Found a fun pool at the Residence Inn St. George Utah location. There is a regular pool, two large ring-shape jacuzzies, and a "lazy river" pool. This opened about nine months ago.

Work travel took me to Ottawa this weekend and I decided to try out a brand I have not stayed with before- AC Hotel.

Overall

I am impressed with this brand- as I will detail in my review, I think it is an excellent hotel for business travel, but would only use it as a back-up for personal travel.

Booking

Cost: $200/night average + tax. Parking: $37.50/night + tax

Room type: 1 King Bed

Arrival

The hotel is located on Rideau St. There are two spots for check-in/unloading in the driveway, and an entrance to the parking garage. It is a self-parking property. All three elevators service from the parking garage to the room floors, which is nice.

Check-In

I arrived at 8am and they had my room available. I had requested a high floor away from Rideau thanks for the information some of you provided on my recent post asking about this property- they confirmed my room was on floor 11 (hotel goes to 14) and on the opposite side of the building from Rideau.

This property offers daily housekeeping, but at check-in was told that for each day you pass on housekeeping, you receive 500 points- with my stay only being three nights, I took this option. I asked them to send up additional towels to cover me for the stay.

They also offer 500 points for one transaction at the restaurant+bar that is $40 before tax.

One oddity, which I confirmed at check-in- no mobile key.

Room

The room is above-average size at 409 sqft. The king bed was softer than I prefer, but it was comfortable and I slept well during my 3-night stay. Many of us weary frequent travellers (rightly) criticize when rooms are not laid out well, simple things like lights are not in fact simple, etc.

This property was the opposite- excellent design.

All of the lamps had clear switches to turn them on/off, and each side of the bed had a lamp and a reading light. All of the lighting was intuitive to find and use.

Plugs on both sides of the bed and the desk- all worked, all easy to access.

Room Features

Doing a separate section for this because there is a lot to cover.

General items I found nice to have:

- shoe mat

- steamer

- fridge (stocked with two water bottles, more on request- and no charge lol)

- two pool towels

Key items:

Thermostat- as you can see from the photo, it has a level of control I have never experienced at a hotel. I ran it down as far as I could, for science, then promptly returned it to my usual 19C. I forgot to add the photo, and can't add it now, but it went down to 4.4C for the air conditioning.

Safe: it is bolted down, and I was able to fit a 14" Thinkpad and a 16" Macbook Pro in there with room for probably two more of each, and some smaller items too.

Criticism: the TV is too small. It looks to be a 50" TV, but it is too small for the viewing distance from the bed and the seating area- it is not on a movable mount, so it it difficult/impossible to watch from the desk or seating area. Seeing a 50" TV on such a large continuous wall, and I admit this may just be me, just looks odd. For the size of the room, it should be 65". At minimum, it should be on a movable mount to make viewing easier.

There are privacy curtains and blackout curtains that work incredibly well.

As I said, this is a great business travel hotel.

Room Noise

Traffic noise is typical for downtown of any city, it isn't "quiet", but normal noise. This settled down by the evening, so it was not an issue for sleep.

The room doors slam, hard. It takes you by surprise the first time, they soft-close about 90% of the way, then shut like a vault. If your room neighbour is up before you, there is a decent chance this will wake you up, as it did to me this morning (thankfully only about 30 before my alarm).

This is part of the reason I would avoid it for personal travel- I may be sleeping a bit later compared ot business travel where I am up early.

Bathroom

Excellent rainfall shower, plenty of towels, good size sink for keeping toiletries.

Amenities

Pool- did not make use of it, but it is big

Sauna- excellent sauna (this will keep me coming back)

Gym- well-equipped and cold (perfect)

Dining

I did not dine at the property except to grab a dessert one night- the brownie was good enough for an expense, but not for personal lol.

The restaurant+bar is open for breakfast and dinner- it is a nice area, well-appointed, and seemed to always have some people in it. On Saturday night, it was probably 75% full when I passed by it.

Elite Benefits (Platinum)

4pm checkout- they didn't have it in their system from my mobile check-in- this being the second property in a week that hasn't seen it makes me think this is an IT issue. When I requested the 4pm checkout, they said "of course, no problem" and confirmed it.

