Having stayed at several Renaissance Hotels and enjoyed them we thought we were playing it safe when we picked this hotel for the Moscow leg of our Russia trip. But from the start until departure our stay was marred by unfriendly and inattentive staff and the major refurbishment of the lobby floor. To be fair to the hotel, the room itself was actually pretty good, although very small. There was barely enough room to cram in the king-size bed and a desk, but at least it had everything we needed and the bed was very comfortable. But the housekeeping could have been a lot better. The carpet had not been vacuumed most days, and that is simply not acceptable at a hotel of this standard. So what made our stay so terrible? Well, we arrived late at night (2am), and found that door to the lobby had been sealed off and that there was obviously some major refurbishment going on inside. There was no obvious sign to tell us where to go, and there was nobody at the door to greet us. But after a trip around the hotel we were eventually pointed in the right direction. Because of the refurbishment work the reception had been moved to the floor above the lobby floor. When we arrived at the reception we expected a greeting and some sort of apology for the inconvenience caused by the work going on. But what we actually got was a demand for our passports and a written statement telling us how wonderful it was that the hotel would now soon have the Marriott International’s "Great Room" concept on the lobby floor. We were not impressed. In fact we quite angry and upset that Marriott had not bothered to tell us about the planned work when we made the booking through their web-site. After having installed ourselves in our room we hoped that the impact of the work would be minimal. However, the ongoing refurbishment work caused major problems: Having arrived in the middle of the night we wanted to sleep in the room until about lunch-time. This proved impossible as our sleep were interrupted by drilling and hammering at about 11am. I complained of course, but I was told that the work would continue at least until 3pm. On Saturday afternoon we wanted a rest in the room after a busy morning sightseeing. We thought we would be OK as it was already close to 6pm. But no, at 6.30pm the drilling and hammering started again. All this may be acceptable for a person that is out of the hotel all day, but as we were on holiday and frequently wanted to rest during the day we found it a major problem. Because of the reception having moved to the 3rd floor the operation of the lifts had been changed. As a result it was impossible to take one lift all the way down to the exit. Instead we had to take the lift down to the reception, then get out and wait for another lift to take us all the way down. Also access to all the restaurants, bars and health club on the ground floor could only be reached by taking two lifts, then go outside and cross over to another entrance and then down another flight of stairs. Not exactly convenient, but at least the outside area was covered so that you could walk across without getting too wet when it was raining. Unfortunately nobody ever bothered to get rid of the water that collected in front of the one door that was open (the other one remained locked for some strange reason), so that your shoes would still be soaked by the time you had made it across. The restaurants and bar were all fine, and the bar was about the only place you could actually find friendly staff. But if you want a bit of fun on Friday or Saturday night then I will definitely recommend a bar somewhere else. That is unless you are prepared to gatecrash a wedding reception. On the Saturday, there were at least two of them going on at the hotel. The staff were almost universally unfriendly, unhelpful, and completely inattentive. Not what you expect from a hotel of this standard. A typical example is the driver of the shuttle bus to Pushkin Square that turned out almost 15 minutes late and who got in and started driving without murmuring as much as a greeting or apology for the delay. But I guess he was too busy with his phone conversation to do that. Only after having completed about half the trip was he finally ready to put the phone down and actually put both hands on the steering wheel. Guest safety didn't seem to be a high priority, but I guess we should just be grateful that he at least seemed to be completely sober. In some ways I guess you can argue that there was much that was right with the hotel. The room was fine, the restaurant were OK, etc. However, bearing in mind the cost of the room and the standard that Renaissance Hotels normally aspire too, I can't say that our experience was anything but terrible. It would have taken little to have made it much better, even with all the work going on. But frankly, I don't think the personnel at this particular hotel cares enough about the guests to do anything about it.

This is my second stay at this property, and I’ll certainly be back. It’s walking distance to my office here, so that’s what drives my visits. First, a travel lesson: I erred by departing the US on a Saturday evening, which put me into SVO Sunday evening when EVERYONE in Russia was returning. I spent fully 2 hours in the Immigration queues. In hindsight, I really should have booked the VIP service through aerotour… would’ve been worth the $300… after I’d been in transit for some 14 hours, another two hours on my feet in a line that never moved. Ouch. Then, I had a 1.5 hour trip to the hotel… the roads were all clogged with folks returning to town from a nice weekend in the country. Then, to add insult to injury, a large tour group had mobbed the Rennaisance lobby. The hostess at the door said they’d be awhile, and I should have a drink in the BierStube… Would Marriott pay? No, of course not! Rooms have been touched up, and everything worked well. Good internet speed, although they have two different vendors/pricing for hardwire in the room or for wifi in the lobby. That’s annoying. Standard Renaissance bedding and Lather toiletries. Room was certainly clean. I had dinner at the outdoor caf? they set up next to the dome during the summer, good burger, good service. They had just reopened the Olympic Bar (with a new name) and the Italian and Russian restaurants. Excellent renovations, and they looked really good. I ate at the Italian place, and both the carpaccio and the pizza were quite good. Wine selection fully appropriate. Free coffee available in the lobby in the mornings. Excellent English spoken by the staff. A good hotel, given the costs... but because the value-for-ruble is poor, I can only give them a 3.0. I do have to note, though, the ongoing outrageous costs in Moscow… no wonder it’s at the top of the list for expensive travel. Maybe it’s because I think in USDs, but I’m still having trouble with $25 burgers at TGIFridays at the airport…

I made a reservation at Renaissance Hotel on 11 April, and cancelled on 21 April for a business trip in May. Unfortunately they had a "No Refund" policy attached to the booking therefore have charged ?1,679.00 for a 2 night stay in May and refuse to refund. To add insult to injury I asked if I could change the booking to another date and they refused. I book hotels weekly for Directors all over the World, and I have to say I have never come across a Hotel who deals with guests in this manor. I would like everyone who reads to know that this that hotel is only looking at making profit and not interested in guests!

Oh my, Moscow has become really, really expensive. We paid EUR 300 per room per night (without breakfast) for a comfortable but unremarkable hotel room suitable for business travellers. The hotel is not centrally located at all so does not automatically appeal to tourists (I guess). We were there only because our company had chosen it as a meeting venue. During the two nights that I stayed at the Renaissance nothing impressed me negatively other than the strange men and glamorous women hovering around in the reception area when I left for the airport very early in the morning...