Renaissance Columbus Downtown Hotel

derful and responsive. We did not have any issues with our room block and any account issues were easily solved. As a gay couple, we would happily have another wedding at the Renaissance and would recommend the venue to other couple's. We were treated well and with respect. The only *negative* feedback we have for the Renaissance is that the banquet staff were quick to clean up before people had the opportunity to finish drinks and have cake.

too afraid to do his own dirty work, and hides behind Laurie. That being said, DO NOT BOOK YOUR WEDDING BLOCK HERE! We booked a block of rooms here an entire year before our wedding, because our venue was less than a block away, and did not want to worry about shuttles, etc. We were told that once we filled our initial block, we would be given more rooms. This did not happen, and many of my guests had to scramble for other hotel rooms in busy downtown Columbus. We were strategic about who we put in our limited block because we only had 20 rooms, and ensured that appropriate family was there to assist my elderly grandparents, in addition to helping them with the short walk to our venue. Many guests had paid up front, and some had re-confirmed their rooms with the Renaissance a few months before the wedding. THREE DAYS before the wedding, I received a phone call saying that my entire block was being moved a mile away to a lesser star hotel, because they were overbooked. WHAT? We had a signed legal contract, which apparently meant nothing! They offered to pay for transportation and said to send them our Uber receipts to be reimbursed. (Never mind that some of our older guests don’t know what Uber is, let alone how to use it!) Our block was an easy target to move. What is worse is that people who booked outside the block or who were Marriott members did not have to move, therefore separating families, friends, and those helping handicapped grandparents. The entire situation was outrageous. They knew they were overbooked far far before they contacted me. Three days before created a fiasco with my out of town guests, and created a great deal of unnecessary stress before my wedding. Laurie’s boss, Chuck O’Donnell, was less than helpful and so incredibly RUDE about the situation. For someone who works in hospitality I expected more empathy. He turned the situation to make it seem like it was my fault! He had many unanswered emails and phone calls from myself and my guests. The front desk gave me three different emails for him, none of which actually worked! Outrageous! I called Marriott corporate and filed a complaint, which I was told would end up on Chuck’s desk within 3-5 business days. Great. Not helpful. I also spoke with the regional manager, whom I have a signed contract with that this hotel would provide 20 rooms, who said that he would address the situation, and I did not receive a call back. If a legal contract doesn’t get you anywhere, what is the point?! SAVE YOUR TIME AND HAVE A STRESS FREE WEDDING WEEK- BOOK YOUR BLOCK AT ANOTHER HOTEL!!!!!!!!!

reception in the ballroom was top notch. The food was nothing short of delicious and the staff waiting the wedding was so good we are still getting compliments on them. They have beautifully renovated the entire second floor ballroom area so it is now very modern and classic. Now, the reason for 3 stars would have to be the way this establishment handles money. This place is definitely not the cheapest place to have a wedding, and when you are dealing with a wedding budget mistakes in accounting cause a lot of undue stress. The accounting team at the Renaissance is awful to say the least. They made countless accounting errors none of which they took credit for. One was made a year before the wedding, and they didn’t discover it until 7 days before the wedding when they decided to call me and stress my husband and I out way more than we already were to begin with. There were endless charges to our credit cards some we are still unsure of what they were for. We dealt with the general manger of the hotel, Chuck and he was far less than understanding and had no problem adding a significant amount of stress to my husband and I during our first week on marriage. Wedding was unforgettable, hotel staff was great, however accounting and upper management will be getting an F- from us.

