AC Hotel NYC Downtown - New York City [Master Thread]
 

Opening Sept '18. Cat 4. Hotel website:

https://www.marriott.com/hotels/trav...york-downtown/

"Situated at the hub of bustling downtown Manhattan in the Financial District, the AC Hotel NYC Downtown puts you where you need to be to foster your innovation, connections and notable city experiences. Timeless European design meets NY metropolitan to create an experience that is distinctly AC. Discover Howard Hugh's Pier 17 in the Seaport District with the mall featuring restaurants and a large content creation studio of ESPN. With easy access to all the city has to offer including Wall Street, nearby East River Brooklyn Bridge and Broadway, the AC Hotel NYC Downtown allows many options for exploration including September 11 Memorial and the World Trade Center. Local artwork accents a contemporary interior, while our guest rooms are satisfyingly minimalist and feature Free WiFi. Some of our guest rooms feature an alluring waterfront view of the Seaport. Indulge in something savory with our Spanish tapas and European influenced breakfast, or allow our bartenders introduce you to their craft at the AC Lounge."

Currently at the Brooklyn Bridge Marriott which I do like but thought I'd look for something in lower NYC if the price was right and this property came up. It is within a few blocks of where I need to be as well.

However I have never stayed at an AC hotel

any comments on this property? Does the AC brand have a lounge?

AC brand does not have a lounge - they do offer F&B credit of $10 for member + 1 which in NYC might not get you far in terms of real breakfast. This property does seem to have a bit larger rooms than the Times Square one. I have never stayed at an AC hotel either.

Thanks - I presume that is one $10 food & beverage credit per stay [I'll be in town 3 nights]
I usually just need coffee FIRST thing in the a.m. so $10 should cover it I hope LOL
if there are two people, do each get a $10 food credit

pictures on the website had those rooms look really small

The credit is per day and not per stay.Yes its for 2 people so you would get $20 per day and $60 in total. I don't know if the property would let you roll over the credit - they don't allow that for properties charging destination fees not sure about the breakfast credit.

Well its NYC so the rooms are small here. Having elite status might get you a corner room which could be big enough.

Thanks your information was very helpful

I completed a three night stay at the AC New York Downtown Hotel. It is a very nice new property that is very clean throughout. The 30 story building has a small footprint so there are only a handful of rooms on each floor. Most rooms face south and one room faces west. About 30% of the building's rooms have canted windows that affords a view of the East River. The beds were quite comfortable and although the rooms were small, they were very functional and had a mini fridge. The shower has a ceiling mounted nozzle as well as a handheld.

Breakfast in the AC Kitchen restaurant was unacceptable. On our first day the restaurant buffet ran out of plates and utensils as well as running out of food. Only one server was replenishing the items and after fifteen minutes of standing at the buffet we left and went to an outside restaurant. Second day wasn't much better. The restaurant only had a small number of customers, and still couldn't manage to bring out any eggs. The breakfast bill for two was $50.00 + tax + tip. There was no restaurant manager, so I brought this to the FD attention and they comped the charge. Skipped breakfast on day three. I've stayed at other AC Hotels in the US with excellent restaurants, but this one had very basic difficulties.

Any recent experiences here?

They have not done a good job during covid. I would pass and pick something else for the same price.

Thanks - what kind of problems have you experienced here?

The company that manages them, Concord Hospitality Group, has a bad reputation regardless of COVID. The hard product for the price is actually fine given how new the hotel is. However, the management is terrible. I visited someone staying there last year and smelled weed in the lobby and even on the upper floors. Four months (earlier in 2021) later I came back to visit someone else and still smelled weed.

Are you looking to travel to New York in general or do you specifically wish to stay in FiDi?

I need to be in NYC, but not necessarily FiDi. I'm going to be attending meetings in the Times Square/Midtown area, but I would rather not stay around the Times Square / Penn Station / Port Authority area given how much that area has degenerated lately. FiDi offers good transportation options and relatively low rates for - what looked to be - a better hard product than other midtown properties.

The hard product is definitely very nice. I have never stayed there before but I have seen the rooms a few times. However, you are rolling the dice if anything goes wrong. I just took a look at the TripAdvisor reviews and it looks like a few other people have mentioned the weed as well (and the hotel’s weak response to it).

This has always been my go-to hotel in NYC because it's usually priced quite reasonably (around $150 a night / 25k points). Never had a bad experience and never smelled weed before (used to come here every 2-3 weeks before covid).

I stayed here recently (May 25-30) using 100k points. Welcome bonus is either 1k points or $10 a day for up to two people at the mini mart (which is unusual because the other ACs I've stayed at has been $10 for the entire stay for the whole party), but I wasn't complaining; stocked up on lots of sparkling wine.

Their rooms don't really have views because there's taller buildings on all sides, but the water view rooms have a little bit of a view of the east river and the FDR which is better than nothing. (Not like you'd be spending much time in a NYC hotel room anyway.) Rooms are clean and nice like typical AC hotels. One complaint would be that it's 30+ floors but only has 3 elevators, so sometimes you might have to wait for a bit.

There are lots of breakfast places around (including a halal truck right outside and quite a lot of bagel places / cafes). It's also a bit of a walk to Fulton Street / Wall Street / WTC stations (not as close as the Marriotts near the west side highway / West Street). It's pretty close to the East River Ferry which takes you right over to Brooklyn and a quick walk to Chinatown / Soho.

The staff were constantly reminding people in the lobby to keep their masks on, which I thought was reassuring.

Never stayed there, live in NYC, but worked near there for a decade. There are a lot of restaurants/bars within walking distance, but at night (pre-pandemic, I changed jobs in 2017) it could be a bit desolate. I never felt unsafe, but just something to be aware of.

There is a Fairfield Inn close to here, stayed there when our place was being painted. That could be another option, rooms were small, but it was fine.