AC Hotel Portland Downtown/Waterfront, ME — Hotel in Portland

In advance I have to say that this stay cost about US$ 600 per night. On our vacation to New England my wife and I visited beautiful Portland, Maine and were really looking forward to staying at the AC Hotel by Marriott Downtown Waterfront. The hotel is nicely situated at the port in the middle of a newly developing living and working quarter. The design is modern and of seemingly high quality but unfortunately that's where the niceties have to end. Upon arrival we dropped off our car and proceeded to check-in. The welcome was businesslike and we should have been suspicious when we were asked if we would like our room cleaned. The only other information freely offered was that they have a happy hour. Nobody offered to show us our room or to help us with our luggage even though it was obvious that I am disabled and walking with a crutch. Upon entering the room the first thing we noticed was that the bed was all crumpled with hair on the pillows and sheets and that the shower was dirty. We decided to take a small walk before unpacking, told the employee at the reception about the dirt and went our way. When we returned the bed was freshly made and the shower cleaned. Unfortunately they only took care of the affore mentioned points and didn't give the room a once over because when we wanted to put our stuff in the wardrobe we noticed a layer of dust accumulated in at least a couple of weeks of not cleaning. I used a small towel to clean the wardrobe and the previously white towel ended up being beige - yummy! At breakfast many glasses were covered in greasy fingerprints, most cups weren't really clean and crumbs lay on the table. When people were finished with their breakfast the employee shook out the place mat on the floor and that was that. The buffet itself was small haphazardly put together with open cardboard boxes left in the corner and they actually didn't even serve cappuccino. I could carry on describing even more problems (not refilling shower gel, no free face masks, stains everywhere, loudly humming minibar...) but I think everyone got the picture. In addition it's one of these hotels where the designers thought it would be nice to place the bathroom in the middle of the room. Looks great but even though I'm married for more than 15 years I appreciate a real door when using the toilet to have some privacy but that's more or less a personal thing. The whole place propagated a feeling of negligence and disinterest even though this hotel could be a real gem if managed better. I can imagine that they encounter problems finding employees due to COVID but I'm not prepared to pay 600 US$ per night for this kind of non-service. At least they should have lowered the rates. Next time we'll stay...

Higher and Higher Rates for Less Quality and Less Service - Fewer Perks for Loyalty

My family and I stayed at the AC Portland Waterfront Maine from 6/07 - 6/10. The facility itself was nice and seemed maintained, likely due to being a newer/renovated property. Upon check-in I inquired if a room upgrade was available, to which they agent quickly responded no. As a loyal Gold Elite member and having nearly a dozen stays at various Marriott properties since achieving Gold status, we have yet to receive one upgrade for any stay. As part of this status we are given the false impression room upgrades are part of this tier of loyalty. Although I realize it is subject to availability, to not receive an upgrade and told over and over, an upgrade is not available, suffice it to say this “perk” is not one Marriott makes any effort to deliver on. If Marriott truly wanted to make occasional upgrades for it’s loyal customers, they would allocate a certain number/or higher number of rooms for upgrade to it’s loyal members—this is not being done I suspect intentionally.

At the end of check-in I was then told our room would only be cleaned once for a four night stay! I was shocked, particularly based on the exorbitant rates being charged these days. This is unacceptable Marriott. When our room was actually cleaned the ONE time, it wasn’t fully cleaned and floors had not even been vacuumed! No shampoo refilled, despite me making a separate request from the front desk the day before. So when we got showers the next morning before our long travel day back home, no shampoo for us to wash our hair or the kids hair. I called down to the front desk and no answer. Also important to note, very little drawer or cabinet space--had to "live" out of our suitcases.

I am forced to leave this review and give feedback on an outside site, because I was never asked for it by Marriott. I never received a survey at the conclusion of our stay nor asked for any feedback by the hotel directly. As a matter of fact, when we checked out around 10:30 am on 7/10 and I asked for our final bill, all the agent said was “are you leaving” to which I responded yes. She then simply handed me the bill and said nothing further. No how was your stay or even, thank you for staying…she said absolutely...

First of all, I would like to say that I am a longtime Marriott member and proponent. I have stayed at various Marriott properties in over half a dozen states and have never had a bad experience. My wife and I were married at a Marriott property in Boston, the Courtyard downtown, and have always been loyal proponents of the brand. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same thing about our stay at the AC last week. I would like to point out, however, that the staff at the AC was helpful, courteous, and lived up to the high standards that I have come to expect from Marriott. However, that is unfortunately about the only good thing I could say about our stay.

My frustration began when I went to book the room online. As a Bon Voy member I have access to book directly through Marriott and have the opportunity for discounted rates through the "Member Rate Advance Purchase Offer." However, when I tried to use this option and pay with Marriott gift cards that we received as wedding gifts, I was not able to use the gift card. After several failed attempts to use the card and receive the discounted rate, I called the AC to try and book directly, and was again informed that if I wanted the discounted advance purchase rate, I was not able to use our gift card. I was very disappointed to be paying approximately $80 more than I could have just because we wanted to use our gift card to celebrate our anniversary. Additionally I tried to contact the customer service option through the online and received a notice that my ticket was "resolved" without ever hearing back from anyone.

Our disappointment only continued when we got up to our room. Despite the sleek modern decor, the lack of privacy in the room for the bathroom was egregious. While using the bathroom, you could see through the approximately 3 inch gap in the sliding door to the rest of the room, and anyone else in the room was able to see into the bathroom. Additionally, the echo and sound level that could be heard from the bathroom, even with the door closed, provided absolutely no privacy whatsoever. Additionally, the lack of a sink in the bathroom contributed to sanitary concerns as you are forced to open and close the sliding door without the opportunity to wash your hands. I was truly disappointed in the design flaws that were overlooked in a seemingly simple concept...