AC Hotel Columbus Downtown, OH — Hotel in Columbus

If you're looking for a simple cup of coffee, you will not find it here. But if you want to work out - come on in!

I am on the fence with this hotel. The location is phenomenal, and the service at the front desk is also outstanding. However, I have stayed here several times now on business and I felt this latest trip - I'm still here, so we'll see how the last night goes - merited a review.

I traveled here on business. I am a cancer patient with specific medical needs. I asked about a small microwave for my room for some things I need to take before bed and they seemed extremely accommodating and understanding and promised exactly that. As I near checkout four days later, I have yet to see that microwave. When I checked in they said it was just taking a bit longer and it would be up that day before bedtime. I've now gone several days without taking those particular medications because of this.

Coffee? Nope! There is nowhere to grab a cup of coffee except for up in the bar on the top floor and it is only offered for a few hours during their breakfast service. On my last visit, that cup of coffee cost me $22. "Breakfast." Today I couldn't even get that, as we sat here in a total power outage for over an hour - couldn't leave my room, the hallway was pitch black, couldn't work, couldn't go to the gym, couldn't get breakfast, nothing. I found out after it was over that apparently the elevators work on emergency generators, but I had no way to know that - I thought I was completely trapped. That happened over the breakfast service, so no coffee today.

The gym is amazing. It's enormous. It has all kinds of cardio equipment - stairs, treadmills, a couple peloton bikes, and a high end recumbent bike as well as a really nice rower. There are towels and small waters in the gym. There is a full, four-sided power tower in there - with a heavy bag and all. Ropes, lats, everything. There's an area with weights - both dumbbells and kettlebells, and bosu balls and mats. You can really get in a good workout here with plenty of space to stretch out.

The wifi is incredibly slow.

For some reason to top it all off, the elevators take forever, and they have had one of them locked off all day on floor 7. Earlier today I got stuck in the other one for a chunk of time on the 4th floor.

There are two bottles of water left in the rooms which you can drink - for a $9 charge each.

As much as I adore this location and the front desk folks, there are some things here that really make me hesitate when I think about next month's trip too. The cost was quite high for a week trip during a non peak season (tonight's rate is over $500 for an April Thursday night in a normal king room) for these kinds of issues to be things.

The rooms do make a really good use of space, and the bathrooms have space - blow dryers - and lots of room. The mirrors are not at all well lit, so it is difficult to apply makeup. The beds are cozy and the pillows are feather - they feel high quality - and the nightstands have laps and also small directable reading lights, a feature I love. There are also bedside USB charging ports and grounded plug ins which are not loose and offer high speed charging, as does the desk area.

There is a small in-room refrigerator and an open closet space - very small, but workable. There is no dresser, but there are a couple of drawers under the mini fridge, and an ironing board/iron tucked away.

The shower has wall-mounted toiletries that smell nice for those who don't pack their own.

Lumin sky bar is nice for night time but it does close pretty early - no midnight romance cocktails up there. The skyline is spectacular, looking down from the seats around the rooftop firepits at north market and Laveque tower.

Overall I'd say it's a great place to stay but be prepared from some odd policies (like the coffee thing - I've never been at a hotel that didn't just have coffee available somewhere all day). Most impressed by the front desk staff...

EDIT 3 JAN 2025 -

The hotel GM responded in this forum, as anyone can see below. In his response, he noted that the hotel has been in touch to “offer support.” What I have received is as follows, via form email:

“Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts regarding this issue. I appreciate you bringing it to our attention. I will share your message with the Front Office and Management leadership team.

Once again, thank you for taking the time to share your feedback. I appreciate you choosing to stay with us.”

I have responded to this form email requesting an update on plans to address the specific concerns and expenses guests incurred as a result of these vehicle break-ins.

Will update here as appropriate.

——-

I would liked to have discussed this directly with the hotel GM, but the email is not published, so here goes.

Columbus is experiencing a well-publicized rash of car break-ins. Google it. Plan accordingly.

And there is nothing the hotel can do about that. But, our car (and 9 others) was broken into during our stay and the hotel handled it terribly.

A) the hotel staff did not notify us until check-out (the break in happened at 4 am, the hotel found out before 6 am, and we were not told until check-out out at 11 am) costing us time on a holiday weekend to try to find repair shops open, and resulting in us being stranded two extra days (the next day was Sunday) in Columbus waiting for the vehicle to be safe to drive again. The alternative was to leave the vehicle, get a rental, and drive 12 hours to reclaim our vehicle (4 hours home, 4 hours drive back days later, and another 4 hours home).

Additionally, the hotel and the valet contractor took that time to “clean” the vehicle. As you see in the photos, they put trash bags on the windows and cleaned some glass. But not all. And anyway, too little too late. And it prevented me from getting photos of the damage for insurance.

B) When we were told about the break-in, we were offered free valet, plus Marriott points (enough for a one night stay), and two free bottled sodas from the marketplace. You have got to be kidding! The valet refund is not negotiable. As if I would pay for the valet after the hotel did not keep my vehicle safe. And, this has ended up costing me a thousand dollars out of pocket for replacement glass (until I am reimbursed by insurance), two days stuck in Columbus with those room and board costs, and hours of inconvenience on the phone with auto glass shops and insurance. For that, I get comped one night and get a diet Mountain Dew? They didn’t even comp our $50 bar bill! Totally unacceptable.

I have other criticisms (the confusing breakfast) which pale by comparison.

I’d still like to speak with a G.M. or someone else from the hotel and would welcome their responding to this review. The front desk staff and the chief engineer, who was the manager on call that morning, did what they could, and I expressed some of the concerns above, but it was clear that these were things beyond...

AC Marriott Columbus worst and most terrifying experience! We stayed there this weekend and woke up to no power including exit signs etc and has to use a flashlight to get ready for my daughters tournament that morning. We also missed breakfast. All this is nothing compared to what happened several hours later! After leaving my daughters volleyball tournament we walked back to our car that was still parked in valet. Once we received our car my daughter and I decided to go to Easton on the way home. Once we left Easton while driving on 71 North around 8pm we were being followed by a car with 2 people motioning us to get off the highway. For 10 minutes or more my daughter and I were on the Hwy terrified as this car was slamming the brakes on in front of me trying to get me to pull over and rolling the window down acting crazy. I called 911 and the state trooper said they too had called 911. and wanted me to pull over since she left her phone in my car. We had no idea their was a phone in the back! It was the valet from AC hotel Columbus that had dropped her phone in the back 2nd row of my car! Why was her phone in the middle of my back seat??? After talking to the state trooper and pulling over at a safe meeting area I ask the girl for her name. She began to cuss and scream at me all while I was on the phone with the state trooper. The state trooper said she did the same to her and the 911 officer who told her what she was going was illegal. I gave her the phone back so she would stop following us. She said her name is Audrey Gay. I immediately called the hotel and advised I was filing a police report and told them my horrifying story. Andrew The front desk supervisor said they would call me first thing this morning but I have yet to hear back. Unbelievable they would not respond. Don't stay at AC Marriott Columbus and don't use...