The city of Aix – En – Provence is one of the great cities in the Provence / Côte d’Azur region that is well worth exploring on your travels through the region. Often, there can lack hotel loyalty point opportunities when travelling through old world France. Our discovery of the Renaissance Aix – En – Provence was a terrific steal and represented an excellent value on Marriott Bonvoy points.

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This post is one chapter on a trip to the South of France and Cinque Terre, Italy. This trip was enhanced through Marriott Bonvoy Elite Status and Alaska Airlines Mileage Plan. For information on how this trip was booked, please see our introduction. For parts of the trip, please see this index.

If you enjoyed this post, please follow us here or on social media through Facebook, Twitter “X” or Instagram for more travel tips and hacks on how to “Upgrade Your Travels”.

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Review: Renaissance Aix – En – Provence Hotel, France

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“The Renaissance Aix – En – Provence Hotel represented a sparkling new Renaissance with spacious rooms, a sunny pool area that is within walking distance to Aix – En – Provence; an excellent value”

Booking the Renaissance Aix – En – Provence Hotel:

Our visit to the Aix – En – Provence region of France was part of a larger tour through te Côte d’Azur region of France. When reseraching places to stay during our two day stay in Aix – En – Provence, I came across the Renaissance Aix – En – Provence Hotel.

The Renaissance Aix – En – Provence Hotel can be an exceptional deal on points. During our visit, I was able to redeem a free night awards courtesy of the American Express Marriott Bonvoy Credit Card, and a Marriott Bonvoy Titanium requalification night.

Locating availability approximately 5 months in advance, I was able to locate an upgraded Superior King Size Guest room for 45,000 Marriott Bonvoy points per night. The cash rate during this period was 375 € ($410 USD), making using otherwise free points an excellent choice for a free redemption.

Our stay cost 17.28€, and 90,000 Marriott Bonvoy points for the two nights. I had to pay an extra 10,000 Marriott Bonvoy points to make up the shortfall from the 35,000 point free night award.

Our booking strategy was to book the cheapest room possible and hope for a Marriott Bonvoy Titanium upgrade to a better room.

As always, I booked through the Marriott Bonvoy website, which as a Marriott Titanium Member, entitled me to a complimentary upgrade to the best available room, including select suites, and a complimentary late check out up to 4 PM.

In the end, we would end up getting upgraded through pre-assignment into the nicest available room, a 1 King Bed Skyline View, Panoramic Room on the top floor. Although the pricing had softened a little since we initially booked, we were still placed in a 270€ room which is a terrific value and use of a free night award.

Marriott Bonvoy Opportunities:

The heart of Aix – En – Provence in France remains a popular spring, summer and fall destination for many international travellers. Given that there are limited Marriott Bonvoy properties in this region, it’s important to book early.

Rooms at the Renaissance Aix – En – Provence are typically available for a low of 40,00 points in off season. The room rates jump up to 50,000 to 59,000 during the summer months and seem to be fairly static on both weekdays and weekends.

If you value Marriott Bonvoy points at 0.8 cents per point, it only makes sense to redeem points under the right circumstances. If rooms are pricing at 50,000, it makes sense to redeem points if room rates are over 400€. In our circumstances, with free nights available through Marriott Bonvoy Re-Qualification and Marriott Bonvoy American Express Cards, it made sense to redeem against rates above 375€.

Marriott Bonvoy members get the fifth night free when redeeming five or more day stay. Keep in mind that by redeeming five nights, and getting the fifth night free, will increase the value proposition by lowering the average number of points per night.

Getting to the Renaissance Aix – En – Provence:

We departed from the Le Méridien Nice. We picked up a rental car from Sixt – Nice International Airport and drove into Aix – En – Provence. It was about a two hour drive

The hotel is located in a central part of Aix – En – Provence and conveniently located in a walkable distance from the historic Aix – En – Provence old town.

Arriving to the hotel by car, I parked out front in order to check in. There was a small vehicle security gate that required a buzz to get in.

After parking my car, I was promptly attended to and offered assistance with the luggage. While I was offered valet parking service, I ended up checking in and dealing with the parking of the car later.

After checking in, I ended up parking the car in the underground garage. The entrance to the garage was a little tricky to locate. It was completely around an entire city block and down several levels, since the Renaissance Aix – En – Provence hotel was built into an integrated slope.

As a result of the convenient location of the hotel that is walkable to almost all central sights, I would end up leaving the car in the garage for the entire stay.

Checking into the Renaissance Aix – En – Provence:

After our arrival, I attended to the front desk. We had a very easy check in at 2:30 PM. Fortunately, our room was ready and available for us to check in.

We had a polite explanation of the hotel’s features and locations. We were explained that breakfast was complimentary and part of room rate; despite being on an award stay.

Courtesy of Marriott Bonvoy Titanium status, we were also provided with a choice of 1,000 Marriott Bonvoy points, or a “one time” 10€ food and beverage credit that was valid for the entire stay, (not per person nor stackable) day over day.

We were also explained that self parking was charged at a rate of 25€ per day. Lastly, we were given some towel cards, which was a slightly low rent touch in my humble opinion.

Overall, the check in process was pleasant, quick and professional. Every point of contact from the moment we arrived was engaged and pleasant.

The Room: 1 King Bed Skyline View Panoramic

We self navigated up to Room #511, which was on the top floor of the property. The hallways were a little dark but contemporary in colours.

The first impressions of the room were quite impressive. The room was much more spacious than you’d typically expect for a hotel in Europe where rooms are usually much smaller.

