We were at this resort in January. We enjoyed our stay. We had a room with a king-sized bed, ample space in the room. Beautiful view. And, comfortable - temperature control, bed, etc. We dined at Sirocco two evenings. Both times the food was very good. The wait staff was exeptional. They were friendly and attentive to our table. The staff throughout the hotel was very friendly and helpful.

We are staying here on site for a business conference. We paid extra to upgrade to a corner room for more space. Although the bed is comfortable, it is a typical hotel room that needs a facelift. Small, thin towels, tiny toiletries, lackluster bathroom, it feels very institutional. The terra-cotta design blocks on the exterior of the building detract from the mountain views- they need to be removed. Other than that, the grounds are beautiful and well maintained and the views outside are lovely. The hotel itself is in a prime location for thd area.

We were very disappointed with the room we were assigned to at the Renaissance Esmeralda. We had reserved the room based on the reputation of the Renaissance chain, expecting a room that was "special". That was a mistake. Our 7th floor room had a worn, stained carpet, stained upholstered chairs, and an ugly, uncomfortable chaise lounge that was covered by a threadbare and stained fabric slipcover. The bedside lampshades had greasy stains around the rims. The small bar fridge was so battered and scratched that it looked like it had just fallen off the back of a truck. It worked, and it was convenient, but it didn't add anything to the atmosphere of the room. The only good feature of the room was the comfortable bed which appeared to be newer than the rest of the furnishings and the Aveda amenities which we appreciate.

After the first night we went to the registration desk and requested an updated room. The desk clerk apologetically advised us that all of the rooms were furnished in the same manner as ours, and were in about the same condition. Apparently the hotel is planning to renovate all of the guest rooms about a year from now. In our opinion, the rooms should have been renovated two years ago, or the hotel rating and room charges should have been downgraded to reflect the current condition.

We stayed at the Renaissance Esmeralda for three nights at a charge of $250.00 per night, including taxes and fees. On two of nights the hotel was full of teenage lacrosse players and their parents. We suspected that the lacrosse teams were paying much less for their rooms, which were apparently furnished the same as ours. So we felt quite "ripped off". We felt like we were paying 4-star prices for a 2-star room in a 4-star resort.

On the positive side, all of the hotel staff we spoke to, including maintenance staff, housekeeping, and the concierge were cheerful and helpful. The housekeeping staff worked hard to keep the room and the bathroom clean in spite of the wear and tear. The hotel grounds and the pool area are beautiful, and very well maintained. The quality of the food and service in the restaurants in the Renaissance Esmeralda was outstanding.

After this experience with poor room quality we would not reserve a room in a Renaissance Hotel again.

First visit to this resort -- we were very impressed with the facility and staff. Kudos to front desk staff, housekeeping, restaurant servers and especially the pool bar staff. Grounds were beautiful and well kept. Only thing I'd change would be pillows and linens -- don't like the soft squishy ones, and sheets came off the mattress corners.