Renaissance Philadelphia Downtown Hotel

and booked over 20 rooms for friends and family—was a complete disaster that left a dark cloud over our celebration. From the moment guests started checking in, things went downhill. We had thoughtfully prepared welcome bags for everyone, which the hotel promised to distribute at check-in. Not only did they fail to do so, but when we repeatedly addressed the issue—three separate times—management assured us the bags were being handed out as we literally watched the front desk ignore them. Their “solution” was to deliver the missed bags to rooms, but that never happened either. As guests arrived, we were mortified by a lingering sewage-like smell in the lobby and near the elevators. Not exactly the kind of welcome we wanted for our loved ones traveling from out of town. The worst part, though, was the afterparty—which we had booked and paid nearly $1,000 for. It was supposed to be a fun, seamless continuation of our wedding celebration. Instead, it was a disaster. There was one visibly miserable bartender serving nearly 90 people, creating long lines and visibly agitated guests. The food we ordered was shoved in a dark corner, dried out beyond recognition, and completely inedible. No one ate it. We had also been told we could plug into their speaker system to play music—something that simply didn’t exist. If one of our guests hadn’t had a portable speaker in their room, we would’ve been standing around in awkward silence. To top it off, the bartender’s attitude was so off-putting that she made multiple guests uncomfortable enough to leave the party early. And if the afterparty wasn’t bad enough, our toilet overflowed in the middle of the night for absolutely no reason—water all over the bathroom floor. We called the front desk, and while they sent maintenance, no one ever came to clean up the mess. So there we were, on our wedding night, cleaning up toilet water with bath towels. How romantic, right? At that point, the whole experience was so surreal it felt like something out of a movie. I spoke with the assistant manager the next morning to express our frustration. He barely acknowledged my concerns and told me to call the GM on Tuesday. I took time out of our honeymoon to do just that, only to be met with zero accountability. When I told him I’d be reaching out to Marriott Corporate, he hung up on me. This hotel failed us at every level—from operations to basic hospitality to common decency. I cannot stress this enough: do not spend your money here. If you’re planning a wedding or any kind of important event, save yourself the stress and heartbreak. We’ll always cherish our wedding day—but we’ll never forget how this hotel tainted it.

oughout the process and helped every step of the way. Then when we got there the room for the bridal party to get ready was GORGEOUS and looked great in pictures! The staff was SO AMAZING to each guest, and throughout the after party we hosted there. Honestly cannot say enough great stuff about them. Plus the location is gorgeous and the guests all had so much to do within walking distance - great food, historic landmarks, fun bars - - can’t ask for more!!

asy to work with from day one, answering all of our questions quickly via email or phone call and guiding us throughout the entire process. She helped us maximize our budget and made item drop-off/pick-up so simple for us. On wedding day, Sam and her team took care of everything we needed (and several things we hadn’t even thought about) to make it a truly beautiful and enjoyable day! The ballroom was the perfect size for our ceremony with 80 guests and we got so many compliments about how fun cocktail hour was in the lounge downstairs. Having tasty food was one of our top priorities when picking a venue and the hors d’oeuvres and entrees that were served were DELICIOUS, so many of our guests sought us out afterwards to let us know how much they enjoyed the food. In terms of location, the hotel could not be in a better spot, nestled among so many historic sites in Philly that our guests from out of town loved being able to visit without needing to drive. All in all we had an absolutely amazing time working with the Renaissance and 10/10 would recommend them to anyone looking to host a Philly wedding!

perfect venue for a small to medium-sized wedding (we had 74 guests), especially if you want to have guest accommodations, the ceremony, cocktail hour, and the reception all in one place. However, the absolute best part of the experience was the wedding coordinator, Samantha. She is always on top of everything, offers plenty of helpful advice throughout the planning process, and makes sure the wedding day goes off without a hitch. I not only had a gorgeous venue; I got to be fully present on my wedding day, and I didn't have to worry about a thing. The Renaissance truly made our wedding spectacular.