an RFID badge). Fast forward to entering the facility itself. The entrance is currently under construction, and signage is almost non-existent, leaving the member to wander a bit towards an unmarked, but very ornate and grand entrance (hoping you're in the right place). Once inside, everything becomes clear, with the Club Sport entrance immediately to the right. The locker room (at least men's - sorry, I didn't get the chance to review the women's, yet ...) is quite stately. Lockers are a dark mahogany, and use electronic user settable locks (no need to vary your own lock). Towel service is provided, and the towels are soft and absorbant. Showers provide body wash, shampoo and conditioner, and wash basin are apointed with deodorant, light hair spray, and sanitized combs. In the locker room, there is a jacuzzi, but it appears the hot sauna is under renovation. I didn't check for a steam room(?). The locker room has a rear exit towards to outdoor wet area. Outdoors, there are 3 pools (conveniently not well marked for a first time visitor), and a group jacuzzi, cabanas, and suntanning lounge chairs about the main laps pool. Just for reference, the jacuzzi temperature is lower than most, set more appropriate for a younger crowd (who were taking advantage of the 'no lifeguard on duty' facility). I did not visit the weight lifting area, but did pass by several studios which were setup for yoga, pillates, etc, which were not in season at the time. It's a very nice facility, parking and construction aside, and may be worth a second visit once this is complete That said, I will be checking into 'official' parking arrangements with my local club prior to...