Renaissance Minneapolis Hotel, The Depot

work with - communicative, helpful, and truly made my vision come to life. We had room blocks at both the Depot and the Residence Inn and were supported by Cindy who too was super responsive and had an answer for every question I sent her! In addition to the actual reception venue - the outdoor space, cocktail hour space, and getting ready room are beautiful and spacious. This venue and working with this team helped make my wedding perfect!

edding was beyond what we could have envisioned. This was the perfect venue for our event - right downtown, great location, beautiful spaces, large ballrooms, natural light. 10/10!!

g that wants to provide a drink service for guests, I would go elsewhere. People still complain about this 4 months later and I'm disappointed that it is one of the top things they remember from our day. Everything was honestly amazing except the drink service which was a big issue. We paid for open bar for our 250 guests, which was a considerable expense for us. The bar was poorly staffed and our guests were leaving our reception to walk all the way to the lobby of the hotel to pay for their own drinks because the bar was so under-staffed. For an event venue, I would have expected them to staff the bar appropriately (and we had originally estimated 300 guests!) It was definitely a waste to pay for open bar, especially considering not everyone could get a drink during the cocktail hour due to the speed of the bar.

friends to be traveling to Minnesota from out of town and for the first time, so we wanted a venue that was impressive, attached to a hotel, and centrally located in the Twin Cities, with easy access from MSP Airport. The Depot met all our criteria. Serving as a train depot in its prior life, it was historic, classic, and beautifully restored, with the original marble floors, high ceilings, and grand ballroom that we wanted (we had our ceremony and cocktail hour in the Winter Garden and our reception in the Great Hall). As the venue's name implies, it's also now a Marriott hotel, and it was newly renovated just before our wedding, so the hotel lobby and rooms were outfitted with all the modern amenities and aesthetics. The venue is also in Downtown Minneapolis, just a short walk from a light rail station, so we knew our out-of-town guests could access it easily. The staff was amazing from the very beginning: responsive, attentive, flexible, and able to anticipate all our needs. I never had any trouble reaching our primary contacts at the hotel, and they gave us a discount on our wedding suite for the night before our wedding (it was free the night of the wedding, of course), since I wanted to stay at the hotel with my bridesmaids before our nuptials. The staff also outfitted the bridal suite with an abundant amount of full-length mirrors and chairs (at no extra charge) to ensure the ladies and I had everything we needed to get ready for the big day. As for the food (which really is what most guests remember anyhow), everyone who came to our wedding still tells us how amazing it was. We opted for the most expensive food package to meet our minimum (we had a small wedding of about 75-80 guests). This included crab and shrimp on ice, many passed hors d'oeuvres, a salad course, a choice of beef/fish/vegetarian entrees for our guests, and a champagne toast. However, we were able to try a variety of hors d'oeuvres, entrees, and wines at our tasting, so even if we had gone with a more mid-range food package, the food still would have been delicious. (The Depot does large, elaborate tasting events about four times per year in their main ballroom, where you'll be able to sample most of the menu offered and peruse other wedding items from local vendors (cake, flowers etc.). This is drastically different from many other venues, which typically only allow you to try a handful of items during a tasting.) All in all, my husband and I couldn't have asked for a better wedding venue. If you choose The Depot, you won't be disappointed!

manager months in advance to ensure personal gift bags were delivered to guest’s rooms prior to check in. Unfortunately, there was a fee per bag, but we thought it was worth it to give our guests a nice surprise. It was odd when we hadn’t heard from our guests about the bags, so we called the hotel to ensure they were delivered. Bags were not delivered and staff’s response was that each guest would have to come to the front desk to ask for their bag. You are hospitality professionals and you’re telling me that our guests have to ask for their surprise gift bags? Eventually, the staff said they’d deliver the bags to the rooms. On Sunday, we went to the hotel because a number of guests had checked in and checked out and never received their bags. After we confronted the staff, they brought out the gift bags which had been sitting in the back office the whole time. The following hotels delivered our bags without any problems and without a fee: Alma, Radisson Blu, The Crowne Plaza, Le Meridien Chambers. I delivered the bags, hotel staff put a note in their reservation system, and the bags were waiting in each room upon guest arrival. Still waiting on an apology from The Depot for their poor customer service and their lack of effort to give our traveling guests a memorable experience during their stay in Minneapolis.

he same price. They also predicted things we would need without me even needing to ask. We had our rehearsal dinner in their restaurant, followed by a welcome party for out-of-town guests, and the food/drinks were great, the service wonderful, and the space beautiful. Our room was also a great historic bridal suite, with plenty of room for the guys to get ready the day of the wedding. Rooms are a little pricey, but the hotel was fantastic.

llroom. We also got ready for our day at the hotel and stayed there the night before and after our wedding. Brooke, the wedding planner at The Depot, was a breeze to work with. She was super thoughtful with her suggestions and provided lots of information about what was successful for other couples in the space. I was living in Chicago during a large chunk of the wedding planning and Brooke's quick responses to my emails really put me at ease. The staff the day of our wedding were so accommodating and I felt so taken care of! Thank you to Brooke and the whole crew at The Depot for making our day as magical as we had dreamt it would be!

and needs while planning our wedding. It was the perfect fit for us all around, beautiful, historic and perfect for our winter wedding. Our guests loved it as well. I highly recommend the depot for a wedding or special event!

