Review: the impressive Renaissance Paris Republique hotel

This is my review of the Renaissance Paris Republique hotel, an impressive Marriott property.

The official Renaissance Paris Republique website is here.

I needed a hotel for one night when I was in Paris last week.  Prices were through the roof and my usual haunt, InterContinental Paris Le Grand (very well placed for shopping, the airport bus and Eurostar), was full.

As I needed a guaranteed late check-out, I decided to look at the Marriott Rewards redemption options.  Gold and Platinum members of Marriott Rewards get a 4pm check-out at most brands.  Availability was also tight there, but my eyes settled on a hotel I had never even heard of before – the Renaissance Paris Republique.

It was almost 30 years since I last stayed in a Renaissance hotel.  Apart from a vague feeling that they are pitched above the level of your average Marriott (the amazing hotel at St Pancras is a Renaissance) I couldn’t list a single specific feature of the brand.  I was instantly attracted by the modernist building and what looked like a very impressive recent refurbishment and for a one-night stay there was little at risk.

Here is a stock photo from the website which won me over:

It turned out that I had never been to Place de la Republique, despite spending around 50 nights in Paris over the last 20 years.  It has a lot going for it.  It has the same architectural style to the main tourist areas but is not a tourist hub.  It is filled with ‘practical’ retail rather than even more branches of Zara.  More importantly, a lot of metro lines converge at Republique.  Gare du Nord for Eurostar is only three stops or a modest walk (I walked) and the ‘grands magasins’ at Opera are also only a few stops away (again, I walked it easily).

Inside Renaissance Paris Republique

To be honest, the hotel looks less appealing from the outside:

Step inside, though, and these funky reception desks make it clear that this is a smart place to be (stock photo, because it is better than mine):

Check-in was efficient, although I felt it a little odd asking a British guy in his 40’s whether he had been to Paris before!  My room wasn’t ready but it was fast-tracked and I was asked to wait 10 minutes – and it was ready in 10 minutes.

I was asked to select two items from a printed list as my Platinum welcome gift.  One section was drink-led and the other section was food-led.  I ticked white wine and, for novelty, ice cream.  After confirming that I would be in the room for a while, they agreed to sort it out immediately.  I was very impressed when this tray turned up:

Probably the most welcome ‘welcome gift’ ever, given how hot a day it was.  The wine was chilled.

Here are a few shots of my Renaissance Paris Republique room.  I discuss the room type later.

There is no desk as such but it was easy to work off the table.  There were two EU sockets at floor level under the table.  Wi-fi was fast and free.

and (note the ‘open’ bathroom, although there is a sliding door which partially blocks the view from the bed):

I couldn’t get a good bathroom photo – there is only a shower and no tub.  There is a capsule coffee machine – just visible in the picture above – plus a good minibar.

This was a very classy room with high quality furnishings and I’m not sure the photos do it justice.  Huge amounts of money have been spent on the interiors – I even took photos of the lift lobbies because I was so impressed.

At ground, the reception flows into the lobby bar which flows into the restaurant.  Again, it all looks pretty good:

and

…. and the restaurant / breakfast room (stock photo):

…. and the outdoor terrace:

A quick word on breakfast

There is no buffet at Renaissance Paris Republique, which is rare these days.  Everything is a la carte.  If breakfast is included in your rate, or if you are Gold / Platinum, you are comped a €29 set menu and you can add other items as you wish.

If you are in a hurry, the hotel has set up trays of pastries and coffee at the bar and you can ‘grab and go’ for free.

It was all VERY civilised, right down to this fantastic jam holder brought to my table:

Room types

One downside of the hotel is that it has, at least on Flyertalk, a reputation for not upgrading elite members.  As the smallest rooms were a bit too small for my liking, I paid a supplement at the time of booking to secure a better room.

The ‘Bobo room’ I booked, which is one category higher up, was €40 extra on top of the 40,000 points I used.  I don’t think I got upgraded any further.

This is one of my favourite features of Marriott Rewards.  Hotels are able to offer their superior rooms for redemption at the standard points price, but with a cash supplement.  We are using the same feature in Venice next month to guarantee a ‘sleeps four’ Junior Suite at the JW Marriott.

Conclusion

The Renaissance Paris Republique hotel is a very classy, very civilised place to stay.  Whilst you are not directly by any major tourist sites, Republique metro has an exit immediately outside the hotel entrance and you can easily get to wherever you need to be or to Gare du Nord.   You can also walk to a lot of key places.  One upside of being in a more residential area is the large number of cafes and restaurants near the hotel.

Impressively, Renaissance Paris Republique is actually getting CHEAPER when the Marriott Rewards and Starwood Preferred Guest schemes are merged in August.  It will drop from 40,000 points per night to just 35,000 points.  At peak periods, you will easily exceed my target 0.5p valuation for Marriott Rewards points – next Tuesday the hotel is selling for €387.

The Renaissance Paris Republique website is here if you want to find out more.

---

How to earn Marriott Bonvoy points and status from UK credit cards (April 2024)

There are various ways of earning Marriott Bonvoy points from UK credit cards.  Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses.

The official Marriott Bonvoy American Express card comes with 20,000 points for signing up, 2 points for every £1 you spend and 15 elite night credits per year.

You can apply here.

You can also earn Marriott Bonvoy points by converting American Express Membership Rewards points at the rate of 2:3.

Do you know that holders of The Platinum Card from American Express receive FREE Marriott Bonvoy Gold status for as long as they hold the card?  It also comes with Hilton Honors Gold, Radisson Rewards Premium and MeliaRewards Gold status.  We reviewed American Express Platinum in detail here and you can apply here.

You can also earn Marriott Bonvoy points indirectly:

• American Express Gold (20,000 bonus Amex points)
• American Express Rewards Credit Card (10,000 bonus Amex points)

and for small business owners:

• American Express Business Gold (20,000 bonus Amex points)
• American Express Business Platinum (40,000 bonus Amex points)

The conversion rate from American Express to Marriott Bonvoy points is 2:3.

Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which can be used to earn Marriott Bonvoy points. 

(Want to earn more hotel points?  Click here to see our complete list of promotions from the major hotel chains or use the ‘Hotel Offers’ link in the menu bar at the top of the page.)