Expectation: To be honest, I was not expecting to like this hotel. We’re kind of ‘hotel snobs’. Though ‘newly renovated’, when looking at photos on their site the room decor still looked dated. We were interested in a Renaissance Private Island wedding though and thought guests might like the suites.

For our site visit we booked one night at the Renaissance Ocean Suites. There are actually two hotels – the “Marina” (adult only) hotel and the family friendly Ocean Suites. Since we expect most people to stay on the “suites” side we decide to spend Friday night there.

During our initial research the Renaissance was the front runner. There catering is a little more affordable than the high-rise hotels and they have the Renaissance Private Island which you can have to yourself for your wedding and reception. While the hotel is older, they advertise it as being ‘newly renovated’ and it also seems to have more affordable rooms. We liked the idea of the downtown location where guests would easily be able to walk to shopping, dining and other entertainment. My biggest hang-up going in was that in the pictures I saw on the website, the rooms still looked a bit dated (in particular the sleeper sofas).

Walking into the hotel was a little disappointing in that the lobby is bland. The limited decor looked cheap to me. I love hotels with a “Wow” lobby where I can see myself hanging out with a cocktail before or after an activity. The lobby is open air but plain.

You can walk straight through the lobby to the pool area which I have to say makes up for the lobby! I think the Ocean Suites has one of the best pools we saw. It’s a winding free-form pool with a couple of bars including a swim-up bar. They had some nice music playing by the bars but away from them you could also find quiet. The sandy ‘lagoon’ area was also nicer than we expected and we kind of liked the idea of kids playing in a sheltered area vs in the wide open sea.

We were given a nice room at the end of the hall with an ocean view. We appreciated the view from the respectable balcony. Some of the ‘new renovation’ is clear. Much of the furniture is new, they have upgraded the beds / bedding, beds were comfy and bathroom has at least been face-lifted. They also had robes available, something I love!

On the downside, ‘kitchen area’ is more of a wet bar with a microwave, the blue and yellow decor still feels dated (we like fresh and modern), sofa was uncomfortable to sit on, TVs were old and bulky. And the deal breaker — the bedroom has no windows! Our suite ran front to back – living area, behind that space divided into a ‘galley / hallway’ style ‘kitchen area’ and bathroom, and finally in the back, the bedroom. When we are traveling in a beautiful tropical place we want to be woken by the sunshine streaming in. We don’t want to lose time in a pitch black room. Of course others may see that as a positive. Beyond that, the hotel overall still seemed dated with its brass railings and dark ugly carpet in the hallways.

So, after checking in (very late) we couldn’t get back out of the hotel fast enough. We were pleased to find great sushi very close by. We sat outdoors and had fun ‘people-watching’. Then we walked over to the shopping area and were please to find a nice mix of upscale and more modest shops and boutiques. Finally we checked out a club which was kind of fun. Still, we were pretty certain we weren’t going to invite our guests to stay at the Renaissance Ocean Suites and were really glad we weren’t planning to spend both nights there.

Conclusion: Renaissance Ocean Suites has a great pool and nice location close to shopping and nightclubs, however even though ‘newly renovated’ the hotel still feels old.