set up our ceremony. When booking them keep in mind you will need a day of coordinator and either a vendor or family/ friends to set up decor. They'll give you all that information after you've booked them for a couple thousand dollars. A family friend suggested I look elsewhere before I booked here due to a bad experience she had here with her wedding. I decided to book anyways because my initial impression with them was great. The biggest misstep is Laurie told me we could set up for our ceremony at 11:30am, then 2 weeks prior to my wedding told me I was unable to start setup until 2:00pm. The music was set to start at 2:30pm. So many details and vendor arrivals were set around that 11:30am set up time we had previously determined. The crazy thing was when delivering this information she acted like this was no big deal. Later we found out she knew we wouldn't be able to get into our event space until 2pm for months and decided to tell us at the last minute. In addition she was the cuer for my string quartet. she told them when to start the music for the processional, my entrance , etc.. She refused to use their preferred cue of giving a quick thumbs up when ready and snapped at them saying "I will use my own cue by sticking my head out". Well she had to stick her head out of the door for another reason apparently and miscued them to start our processional. They had to then stop the music and restart. my husband said it was extremely noticeable. I'm not sure one why she was rude to the quartet and two why she refused to use their preferred method. A few guests mentioned this situation to me after the wedding because they knew it was her fault and knew all the other things she's done during this process. This is a few examples of MANY missteps and I'm so happy the stress of working with her is finally over!!

re. I got one my tiffany flutes stolen from my bridal suite and the administration said they couldn’t confirm it was stolen so they were not able to do anything about. They refused to have them replaced or reimbursed. What a way to start your wedding day!! Just be cautious and do yourself a favor if you don’t want to add more stress to your day just don’t book this venue.

on both nights. 2. Renaissance management team did not inform us that she was fired or let go and was unable to provide a backup coordinator for the event. 3. The entire staff was unaware of any of the details of our wedding and was unable to provide assistance during the event. 4. My family members and bridesmaids had to fight tooth and nail to get any response from Renaissance employees. 5. The wedding coordinator did not schedule appropriately the staffing to put up the stage and decorations for the wedding morning. My husband and my guests had to spend the entire night on Friday to put up the stage by themselves. 6. Utensils, napkins and plates were not set up on a timely manner which caused major delays during both Friday and Saturday events. 7. The management team was no help and did not show up until Saturday afternoon to assist in the event which was already over. 8. The upper management team is rude, unapologetic and refused to take any ownership of the issues that took place even though the Event Manager confirmed they did not live up to the level of standards promised by the Marriott/Renaissance franchise. This is the type of wedding you will have at this hotel. I do not want any bride or groom to go through the experience I went through at this hotel. This was supposed to be the happiest day in my life and it turned out to be most stressful, exhausting and disappointing event in my life. In the end this hotel only cares about money and not about providing the best experience possible for your big day.

t the evening from cocktails to speeches to food and drink, cake serving and clean up. Our sales representative was able to work with us to meet our needs in a reasonable and professional way as well. In general, compared to other venues in the area, The Renaissance really went out of its way to provide us with a "simply perfect in every way" weekend. I felt as if I could relax and enjoy the weekend from check in to check out. We had high expectations and several unusual demands that their staff met at all times. We would not hesitate to host another reception there in the future.

ional small wedding. I worked with Angela, one of the event planners, who helped pull everything together to create exactly what I asked for and wanted. She was available during all of the planning and even gave me her personal number for any last minute things that came up! So thankful I booked this venue!!

te check out as well as adjoining rooms so the bridesmaids could all get ready together in a bigger space. I would highly recommend this hotel for all your wedding space needs!

ust as stunning. Our coordinator Liz was amazing! We can't thank her enough for making our day perfect and for all of her hard work to help us plan from Florida.

Sat and we had 29 booked). The brunch was delicious. We got a Junior Suite for the block rate and it was perfect. Used it for everyone to get hair done on the morning of, they cleaned it after and it was perfect when we returned the night of the wedding. Liz was great and always quick to communicate via email. Couldn't have asked for a better experience

