AC Hotel Chapel Hill Downtown — Hotel in Chapel Hill

Honestly, one of the worst stays I have ever had at a hotel. I hate to say it because I really like this Marriott brand, but I did not enjoy my time at the AC hotel in Chapel Hill Downtown. Everything is under the mantra of “Due to Covid”, and some things are excusable, but I don’t think being rude, grumpy, disrespectful, and not doing their job qualify.

At check-in, the lady at the front desk was extremely rude; she never made eye contact, never even greeted us or smiled. Additionally, she did not give us the option for points or a $10 credit per day - we had to go to the front desk after check-in to ask for it. We decided to go with the $10 credit, but we soon found out that it didn't have much use at all since the restaurant was closed. This was not advertised on the website for the hotel and I was very disappointed. There was a marketplace within the hotel, but it was not well-stocked so we decided to just waste the $20 on junk food and snacks. When we went to checkout the items, there was a different person at the front desk. While she was scanning the items, she was practically throwing the items back at us onto the counter and was clearly upset and grumpy at something -- once again, no eye contact. Speaking of being grumpy, our party was a bit hungry late at night and we decided to head down to the hotel bar to enjoy some small plates. We weren't entirely sure when the bar would close, so we called down from our room to ask only for us to be rudely told "Um, we know you're underage" in an extremely sassy, disrespectful, and chastising voice before rudely hanging up while I was trying to explain we weren't going to drink - understandably they were only following the law, but they assumed the worst of me and hanging up mid-sentence and saying it in such a way was incredibly uncalled for. Later, when we got back to our hotel room, we realized that there was no body soap, towels, trashcan bags, and tissue paper placed in our rooms. We called the front desk for them to be brought up and we were told to go down and get them ourselves. This would have been understandable if we only needed extra amenities, but there were NO amenities in the room to begin with. Didn’t we pay for a room that should be prepared and equipped with the basic needs at check-in? If we are going to get such bad service, or no service to be exact, I think we should send an invoice to the hotel, or at least have cheaper prices, since we basically had to do the staff’s job for them. This is not a hotel; it’s more of a motel the way we were treated and not provided with any services.

On another note, the hotel room's air conditioner fan was making a weird tapping noise - almost as if a piece of plastic was stuck to it. We called the front desk about that too and were told that they would send a person over to investigate. When they did, they said that it indeed was an issue and that they would call our room back within a few minutes, but they never did. On a final tangent, the hotel had a paper within our room describing the changes made due to the COVID-19 pandemic, one of them being a grab-n-go breakfast from 7:00 A.M. - 10:00 A.M. - however, as is almost expected at this point, there was no such breakfast option and we were instead directed to the snack marketplace.

This last bit will sound elitist, but I have Platinum status with Marriott hotels and am guaranteed a 4 P.M. late checkout, with resort and convention hotels being an exception. To my knowledge this hotel is neither of those and, unsurprisingly, that guarantee was not honored. I hate to be so brazen, but if I am willing to pay over $100 a night, I expect courteous staff and basic amenities stocked within our room at the very least. Marriott has been letting me down lately, and I can't say I can recommend staying here at the AC Hotel in Chapel...

This AC hotel has only been opened for three months. We met some friends for a small reunion. We pooled the following recommendations. If the items we mentioned were corrected and addressed we would then give this hotel an excellent rating. We did like it a lot and the location for Chapel Hill was perfect. We would stay there again. Note; if you have a Netflix account bring your username and password as you have access to netflix. We liked the TV options and the size and quality of TV was great. Our review: We liked the decor in lobby and in room. Great TV. Liked the modern shower with rain forest nozzle. Door to bathroom needs some sound proofing and to be solid in color (too much light comes through) and bed was good in terms of softness and firmness. Liked that the bathroom door was a slider. Price too high on breakfast. Soap sizes too small and what's with the golf ball (Mr. Antonio Catalan?). Recommendations my wife and I and our friends who stayed here also would be: Have a book in each room giving a map of area and downtown, list of good nearby restaurants and attractions in Chapel Hill. Put on your website that Netflix is available and folks will need to know or bring their user name and pass word to use if they have a Netflix account. Have a note in room book that TV guide is on the remote. Did not know how to contact front desk to get a wake up, room service etc. call as no directions for phone use in room as to how to contact front desk. Front desk did not have a phone book for Chapel Hill. No newspapers available in lobby. Liked that some computers were available in lobby area. Took too long to take the one elevator to the parking areas. Air conditioning worked good. Liked the pillows also. There were no drink machines in the hydro areas and only one hydro on our floor. No directions on ice machine. My friend had trouble figuring out how to use ice machine. If the above were fixed for problem areas and kept the good items then our stay would have been almost prefect. Since this location has only been open for three months I think you can fix the above items as they are not that...

This was a last-minute booking after a glitch with my original reservation elsewhere but I am happy it happened. From the moment I walked in on a very hot, steamy afternoon, I was refreshed and graciously welcomed. I was able to check-in straight away and take a much-needed nap. The front desk clerk who checked me in was so friendly and welcoming. The room was very clean and well-appointed (USB ports and enough outlets for charging items). The bathroom was very welcoming and spacious with a fantastic shower (and we were on the 4th floor), featuring a rain shower and fantastic for me, a hand-held with a strong massage setting (my preference when showering). The Korres products were wonderful and did not cause an allergic reaction at all-something I have to be VERY careful of). I also had no reaction to the linens (also often allergic to the detergent used in hotels). There were a couple of small bottles of complimentary water provided each day in the small fridge, replaced during the room cleaning. One unique amenity for me that I absolutely appreciated was the Guest Laundry on every floor. With the sweltering heat and humidity, I very much appreciated being able to do a quick load of laundry. Not for everyone, but definitely something I appreciated. The housekeeping staff was great and accommodating as we were up late into the night and didn't get going until well into the late afternoon. The location is fantastic. Lots of restaurants and pubs very close by on Franklin. The Crumpleton was great as was Frutta bowl. It was a quick, easy walk to Carrboro, which is where the festival we attended was. Overall, I am happy that the original reservation at the other hotel didn't work out. I genuinely enjoyed my stay at AC Hotel Chapel...