The room was decorated greys with crisp white sheets. The colours of the room made a great first impression. The central feature was a giant comfortable bed that looked exceptionally plush.

In addition to a terrific king size bed, there was a fabulous panoramic view across the roof tops of Aix – En – Provence.

The room offered the usual small desk, with sufficient charging ports for a leisure or business traveler. Given that this was not strictly a business hotel, I wasn’t expecting much different than the current configuration.

The room featured smaller occasional chairs that were a little flat looking. The room chairs were more glamorous and featured style over comfort.

A small amount of tetra pack water was also placed in the room. There was also a proper set of glassware, which is always appreciated in any hotel room.

The room featured a Nespresso Classic coffee maker, along with a tea kettle. We didn’t end up using either feature.

The room also featured a small mini bar for charge. We didn’t end up consuming any items, but used the fridge for a little wine on the second day of our stay.

Management dropped off a Marriott Bonvoy Titanium welcome gift shortly after we arrived. It consisted of some locally produced olive tapenade, some local crackers and a pleasant welcome note from the manager.

The panoramic room also featured a small outdoor seating area with two relaxing chairs. It was warm enough to enjoy the chairs outside for a pre supper drink. Despite this, we had some Texan’s on the patio next to us that were engaged in deep conversations about politics and whether Nikki Hailey had the power to unseat Donald Trump in the presidential nominations for 2024.

The room bathroom featured a spacious stand up shower with a single vanity. The bathroom was a little tight on storage space with having to balance toiletries on the sink countertop to due a lack of overall space. It wasn’t a deal breaker but it was noticeable.

The room was also serviced with twice daily housekeeping, something that was unexpected for a hotel at this particular level based on my experience.

In terms of sleep quality, I had a really good sleep at the Renaissance Aix – En – Provence. Being on the top floor, there was almost no noise. With the room facing on to a pedestrian concourse, there was limited street noise. I have to give the property high marks for a quiet restful sleep.

Around the Hotel Property:

The Renaissance Aix – En – Provence is a fully featured hotel property. It draws on all the features of a full service hotel but is not quite as large as to describe it as a resort.

Outdoor Pool:

The Renaissance Aix – En Provence Hotel featured a great outdoor pool area. Access to the pool was off the main lobby down a series of stairs that led directly outside.

We visited the pool after sight seeing one day around Aix – En – Provence. It wasn’t apparent, but the building facing the pool belonged to another apartment complex that was completely un related from the hotel.

While the pool wasn’t very large, the pool had strong sun facing exposure for most of the afternoon until about 5 PM. It was a little challenging to get a spot to sit in the sun when we stopped by.

We would end up using our 10€ credit at the pool at their outlet Le Bar Palm’s Pool Club, for an afternoon drink while we killed off the day.

Food and Beverage:

The Renaissance Aix – En – Provence hotel contains one restaurant and one bar lounge. The hotel restaurant is Atmosph’R, located off the hotel lobby. The hotel offers a lobby lounge entitled Bar L’avant Scene, along with a poolside restaurant entitled Le Palm’s Pool Club.

While there were only a few restaurants within the hotel, it’s worth mentioning that the Renaissance Aix – En – Provence was steps from dozens of restaurants within Aix – En – Provence. As a result, you’re not likely to be dining at the restaurant all that much anyway.

Atmoshp’R Restaurant:

Marriott Bonvoy Platinum Breakfast

The Atmosph’r restaurant the hotels’ breakfast, lunch and dinner restaurant. Atmosph’R was located just off the lobby, which made it easy to find. Atmpsph’R has to contain probably the strangest hotel restaurant name I’ve ever encountered.

The Atmosph’R Restaurant offered indoor and outdoor seating areas. We arrived for a later breakfast at 9:30 AM during our stay and never usually had any issues getting a place to seat.

The brekfast at Atmosph’R was a buffet style; allowing for a quick collection of items. The coffee station offered commercial sized Nepresso stations, and the first Americano coffee that we had seen in quite a while.

In addition to the buffet items, there were eggs cooked to order which included omelettes.

For those that were unable to get breakfast within the room rate, the full buffet was charged at 30 €. Unlike our other breakfast at Le Méridien Nice, there was no sparkling wine offered at breakfast at the Renaissance Aix – En – Provence Hotel.

Bar L’Avant Scene:

The lobby bar, Bar L’Avant Scene, provided a spot to get a drink prior to heading out. The space was pretty small, but it did get a fair amount of use by guests during the stay.

Le Bar Palm’s Pool Club

During our stay, we visited the pool and enjoyed the sun deck. Since we had a 10€ food and beverage credit to use, we enjoyed two 16€ drinks out by the pool.

It was a little slow going at the pool deck in order to get served. I went to get a drink menu and there were all out of them. It involved me headed back up to the kiosk a few times. While it wasn’t a major issue, it wasn’t completely pain free experience either.

Bottom Line: The Renaissance Aix – En – Provence

The Renaissance Aix – En – Provence hotel was a remarkable surprise for a hotel in Aix – En – Provence.

Back in North America, the Renaissance brand tends to be one of the Marriott portfolios a little more tired brands. Instead of getting a dated and worn hotel, we actually had a pretty sparkling new experience will great service by staff.

The ability to redeem Marriott Bonvoy Free Night Awards Certificates at this property made it an especially good value.

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If you have stayed at the Renaissance Aix – En – Provence, where you surprised by the quality of the hotel ?

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