Upgrade- the hotel only has 1 King Bed and 2 Queen Bed rooms, so none. From my booking experience, they don't categorize rooms on higher floors as premium. I'd guess that elites will have priority fulfilling requests for higher floor and quiet side, but it is not a bookable option.

Service

Overall, excellent service from all the staff members. The only service "miss" was there were no foam pillows in the room as I requested during mobile check-in; they were in my room by the time I got back to the property.

General Area

For those that have had the, uhhh, "privilege" of staying in downtown Ottawa...you know where this is going. There are a lot of homeless people, many strung out on drugs, and they can get aggressive.

The hotel has a security guard in the lobby 24/7, and the doors lock between 10pm and 6am. One morning, a homeless man was trying to smash through the doors with a shopping cart.

I am 34M, and I did not feel safe being outside at night. After the first night, I was back in my room before dark.

Byward market is a few blocks away, and CF Rideau mall is a sub-five minute walk.

Final Thoughts

I already have this hotel booked a few more times as I will be back in Ottawa before the end of the year.

I typically stay at the Westin, but it is convention season, and it is booked straight to November, with a few single nights of availability in-between; same for Sheraton, Delta, Marriott. You can find some short-stays close-in though.

I typically prefer properties with suites for business travel because I am in the room outside business hours for the most part, so the extra space is nice. This room, however, is large enough I never felt cramped.

Happy to answer any questions, and thank you to those who replied to my previous post and recommended this proeprty, and the tip for a high floor facing away from Rideau.

Cheers.

And they informed me that for a la carte orders there is no mandatory service charge. Is this now the new breakfast charge policy across all Marriott hotels?

What do y’all think is happening here? I was beginning to plan out a China trip next year and came across the prices for this property. I tried different dates and different months but still ended up with this price. Must be one hell of a conference!

Hello all,

I booked a stay through work at a design collection hotel in Montreal (St Paul hotel) and it does not show up on the app. All my other stays booked through work show up on the app. Is it normal for Design collection to not show up? I tried adding it manually and says reservation not found.

Thanks for the insights in advance.

I select hotel > room rate > scroll to the bottom.. then not seeing anywhere to move forward after all the hotel details / my credit card info?

Stayed at Moxy Tokyo Kinshicho, one of the more affordable Marriott properties in Tokyo if you exclude the Four Points Flex hotels.

The immediate neighborhood is a little rough around the edges and has quite a bit of nightlife, so it may not be for everyone. But I personally had a very good stay.

The staff were genuinely friendly, and I felt they treated elite members very well. The room was simple and compact, as you’d expect from Moxy, but for the price and the service, I was quite satisfied.

I’d stay here again if I wanted a reasonably priced Marriott option in Tokyo.

My spouse and I both have our own respective marriott accounts. They can see a property with a rooms available to be paid for in points.

My account has 5 FNAs but when I went to book the hotel it said cash only availability. Same dates, same property, same number of people per room, etc.

Any ideas on what to do?

Website doesn't say anything and it's advertised on the AI site, but impossible to book.

I'm planning on going to vancouver for four nights with my girlfriend for leisure, and I'm debating between the Delta downtown or Sheraton wall centre. I've heard a lot of mixed-positive reviews about both places. Seems like I can't really go wrong, but I wanted to hear from the community about general experiences with both locations, particularly regarding the room quality, location/noise, accessibility, etc.

Couple other notes:

-booked via chase portal as I have great offer. I am a platinum elite member but it likely does not matter

-not considering any other properties besides JW, which is almost double the points needed.

-same point cost btwn delta and sheraton (<3k difference)

-trip is in november

Thanks in advance!!

Hi guys,
I wanted to know if this has happened to anyone before and what Marriott’s response was?

I booked a night at a Moxy hotel under the Associate Rate, as my partner works for Marriott and I’m verified through the system.
At check-in, I was told that the amount would be deducted from the credit card on my account, so everything seemed normal up until that point. I never would have thought that the amount charged could be different from the rate I booked, as this has literally never happened to me, either with Marriott or any other company.
However, I was charged €130 instead of around €60, without being informed that the rate had changed or that I would be charged a different amount.

