I recently had an opportunity to stay at my first Renaissance hotel property, which is labeled as an upscale brand of hotels and is a subsidiary brand of Marriott International. I stayed at the Renaissance Nashville Hotel property and please note that my organization from school covered basic hotel costs. Also note that I shared a room with a couple of friends of mine, so please excuse the fact that I was limited on photograph angles.
My First Stay at a Renaissance Hotel
I walked into the rather spacious lobby of the hotel. The front desk area is on the right in the above photograph, and the area on the left is a small shop in which people can buy provisions and souvenirs.
To the right of the front desk is an ample sitting area, behind which is the Little Fib restaurant and bar. The elevators are in an area to the right of the restaurant.
The staircase to the left of the shop leads to an escalator which takes people to another sitting and dining area.
I walked down the hallway towards my room…
…and the hallway offers views of the Nashville skyline in the daytime.
The Room
I entered the room through this short hallway, in which the closet is on the left hand side of the above photograph and the bathroom is on the right hand side.
One side of the closet contained storage shelves, two luggage racks, some spare hangers, and coat hooks.
At the other side of the closet hung an iron and ironing board.
The room contains two queen beds separated by a nightstand. The beds were clean and comfortable. I was not quite sure what the design on the back wall was supposed to be, but it does add some color to the room.
The high definition television is mounted on the wall across from the beds. The white object underneath the far right end is an ice bucket.
The desk area sits to the left of the television, and comes with a chair even though it is not in the photo.
Upon opening the cabinet underneath the television, I found a refrigerator equipped with a temperature control unit…
…and one of the drawers contains a safe. I do not ever remember seeing a safe outside of the closet or armoire in any other hotel at which I have stayed — that is, the ones that included any closet or armoire space.
A chair and a small table sit at the end of the room near the window.
The Bathroom
The graphic on the wall behind the toilet reminds guests that they are staying in Music City, as it consists of the names of numerous recording artists and musical genres. Towels and washcloths are readily available underneath the vanity.
The hair dryer is in the black bag on the left hand side of the vanity area shelf.
The vanity area includes tissues, glasses, and a bottle of water, which is not complimentary as there is an additional charge of $5.00 should one decide to consume it. Amenities are located on the small shelf underneath the mirror…
…which include hand soap, bath soap, shampoo, conditioner and body lotion, all by the brand Aveda.
The shower area resembles one found in most lodging options in the United States. I liked the fact that there is plenty of room to set amenities, though I still did not use all of that space.
The View
The view from my room is not the best view I have ever seen from a hotel room, but it was certainly not the worst, either. The windowpane was rather dirty when I stayed here, hence the grey specks on the glass. This room looks southeast down 6th Avenue in downtown Nashville where a new building is being constructed. The white building is Bridgestone Arena, home of the Nashville Predators hockey team, and behind that is the Music City Center, Nashville’s convention center.
Looking south, one can see the Nashville First Baptist Church, as well as more buildings…
…while further southeast one looks toward the Cumberland River, where the John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge can be seen in the left of this photograph.
Summary
I did not eat breakfast at the hotel, as it was not included in my stay, but the hotel is conveniently located near many dining options in downtown Nashville. Another thing to note is that with the exception of the lobby, the internet service at this hotel property is not free, and it costs a whopping $9.95 per night, so I did not use it. That, in my opinion, is absolutely ridiculous. However, if you are a guest of Marriott’s loyalty program — which I am currently not — access to internet service is free at any Marriott property, including at Renaissance hotels. Thanks to Bill G for clarifying the issue.
Overall, I had a nice stay at this hotel property. The staff were friendly and I especially like the fact that since the hotel is located in the heart of downtown Nashville, one could walk virtually anywhere in the city. It is only a three minute walk from the hotel to Broadway, an eight minute walk to the Tennessee State Capitol and a 15 minute walk to the east bank of the Cumberland River and Nissan Stadium.
The total cost for the two nights for my stay would have cost $498, or $249 per night, plus tax. I do believe this is a little pricey for my experience, but it is comparable to the costs of other hotels in the area. I would recommend this hotel property — mostly for its convenient location and its cleanliness — if you are not able to find cheaper hotel rates in the general area and need to stay downtown.
Renaissance Nashville Hotel
611 Commerce Street
Nashville, Tennessee 37203
(615) 255-8400
All photographs ©2019 by Matthew Cohen.
