AC Hotel Lansing University Area — Hotel in Lansing

The AC Hotel offers a fresh and welcoming vibe right from the moment you walk in. Sharing the property with Hyatt House, it gives off a clean, modern impression that feels more upscale than expected until a few details bring you back down to reality.

One thing to note before you book: there’s a $14 daily parking fee that isn’t clearly outlined in the mobile app. A surprise charge, but not a deal-breaker.

Check-in is friendly, though perhaps a little too casual. The front desk staff greets you warmly, Cheetos fingers and all on the bright side, at least the snacks are fresh. There must have been a major event going on or some sort of emergency group chat, because the front desk staff seemed surgically attached to their phones. Don't expect to be contacted on your repair requests. You will have to do a good amount of hand-holding to resolve your request. Also they will not have a solution aka move you to another room until you ask while repairs cannot be done.

Dining options are minimal but available. There’s a small lobby snack shop and a couple of food spots located on the AC side. Fitness enthusiasts will appreciate the shared gym with Hyatt House though with only one painfully slow elevator working, you might want to embrace the stairs. Just be careful: the working elevator doesn’t wait for anyone. The door will shut on you, and yes the impact is hard, you will feel it.

If you opt for the stairs, take note: the stairwell has motion-sensor lighting that reacts like it needs a minute to warm up. The lights shut off automatically, and the sensor is slow. Best practice? Wave your hands or jump a bit before taking more than three steps unless you’d like to find out how well you bounce in an emergency.

The rooms are sleek and modern, but much like a cruise cabin, the power only works when you insert your room key into a slot. So if you’re relying on the mobile key through the app, don’t bother it’s essentially useless once you're inside. The room offers minimal storage.

The bathroom is clean but barebones. Don’t expect complimentary lotion or makeup remover wipes, so plan a Target or Walmart run if those are essentials for you. Also, the shower head had visible red residue.

Room amenities include a small beverage fridge and a safe, but no microwave.

Another important note: hotel status doesn’t mean much here. Don’t rely on late checkout privileges your key will likely stop working at standard checkout time regardless of what you requested. Save yourself a headache and confirm with the front desk before heading up on your last day.

All in all, AC Hotel is modern and stylish with great potential but it still has a few quirks and safety concerns to iron out. With some thoughtful improvements, it could be a five-star experience. For now, it’s a decent stay if you come prepared, manage your expectations, and maybe bring...

When we got to our room, it was being painted. Kind of a haul to go back down and fix, but Ricky The Painter followed us down and was very apologetic and helpful, asking the front desk to upgrade us. Ricky deserves 5 stars.

At the front desk, Q made it right, and also comped our breakfasts for the inconvenience. Q was friendly and treated us very well. Q deserves 5 stars.

This location is great and the hotel is new, probably the best in the area.

So what’s my issue? The temperature outside was around 0 degrees and our room never seemed to get warm. The thermostat said 72 but the vent blew cold air directly on us while we slept. We had to get two extra blankets just to tolerate it. The rooms also have a very spartan feel (no pun intended), with very little on the walls and open shelving instead of a closet. And the mini fridge with the glass front looks good but never got things quite cold enough.

They also have the ridiculous European “put your room key in a slot to get power” thing. We are not in Europe. Please stop doing that.

The valet seems to be a separate company as it can’t be billed to your room. Not a big deal, but something to be aware of.

To me the big downfall of the AC is the breakfast. The “buffet” is sparse and every day has the same cheese omelette instead of regular eggs. And those omelettes tasted burnt but cold. The sausage links were cold to the point of being inedible. This happened every day. They do have a la carte options but we couldn’t find anyone to place an order. So we ended up eating cereal everyday, but you know what wasn’t cold? The milk. There was no ice to keep the milk cold. So we had cereal with warm milk 🤮

I am a Lifetime Platinum member with Marriott and I have stayed around 1,500 nights in their hotels, this was my worst breakfast experience ever. The breakfast...

The staff were very courteous and professional. They were very polite and helpful. No faults found with the crew at all. ||Things that were troubling:|• $14 a day to park in an open-air lot with no security that is located across the street and down some stairs. Honestly believe that rolling that cost into the room rate would be a much better option. Between that and a charge for breakfast, I felt like I was nickled and dimed. |• Stayed with three people in a room and there were only 2 glasses and 1 packet of regular and 1 packet of decaf coffee for three people. Had to call the desk for more cups (coffee and water) and were brought the wrong type. If the room sleeps up to four people, it should be set-up for four persons.|• Floor in the room looked clean, but it wasn’t. My bare feet were black from dirt walking around room.|• A frosted glass door on the bathroom might look visually appealing, but at night, when trying to sleep and someone else uses the bathroom, the light illuminates the entire room. Also, the light is on an automatic motion sensor and turns on when entering the room. Would prefer that not happen, especially at night when a simple nightlight would suffice for most purposes.|• Placing accessible rooms far away from the elevator is problematic, especially when using a wheelchair or for someone with mobility issues. These types of rooms should be located closer to the elevators.|•Accessible room has a full bathtub and really should be a zero-threshold shower. If you have trouble lifting your legs up and over a tub edge to take a shower, you do not want to stay here.|•Rooms should have alarm clock, especially for guests that do not have a cell phone or wear a watch.||Probably better places to stay than this one. Will not return. Perhaps the Hyatt House which is connected to this one would be a...