The Renaissance Concourse Hotel: Atlanta's Only Airport Atrium Hotel

The Renaissance Concourse Hotel, a AAA Four-Diamond award winner for six years in a row, is located at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. The hotel can be accessed directly from the airport via Interstate 85. The location is about 15 minutes from downtown Atlanta, 20 minutes from Midtown Atlanta and 25 minutes from the Buckhead area.

The 387-room Renaissance is the only AAA Four-Diamond hotel, as well as the only atrium-style hotel, in the Atlanta airport area. When the hotel opened in 1992 under another name, the Atlanta Business Chronicle said, "Located alongside the runways, it offers guests an unparalleled view of takeoffs and landings.'' The hotel was completely renovated in 2007. Guest rooms are either standard or club level, and seven suites are available. The Professional Travel Guide says of the renovation, "The rooms display fresh dycor ... with soft bedding, ample seating and work space.'' All rooms offer wired and wireless high-speed Internet access, two phone lines and a mini-refrigerator. Club level rooms offer access to an executive club level that provides complimentary snacks and drinks throughout the day. The club level rooms also feature finer furniture, seating areas, CD players and bathrobes. Some rooms even have balconies overlooking the airport.

Other hotel features include an adequately equipped fitness center, outdoor pool, indoor lap pool and saunas, a full service business center and a bar and restaurant. The Concorde Bar & Grill provides breakfast, lunch and dinner, as well as specialty cocktails and fine wine. The restaurant serves a wide variety of American fare. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution points out that "most of the Renaissance brands ... have single dining outlets. The Concourse's strategy is to emphasize quality, freshness and innovation - what patrons would expect from an upscale free-standing restaurant.''

The Renaissance Concourse has 35,000 square feet and a total of 28 rooms of meeting space, which were updated in 2007 along with the rest of the hotel. Franklin Smith, the director of sales and marketing for the hotel, was quoted in the Atlanta Business Chronicle as saying, "It's really important to us to have more cutting-edge meeting space to match the rest of what we provide. We needed to bring the meeting space up to par.'' A new sound system was installed in the 11,000-square-foot Concourse Ballroom, which accommodates up to 1,500 guests reception-style or 770 banquet-style. A wide variety of other spaces is available, including several meeting rooms, a private dining room and a boardroom.

Travelers are generally enthusiastic about the Renaissance Concourse on travel websites. On one site, 80 percent of reviewers gave the hotel an "Excellent'' or "Very Good'' rating, while only 11 percent gave it a "Poor'' or "Terrible.'' The location is its biggest asset, both in convenience to the airport and in the "wow'' factor of watching the airplanes land literally right outside the window. Guests are impressed that there is little to no noise from the airport. The staff was singled out both as "very willing'' and "spotty'' in their helpfulness. Several reviewers mentioned that the hotel seems worn. The Professional Travel Guide says that the hotel's "superior location, views and well-designed guest rooms make it more appealing. ... This is a pleasant surprise for an airport hotel.''