AC Hotel San Rafael Downtown

Great stay! We come up quite a bit to this area as my wife's family and in-laws live in San Rafael area and we always felt the options in area weren't too great. We are so glad this hotel opened up as we are familiar with AC brand. We also were married down the street so it brought back nice memories! When we stayed here all our expectations were met. We pulled into underground parking on side street (there were no parking spots as we came in late on a Friday night). We walked into hotel and took elevator to level 1 where reception is located. We were greeted by a pleasant young man named Mason who checked us in and was gracious and polite. I asked about the lack of parking spots in underground parking and he informed me that there is an overflow parking area on opposite part of the hotel (via main street I believe on 5th Ave). It actually is open air parking and on ground 1st floor level. When we checked in he recognized our Ambassador status and asked if we wanted points or a voucher for drinks/food ($10 per person so $20 bucks). We took the vouchers. We also were pleasantly surprised that the bar area was open late on Friday night and weekends (I believe closes midnight). The public areas were typical AC chic/modern. There are nice spacious public areas and bar has nice view of street and fireplace area. We were greeted by Mario and we had some small plates and nice wine. Only negative was that at end of night I wanted a double espresso but was told machine was off as he had already began to clean machine. This is only negative because if you are open to 12 midnight you should be able to have everything on menu. The way I would have handled the "sorry we dont have espresso because of machine already has been cleaned and turned off" is I would have said sorry we dont have that anymore but let me comp your sparking waters (would have been $9 bucks) or something like that. Btw food and wine were delicious and they great liquor selection as well (they have Forteleza tequilla!) The rooms are standard AC fare which are modern chic. There are other similar type/style brands in Marriott family like W or Moxy and we prefer AC (W depends on site and location) as its modern and sleek. The bathroom/vanity is by the entrance and isn't separate room per say but I think its good use of space as rooms felt spacious. We stayed in room 418 which is one of their bigger rooms but in am we heard the stomping of our upstairs neighbor (floors are wooden floors and not carpeted). It wasn't super loud but our neighbor was a stomper at 7 am. We reached down to front desk via app and Rodolfo and Miranda facilitated a move to highest floor and comparable room. Very nice. Breakfast was great too. Typical European breakfast with something for everyone and healthy food/options with fruit, sliced meats, cheese, and some egg options (I had one egg option with toast and prosciutto which was delicious). Heather our server was great. The breakfast area feels spacious and airy due to layout and is a pleasant place to eat. We definitely will stay here again when we return to SF area (we come a lot to visit family). Highly recommend! FYI I read some of the other reviews including some bad ones. I too travel light and travel a lot (business and a lot for pleasure). This is not the St Regis. This is a wonderful affordable elegant option in Marin county and we have stayed in a great deal of hotels in area and this is a gem if not one of best. It is even close enough (50 some mins and you avoid the annoying Bay Area traffic that plagues the Golden Gate area) to Napa (at substantial lesser cost) although I wouldn't recommend especially if you are drinking. This is a great hotel. Take it from someone who travels a lot and you have to put every place in context. It is not the Four Seaons, Belmond or St Regis where you have 5 star services but it isnt spartan like the Courtyard or other Holiday Inn. Its a chic modern place with amazing rooftop bar, nice amenities (i.e. great bar with late hours, great spacious public spaces) We highly recommend without any reservations!

Overall, comfortable, modern and clean… I would’ve appreciated a true blackout room. Curtains are not sufficient to block sun. Also, the bathroom is like a stall, so there’s a gap at the bottom and at the top… Anyone going with a significant other who prefers to have their privacy in the bathroom may want to look into that before committing. Would be way more likely to book if I need a sauna, steam room, Jacuzzi and cold plunge.

Lovely place. Good for business and personal travel

they could improve menu

The AC in San Rafael is a new hotel with glossy amenities like a gym with Pelotons and a (seasonally closed) rooftop bar but for a frequent traveler it was a big disappointment. I travel light, taking 2-3 days of clothing with the expectation of doing laundry at the hotel where I’m staying. The AC did not have a washer/dryer which is OK for an upmarket place, but surprisingly it did not even have a laundry / dry cleaning service. I was slaying five nights, so had an instant problem. As a Marriott Ambassador I stay over a quarter of any year at Marriott properties and this is the very first that’s offered neither a laundry room nor a laundry service. The Front Desk was not particularly helpful, suggesting I find a dry cleaners locally, which normally don’t off same-day service. I attempted to contact the manager leaving two messages but did not receive a call back. I did eventually find a coin-operated laundry in Corte Madera, but I had a busy schedule and found it time-consuming. Needless to say I won’t be staying at the AC San Rafael again. The Marriott Courtyard Larkspur is a short distance and has a washer/dryer, as does the Sheraton Four Points in Terra Linda.

Location, cleanliness, new hotel, friendly staff.

I could hear my neighbors speaking at a muffled level and also hear what they were doing.

Convenience to downtown and eating and coffee houses

A lot of downtown was closed up stores were empty

The property was very clean. The easy clean floors allowed noise to travel between floors.