rn and architectural. But now the best part!! the staff, at the Depot is professional, very knowledgeable, kind, courteous, I can't even explain how good they are. The food is not great hotel food, it is amazing fine restaurant food. Everybody at the Depot made us feel like this was the most important wedding they did all year. I am the mother of the bride and planned the majority of the event, all along the way they anticipated and handled everything. this was a 10++++ experience. It looks like a New York Hotel, has the historic and modern feel all at once and there is no team that is even close to their customer service.

to get ready in the morning with the hair and makeup team. Our guests commented on the clean rooms and great food in the hotel. It was near to our reception which allowed guests a short walk or an even shorter uber. We were very pleased with our experience!

elf an actual historic hotel. The recent remodel is fine, no dresser or any place to unpack your suitcase. The bathroom is nice, the bed if fine. The downfall is the inept service and breakfast buffet. The breakfast buffet is lackluster at best. The omelette guys was really great, but the rest of the food was lack luster if I'm being generous. The larger issue is that they over charged us. They charged us a now show fee plus a two night stay. The reservation was only for two nights. They couldn't figure out whether or not we checked-in so they charged us both a no show and for two nights. When I called to clear up the situation instead of figuring it out they stated, we can't just take your word for it. Then proceeded to charge us for additional nights we didn't stay. At the time of this writing (a week after the reservation) they still don't know if we checked in or not, but are defending charging us a random amount for nights we didn't stay, and for nights we didn't have a reservation. I noticed other reviews with this same issue. As an additional tidbit. I stayed at this hotel in 2007 and they sent me to a room that already had someone staying in it. When I entered the room there was a man standing there naked, certainly unpleasant for me, but probably more disturbing for the person trying to get dressed and being barged in. So, if you don't want to be overcharged or don't want your naked body exposed to strangers stay elsewhere.

he historic parts of the building are stunning as well. Highly recommend this hotel!

hey fill up fast with a variety of events. This was part of the appeal for me though; it's not solely a popular wedding venue, meaning you aren't just one of many couples that are getting plugged in to a set weekend routine. They truly recognize that you want to create an experience all your own and will work alongside you to ensure just that!

ife.

e didn't have to worry about a thing.

at we met that we truly trusted when searching for a venue... we definitely suggest going with the Depot!

etings until our big day, I felt confident that I was in great hands. Rachel was very professional, prompt, flexible, knowledgable and KIND as we worked together to bring our wedding reception dreams to reality. In addition to the amazing service and beautiful location, the food was remarkable as well! Trust me when I tell you...the Depot is the perfect spot to host an unforgettable reception!

l Great Hall and the convenience of having 2 hotels attached to the venue. We had 280 guests and a band. There was plenty of space. We worked with Rachel Johnson and she was great! We were full of questions and she answered them all gracefully. There was a fundraising event in the other space at the Depot, but it was well separately and we event forgot about the other group. Wish we could do it all over again :) We would definitely recommend this space.

another place and time. The chef prepared menu with an onsite kitchen guaranteed freshness, uniqueness and served hot! With the close proximity of the historical suites upstairs bridal party and overnight guests could continue journey! Planning our event was easy! The team at the depot was superb. Everyone was kind and helpful. Responses were immediate and they had suggestions for every element of our event. The Minneapolis Depot is a memory maker!

have asked for a better team to help plan our wedding day

s to offer. We narrowed it down to a handful and the Depot ultimately won out for a variety of reasons. 1. Katelyn, the Depot's coordinator, was by far the most responsive person we were in contact with. That immediately made me feel at ease. 2. The pricing is straightforward. A few other venues would give you base pricing but then you would realize that so many things were extra. Katelyn walks you through the cost of everything and works with you to make things work, offering suggestions on where it's smart to focus your budget. My faincé and I are doing a combo of vendors and DIY and having Katelyn on our team has been awesome so far. 3. The Great Hall is gorgeous. It's a lovely little slice of history and the architecture is so stunning you barely need any decor. We looked at places with a more modern/industrial feel, and while those places were cool, they just felt too trendy and overdone. This felt classic, vintage but definitely not stuffy or dated. We're keeping our decor simple and bringing in modern touches and so far it all pairs together amazingly. 4. Having a hotel connected to the venue is awesome! Guests don't have to worry about driving. You don't have to worry about providing transportation. It's a win-win. ALSO. The Renaissance just remodeled the guest suites for a more modern feel and are in the process of remodeling the lobby (it'll be done by late spring 2017.) They have posters of what it will look like and it's great. That perfect mix of vintage and modern. We're excited to see it once it's complete. 5. The Depot is close to a lot of great Minneapolis landmarks and restaurants: Eastside, ZenBox, Red Cow, Bachelor Farmer, Stone Arch, Guthrie, Vikings Stadium. We've created a map of sights to see and there's just so much in walking distance. We can't wait for our friends and family to come.

e ceremony, reception and hotel all in one location. We got so many compliments on our wedding! The catering was very tasty and the staff was so friendly and accommodating!

were with everything!!!

ously executed. The food was amazing and the staff and coordinators were so nice and easy to work with. It was a night we'll never forget and we have The Depot to thank for that!

as located right next to the ballroom. That's normally not a problem, but there was another wedding going on there until 2am and I could hear every, single song from the dance floor in the bedroom. Why would you put someone in this room the night before their wedding if you know there's another wedding going on? Not a huge deal, but it would have been nice if they could have warned me. The room looked great and had a lot of space for getting ready.