Renaissance Vancouver Harbourside has 442 rooms quite close to the Coal Harbour waterfront. This hotel  is located directly across the street from the Marriott Pinnacle Downtown Vancouver hotel. The ambiance of the Renaissance seemed more relaxed than the Marriott Pinnacle to me.
Distinctive 1970s feature on top of Renaissance Harbourside originally was a revolving restaurant and is now Vistas 360 private function space. Unfortunately too many hotels I have visited the past few years have closed off their top floor space exclusively for private functions. The Hyatt Regency San Francisco turned their similar looking circular top space into the Regency Club lounge. Think about that Renaissance Harbourside.
Comments I read on FlyerTalk indicated most people prefer the Marriott Pinnacle to the Renaissance.
The modern Marriott is certainly more attractive from the exterior, but there are some nice views from Coal Harbour facing rooms to be found in the Renaissance. I certainly wouldn’t reject the Renaissance as a desirable hotel to stay.
The lobby area has fireplaces and seating.  There were people lounging around the lobby reading newspapers and using free Wi-Fi on a Tuesday morning in mid-June.
The hotel rooms were renovated in 2009 prior to the Winter Olympics of 2010. The color scheme is more complex at the Renaissance.
The Renaissance Harbourside is an older building than the Marriott Pinnacle. The bathrooms are smaller with only a bathtub and no separate shower, however, the rooms have sliding patio doors that open wide for air.
Rooms have patio doors that slide open wide with a low-glass barrier. These doors might give guests with small children second thought.  I certainly like the doors that open wide rather than the typical 4 inches of space most US hotels limit the guest to when opening a sliding patio door in high rise hotels.
This is a hotel where you really want the harbourside view if you plan to spend time in the room.
Some rooms have double patio doors with sufficient space for chairs and allow the room doors to be closed while the outer patio space is open or closed.
Double patio doors in corner room 1041 provide extra space and extra noise barrier for seaplanes.
Room 1041 had a larger patio with two sets of sliding doors. The interior doors can be opened to provide more room space with the patio. This room allows the guest to sit on the patio with the exterior doors open and keep the interior patio doors shut.
I really liked this room since I am a person who wakes up hours before my wife and I would be able to sit outside at 6am in the bright sun of Vancouver in summer (or more likely rain based on my recent experience) with the curtains and interior patio door closed while my wife slept inside the room.
The bathrooms at the Renaissance Harbourside are smaller than the Marriott Pinnacle and only have a tub/shower combo. Sliding doors, in my experience, are a bit noisy to close when staying with another guest. The bathrooms at the Marriott have separate tub and shower. But ask yourself if a better bathroom is worth a $50 a night premium for you as the guest?
Bathrooms at Renaissance harbourside were stocked with Aveda bath products.
The rooms have a small couch/chaise near the patio windows.
Desk, Flat screen TV, AV panel for gadgets.
Coffee maker and empty mini-fridge are room features.
There an indoor pool at the Renaissance Harbourside and large fitness room. There were a couple of women doing yoga when I walked through the space. The fitness room offers access to a large outdoor patio area.
The Renaissance Harbourside Hotel is Marriott Rewards category 5 at 25,000 points per night. The room rate on the dates I checked for a mid-July 2011 stay were $184 per night compared to $236 for the Marriott Pinnacle.
The Renaissance Harbourside property is older than the Marriott Pinnacle, yet this may not be a significant matter if you have a room with a great view at the Renaissance. There is much more variability in the rooms at the Marriott Pinnacle in terms of size. Some guests prefer the more modern exterior and design of the Marriott, but the Renaissance rates are frequently $50 a night less than Marriott and reward nights are one category lower. You can save a bit booking the Renaissance.
Renaissance Harbourside TripAdvisor rating 4 circles = #40 of 105 hotels in Vancouver (Marriott Pinnacle is #33) – June 15, 2011.
One of the nice features of the Renaissance and Marriott is a complimentary shuttle that stops here for the Capilano Suspension Bridge Park in North Vancouver. This is a great place to take the kids where, in addition to the main suspension bridge over the river valley, there are bridges suspended between trees in the Treetops Adventure. I thoroughly enjoyed this park and its educational features. The public bus runs frequently and costs $2.50 from Capilano to Grouse Mountain and takes about ten minutes.
Related Link: Marriott Pinnacle Downtown Vancouver (Loyalty Traveler June 15, 2011)
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