AC Hotel Vancouver Waterfront — Hotel in Vancouver

A fan of Marriott, I might stay here again if by myself, otherwise, this was a one and done. Redeeming points for three adults (my family) for two nights, I am glad I didn't spend the +/-$300 nightly rate for this past weekend. Entrance drive loop is barely two cars wide. Lobby is nice though. Could have used additional staff at check-in Friday night. There was a Marriott Elite check in placard on the left, but no one visibly available to staff it, so I stayed in the main line and waited my turn, 3rd or 4th in line. At check in, two keys without asking (reservations for three adults). Would have been nice to ask me how many keys. Having opened June 15th, still getting their feet under them it appears. Memorized spiel about the robot they can send to your room w/ items from the "AC Store" at the front desk, & about restaurant options. Parking garage lanes are very narrow at the entrance to the ramp. Hard not to cross center line to make the turn in and out. Area at top of 1st ramp isn't much better. No trash cans in the garage or near elevators on floors. Nice elevators. Great deck on the fourth floor overlooking the water. Our double queen room (408) felt like a narrow hallway to me when entering. Nice lighting, but felt cramped. A chip in the floor of the shower pan (this place has only been opened for two months, and it's already chipped). Overall feel of the room was lower end "ingredients" and build quality. Will be interesting to see how it holds up/ages. Coffee pot & a nicer fridge located immediately to the left behind the room door (no microwave) in an open closet. Minimal space about the width of the small ironing board at the back of the space to hang clothing. Bench running length of the room over to an elevated section for a desk. Used the bench & desk to place our three suitcases and three backpacks. I like to have a closet and drawers to place items in and keep the clutter down, or at least be able to place the suitcases off to the side from where we're sitting and sleeping. The room has a minimalistic design, but unless you show up with limited luggage, you're not going to have a minimalistic feel while trying to stay in it. I can see what they were trying to achieve, but it missed the mark for me. Single nightstand between the beds. I appreciate something additional on the opposite sides of each of the beds these days so my wife and I both have a place next to us to charge our phones and have them double as our alarm clocks. The view of the hotel being built next door is what you primarily see from this room, with a partial view of the river to the left. Bathroom is well lit. Not much room at sink/counter w/ two trying to get ready at the same time. Shampoo dispenser was empty upon arrival. Used the body wash, but was annoying. Rain shower head is a nice idea, but not real useful. I liked the water pressure from the adjustable head on the shower wand though. Saturday morning around 6:45 AM, my wife called front desk to ask them to service our room with fresh towels and a refill/replacement of the empty shampoo bottle prior to our returning at 11 AM. After 11, no shampoo or fresh towels. After a quick conversion between my wife and the front desk staff and a nearby manager, the manager was at our door in a few minutes, shampoo and towels in hand, and swapped them out herself. We appreciated that, but it would have been better if it had been handled in the four hours we were gone that morning. The HVAC system's cycling kept waking me the first night. Second night was better, but still annoying. Beds and bedding were nice. Was able to get a late check-out. Check-out was smooth. Didn't try the restaurant. Nice waterfront area. Saturday we walked the paths, sat in the grass in the shade of some trees while watching families and children playing nearby. Made for a lovely afternoon. I really wanted to like the AC Hotel and was excited we were able to book it this close to opening. The hassles with some of the service, the garage entrance, the room size & layout, and overall design choices didn't...

This is a long one...

Front desk and engineering personnel were WONDERFUL, and seemed to genuinely care. My room seemed good at first. Then around 4am my first night of two, the motion sensor for the lighting system started clicking incessantly. I cried a little for my lack of sleep. This went on for hours, including when I turned lights on manually hoping to "reset" things somehow - the lights actually flashed along with the clicking. Then it would stop just long enough for me to almost fall asleep before resuming. Front desk was unable to help when I finally called around 5am. I was unproductive at a large company meeting/training the next day. My room could not be switched for the second night due to full booking.

Staff would've gotten 5 stars, but the first front desk person who promised they'd send someone after engineering arrived for the day did not, nor did the person I spoke with in the morning as I left the hotel for my work function. Someone was finally sent up after I returned and inquired again around 5:30pm.

Paul was great, as were the two concierge staff i worked with that evening. Paul reset everything in the room, said he'd be around until 10pm. I went to a work dinner nearby, returned about 9:30pm, verified at the front desk someone (Paul) was still around. 9:40pm, back in my room, the clicking & light flashing resumed. Called front desk - Paul returned. Reset some things without luck. I finally asked if he could cover the main motion sensor- he said yes, left & came back with a wash cloth and some masking tape - problem solved, and I slept mostly decently the second night.

Street noise was louder in the room both nights than I have experienced in other hotels and on lower floors, which would've been more tolerable if my first night weren't so rough. Side note, a couple of peers who attended the same function as me & stayed in hotel experienced the lights turning on a couple of times when rolling over in bed. WTF. Super sensitive motion detection isn't a great choice for sleeping quarters.

I really hope my company doesn't get a parking bill since that was supposed to be comped for my trouble, yet the gate still tried to make me pay on my way out. Gate was opened without paying when I tried the call button, though no one answered to confirm either way.

I should've asked for a comped night vs. free parking since my company lost performance out of me the main day of this event, and I was miserable the whole day.

TLDR: lighting system kept me awake, street noise wasn't helpful, most of the staff were helpful & empathetic, I'll call if my company card is charged for parking that...

Update* The General Manager sent me an email regarding my stay and I feel that they really cared about my feedback and experience, and I believe they made a good effort to resolve my issues, so I have updated my review to 4 stars.

I stayed here for a business trip for 4 nights. Upon check in, I stated that I was a Gold Elite member and asked if there were any upgraded rooms available (one of the benefits) and they said they could get me in a double queen river view. I was confused as I had booked the reservation for a King riverview and didn't understand how that was an upgrade. The person at the front desk said I was booked for a partial riverview, which is incorrect, I still have the reservation details and it clearly states what was booked. I tried to explain it to him but he wasn't really listening. He said the best he could do was a King partial riverview. The room they put me in gave me several hundred dollars back, which was proof they changed my room, and I was aware of the extra cost and willing to spend it. Once I arrived in my room, I noticed there were dead bugs all over the floor by the window and bugs flying all over the window pane. I read the other reviews about bug infestations and figured I wouldn't get anywhere if I said anything and I moved everything out of the way so the cleaners would hopefully see in the morning. They put everything back, didn't touch the bugs, went through my luggage, didn't clean the shower (it had dirt and hair in it from before I checked in) and left THEIR garbage filled up in the garbage can. The bugs remained throughout my entire stay and they never cleaned the shower properly so I ended up scrubbing it. The shower water pressure is so low you can barely take a shower and the shower head had not been cleaned in a long time so the holes were covered with calcium and gunk, and the shower head was moving around in the ceiling because it was not secured correctly. They do not offer room service at all. Parking is nice as far as being able to park and go directly to your room, but the spaces are super tight, good luck getting a large vehicle in a spot. Having to eat at the restaurant, I found myself waiting quite a while for service, but the food was decent. The location is about the only thing I found to be good about this hotel. I travel a lot and this was one of the worst experiences I have had while staying at a hotel...