Marriott Expands Renaissance Brand in Europe

Two new Renaissance hotels are opening in some off-the-beaten-track destinations in Europe.

Marriott recently made its debut in Belarus with the Renaissance Minsk Hotel. Located in Minsk’s business district, the new hotel is close to the city’s cultural treasures including the Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theatre. (The hotel is operated by an affiliate of U.S. based Interstate Hotels & Resorts.) 

Many of the 267 guestrooms have balconies overlooking the city. The Penthouse Suite has two bedrooms, a living room and a private terrace, while the Presidential Suite has a kitchen, a private dining area and a Jacuzzi. 

Renaissance Minsk Hotel

The public areas have complimentary Wi-Fi and areas to work and socialize alongside two dining options: the "Arborea" restaurant and the Lobby Bar, which serve a variety of European, Belarusian and signature dishes. There's also an indoor pool, and a spa with Russian and Finnish saunas.   

Meetings and special events can be booked in any of the seven meeting rooms, or the hotel’s Grand Ballroom—reportedly the largest in the city.

Bonus: Renaissance Hotels’ onsite Navigators can help guests explore Minsk, and will guide them to bars, restaurants and historical sites such as Troitsky Suburb, an old town rebuilt in 19th century style on the Svisloch River.

In France, meanwhile, the 110-room Renaissance Paris Hippodrome de St Cloud Hotel will open on June 24 in the grounds of (what we hear is) Paris’ most prestigious private leisure club, the Paris Country Club. A 15-minute drive from downtown Paris, the hotel is also close to the St. Cloud Hippodrome horse racing track.

What makes this property unique? The country house-style hotel has been designed to emulate the Paris Country Club’s traditional Normandy architecture with its timber and thatch frame. 

Renaissance Paris Hippodrome de St Cloud Hotel

Guests can play a round of golf on the nine-hole golf course or relax at the outdoor pool, treatment cabins and steam room. The Navigator concierges can helps guests find local attractions like the Chateau de La Malmaison, an 18th century manor house, once the home of Napoleon Bonaparte and his wife Joséphine.

The hotel restaurant, ‘H’-named in honor of the nearby hippodrome—serves traditional French fare. Split into two different sections, guests can choose from a more formal dining experience or a relaxed, laid-back ambience. Signature dishes include lobster ravioli with vegetable minestrone and lobster salad with potatoes from the French island of Noirmoutier. 

For meeting and events, the hotel has six meeting spaces across more than 5,000 square feet, all with natural light. These can be combined with 12 meeting rooms at the Paris Country Club, increasing available meeting space to almost 30,000 square feet.  For special events, the terraces or garden can host many different event types from cocktail parties to weddings.

This opening brings the Renaissance Hotels portfolio in France to six properties, including the Renaissance Paris Arc de Triomphe Hotel, Renaissance Paris Le Parc Trocadero Hotel, Renaissance Paris Vendome Hotel, Renaissance Paris La Defense Hotel and Renaissance Aix-en-Provence Hotel.