. Lauren helped us with the contract and package, and Amber was our event coordinator. Amber was so helpful and really made planning our wedding so fun and easy!! The Renaissance is a beautiful hotel with a wonderful terrace and large ballrooms. Our ceremony was originally supposed to be held outside, but it was a dreary day full of downpours, so it ended up being inside in part of the ballroom. Although we were disappointed with not being able to have the ceremony outside, Amber and the team at the Renaissance made the ceremony space look amazing, too. It was wonderful to have a built-in plan b. We chose this hotel over others in town because we had actually been to a charity event the past few years and knew that they were great at hosting large events. It is so wonderful to have the ceremony, reception, and a place to stay all in the same facility, it's so convenient.

about a week before the cutoff, so that we could call people we knew needed one to make sure they booked! Additionally, we rented a room for all of the girls to get dressed/eat lunch and Amber helped to make that happen as well! We did have a few guests not receive their gift bags, but the hotel was really busy the weekend of our wedding, so I get it. The only other thought was that in booking about 40 rooms, we didn't get a free night. Sure our rooms were all discounted, but you'd think you would get a little more for bringing so much business to the hotel. However, maybe this is a standard in the industry/me being cheap. But overall, rooms were clean and Amber was great to work with. Really recommend for any downtown weddings as it is a great location! Also- they have a wonderful place for taking pictures on their deck when it isn't used for other weddings!

r wedding, and we had a beautiful room (freshened up from when my bridesmaids and I were in there earlier in the day getting ready) and a gift package from Jennifer. Everything was great, and even the 2 things that weren't (TV didn't work and heating/cooling was off between the rooms) was fixed very quickly. We had a great experience there - from the room, to the bar to the private breakfast buffet we had with our guests (the food was delicious!).

e suite at the hotel for my bridal party to get ready in. It was the perfect amount of space, plenty of room for me and 7 bridesmaids to get hair and make up done. We had a light breakfast and lunch catered by the hotel and that was great as well!

uites. We got ready in one of the suites and it was very tiny. I wish they would have given us a bigger suite. Other than the small size of the suite, they were awesome to work with. Helped get some of our guests early check ins and accommodated all of our "day of" requests... from extra chairs to extension cords.

e a more perfect wedding experience!!

oom for our ceremony practice. I'm pretty confident my mother-in-law spoke to Liz on a daily basis because she's wonderfully type A and Liz worked patiently with her to ensure all details were completed to our satisfaction. Book at the Renaissance - the hotel rooms are great (and so is Latitude 41 and the bar), the staff is friendly, and Liz is the best!

both gorgeous. Amber helped set up all my centerpieces, decorations, and table numbers. They were all better than I expected. We didn't decide where to have to ceremony, the roof or ballroom, until the morning of and that was no problem! We had two bands and a DJ and that was no problem. The only complaint I have is the staff was loud behind the door during my ceremony and actually opened it at one point. Total mistake but a little annoying. Other than that, perfection.

block. Highly recommend!

rocess. From working with Lauren on the quote and agreement to being assigned to Amber, I had a flawless experience and highly recommend the Renaissance. We opted to have our cocktail hour on the four level deck and the reception in the ballroom. I decided to add drapery to the ballroom and quite of bit of other items (lounge area, fondue fountain, a crap ton of small touches that I didn't even see on the actual day-of because I was too busy etc) which was complicated. Amber's attentiveness to me during the entire process (and trust me, I'm a bit of a control freak and perfectionist) was above par. Her sense of humor, willingness to help and eager positive attitude was MUCH appreciated, especially as the day got closer. She gracefully helped me navigate some decisions. We went back and forth in emails quite a bit (I'm sure she'll have more free time on her hands now that I'm officially married) and she always made me feel like the only bride getting married on her watch. I hope this message makes it to Amber's supervisor because she is awesome and if any of my engaged friends ask for recommendations, her name will be the first one I say! Thank you to the entire renaissance staff, from housekeeping to the check-in desk staff, for a memorable and happy wedding day experience.

tions or issues she had by responding to emails within hours or less! She even got one of our guests into a room after the cut-off date due to some extenuating circumstances, and also followed up after the wedding to make sure we got our rewards points for the rooms we had booked for out-of-town members of the bridal party! I couldn't have been happier with the whole experience.