What I Liked

• Modern designed hotel
  
• Lovely rooftop pool
  
• Excellent food
  
• Very good value
  
• Friendly service
  
• King bed was the biggest I have every slept in!
  
• Nice view from the room
  

What Could Be Improved

• All good from me!

  
  

The Booking

I booked 13 nights at the Renaissance Ahmedabad. It cost 1.05 lakh inr (about $1,200). For this I got a lot:

• Buffet breakfast
  
• Afternoon tea
  
• Buffet dinner
  
• Two items of clothes washed daily
  
• One way airport transfer
  

I’m also a Marriott Platinum. As such I was upgraded to a club room on the 10th floor.

This was an absolute steal. Far and away the best deal I saw in Ahmedabad.

I’ve stayed at some amazing Marriott Hotels in India and got some great deals. I stayed at the St Regis Mumbai – review here. A stunning hotel. I had an awesome 1 bed suite on the 37th floor. The décor was spectacular. The hotel oozed luxury.

The Wonderful Service

The service at the Renaissance was very special. I can’t commend the staff highly enough. They really made our trip.

It started on the day we arrived. We were provided with a welcome drink and gift. A spiced lemon drink and hand made shawl.

During the trip, I had a stomach bug (due to food eaten outside of the hotel!). The staff couldn’t have been more helpful. I missed breakfast one day as I was too tired to wake up. Despite that, the staff still gave me some food to eat and something to drink.

The staff were also very friendly to my kids, which was much appreciated.

On the final night, the staff brought a gift for my children. A photo of this is shown above. It was a wonderful gesture.

The Location

The Renaissance Ahmedabad is located about 13km from the airport on the west side of the city. The journey to the airport took around 30 minutes in the car.

The hotel is situated on the SG Highway. There are shops, restaurants and banks right next to the hotel. You’re walking distance from Subway and Dominos Pizza!

The Hotel

The Renaissance Ahmedabad is a business hotel, which is 10 floors high. It has the following facilities:

• Rooftop pool
  
• Two restaurants and a café
  
• Luxury and modern décor
  
• Fitness Cente
  
• Spa
  
• Complimentary parking
  

The hotel is located off the SG highway.

The highlight is the rooftop pool. Which is located on the 11th floor. It’s really safe, with glass around the edge. You won’t fall off the side!

There are two restaurants on the 1st floor. The R Kitchen, which has buffet breakfast buffet, lunch and buffet dinner. There’s also Kuro, a fine dining Asian Bistro.

The hotel is very much a business hotel. An excellent base for visiting Ahmedabad. It’s not a destination hotel where you’ll spend all your time.

The hotel has a health club. I didn’t use it, as I was recovering from a foot injury. My physio had told me not to play football or tennis. But I ignored him, as it was too much fun for me to play! I ended up injuring my foot even more! So I used this trip as a chance to give my foot a rest.

The gym looked pretty good. With a decent array of cardio machines, weights machines and dumbbells.

Mill & Co is a modern coffee shop on the ground floor. Serving your usual array of caffeinated goods. The design of the coffee shop was pretty nice too. My wife had coffee a couple of times and enjoyed it.

The Room

I stayed in room 1018 on the 10th floor of the Renaissance Ahmedabad. I was upgraded to this room as I’m a Marriott Platinum. It was a really nice room. It was also large, at 36 m^2.

When I arrived in the room, there was a small gift. A plate of fruit and some snacks.

There was a giant king bed. They said king bed, but it must have been the biggest bed I’ve ever slept in. The size of two double beds next to each other!

There was also a day bed and side table. And a wall hung TV.

The room also had a desk. Which I used to work on for 13 days! In fact, I’m sat here as I write this!

The room design was modern.

It also had a terrific view. With uninterrupted views of the craziness of Ahmedabad, down below!

The Breakfast

I had the buffet breakfast each day at the R Kitchen on the first floor. I was reminded why Asian Hotel breakfasts are the best in the world!

The western breakfast was as good as anywhere else. On top of that, there was also a full spread of Indian dishes. The following items were available:

• Cook to order dosas
  
• Cook to order pancakes, waffles and French toast
  
• Cook to order eggs
  
• Freshly made juices
  
• Masala chai
  
• Coffee machine
  
• Chicken sausages
  
• Stir fried vegetables
  
• Sauteed corn
  
• Haka noodles
  
• Roast tomatoes
  
• Breakfast potatoes
  
• Cut fruit
  
• Bircher Muesli
  
• Porridge
  
• Idli
  
• Medu Vada
  
• Dai vada
  
• Misal pav
  
• Chana
  
• Alu sabji
  
• Poha
• khichdi
  
• Upma
  
• Rice Pudding
  
• Local dishes – jalebi and fafda
  

It was a huge spread! It tried a lot of dishes over my 13 days there.

The drinks were amazing. Fresh fruit juices were yum. I enjoyed the pineapple and watermelon juices especially.

I also really enjoyed the masala chai. There was someone whose only task was to make masala chai.

I tried the fresh pancakes and waffles. Both were good.

I also had masala dosa from the fresh counter. Which were well made.

I didn’t get bored at all with the food. Even though I ate breakfast here for 13 days in a row.

The Buffet Dinner

I had the buffet dinner each day during my stay. It was also served at the R Kitchen. The dishes were not the same every day, and there was a huge variety.

There was a large range of curries (both veg and non-veg). These were served with cook to order breads (naan, chapati etc.). They also had a live chaat counter, salad station and a huge dessert counter.

They had a different soup each day. They also had some western dishes.

I really enjoyed the dinner buffet at R Kitchen.

The Club Lounge

There was a Club Lounge on the 10th floor of the Renaissance Ahmedabad. I had access to the lounge due to my status as a Marriott Platinum.

It was a smallish lounge. It had a great views of the outside.

During the day, there was tea, coffee and water available. From 6pm to 8pm, there was an afternoon service. The following was on offer:

• Two veg hot snacks
  
• Two non-veg hot snacks
  
• Some salad items
  
• Desserts
  
• Nuts
  
• Tortilla chips and salsa
  
• Cut fruit
  

I went to the lounge a few times (even though I also had access to the evening buffet). I enjoyed the spread.

I used the lounge to have a snack before getting my full dinner.

The Rooftop Pool

There’s a rooftop pool on the 11th floor of the Renaissance Ahmedabad. You can get a great view from here. It’s also super safe. There’s a Perspex screen around the edge of the pool and a net over the top of the hotel.

It’s a really nice spot to have a swim and relax. You probably can’t spend too much time here. There’s no restaurant or café up here.

Most of the time when I was there, it was virtually empty.

My Take on the Renaissance Ahmedabad

I really enjoyed my stay at the Renaissance Ahmedabad. It was perfect for me, as I spent a lot of time working.

The food was good and varied. The room was large, spacious and had a great view. The pool was nice and the staff were lovely.

I have also reviewed the Taj Mahal Tower in Mumbai. An iconic hotel opposite the Gateway of India. The location is the absolute best location in all of Mumbai. The hotel also has excellent restaurants.