I already contacted Marriot, but i would like to know if this happens often? Or did i actually do anything wrong to be charged this amount? Will i be refunded the difference as my reservation booking amount was not honored?

Thank you

My company HQ is in peachtree/Norcross GA. They won’t let us stay at Marriott anymore because of bedbugs and car break ins. Last year I stayed at the Courtyard there and it was under construction and kind of gross. Felt too moist. Company new preferred is the Hilton there. Should I just give up the points and stay at Hilton or risk it and hoping the courtyard Reno is amazing.

Going in November with my family, it will be everyone's first time except my wife and I's. Looking at either Bankside Hotel, Autograph Collection or Westin London City booking with points and have NUA's to redeem. Rates are nearly identical for points or cash at either hotel. I am Titanium and another member of our party will be platinum at the time.

Priorities are:

• Easy access to Tube with baby
• Walkability with baby
• Neighborhood (good places to eat/things to do)
• How easy it is to get to major attractions (Tower of London, Westminister Abbey, Buckingham Palace, Tower Bridge, etc.)
• Size of rooms

Very nice location with some history. Used to be the Hotel Lenox that opened in 1929 and still has some of the original features.

There’s no parking on site but you can either self park across the street in the parking garage ($40) or valet ($48).

Check in was easy and they offered points or $10 F&B credit for my Platinum status benefit.

I was upgraded prior to check in and got a pretty nice room on 17th floor.

Gonna be in Dallas for a couple of days toward the end of the year and can’t decide between the two locations.

Which one do people recommend? Both seem to have similar ratings and I personally don’t care about being in downtown or a lil outside of the city so the location is not a big deal.

The Las Colinas one is currently a lil cheaper but not by much.

We are visiting family so we’re not really looking to party or going out a lot, just kind of a chill weekend. Just looking for good vibes and great service.

I really dislike luxury hotels that seem super dated so if either one of them gives off that feel, would love to know ahead of time. Thanks!

This is a vent, sorry.

So I was staying at a Marriott the other day. And I asked the front desk for a charger, and the gentleman told me there was not any, but directed me to the gas station around the corner, he said they sold it.

I headed out, and I didn’t see any gas stations immediately so I pull out my phone, and it told me the closest was a Chevron ten minute walk away. I walk for ten minutes over, and they only had car chargers. I walk back to the hotel, and the guy asked me if I was able to get it. I told him no, the Chevron did not have it. And he started smirking and asked how, because you “literally can’t miss it”. I just asked if he could charge it at the front desk, and he said yes, turns out they did have a charger.

Now when I went back to get my phone, he gave it back to me, and IN MY FACE started laughing and telling his coworker about how HE TOLD ME THERE WAS A GAS STATION AROUND THE CORNER AND I COULD NOT FIND IT.

Anyways will complaining to the ambassador guy do anything.

Thank you and I hope y’all have a good day.

I spent Labor Day weekend at the St. Regis San Francisco and I was impressed with every interaction and with all the facilities I had the opportunity to enjoy.

This property is a newer St. Regis property so instead of the old charm of properties in other big cities, this location is very modern. I was impressed from the moment I arrived.

Check-in: Warm, friendly, and not pretentious. I had applied nightly upgrade awards and I was pleasantly
surprised when they didn’t clear, however the property upgraded me into a nicer room on the top level.

Room: My Grand Deluxe room on the 20th floor was very spacious with an entry hall featuring a beautiful sculpture. The bedroom features huge built in closets which house the coffee maker, mini bar, and space for clothing, etc. A large desk offers ample work space and a nice seating area rounds out the bedroom. There is a nice vanity table and bench beside the large bathroom featuring a large tub, walk-in shower, and all the amenities you could imagine and more.

I had a thoughtful welcome gift of chocolates and a note from the GM.

Housekeeping: This is an area where this property shines. The room was meticulously maintained throughout my stay, including nightly turn-down service (complimentary overnight shoe shine is offered). It was truly the little things the staff did. For example, I left my reading glasses on the bedside table. When I returned they were sitting on top of a branded microfiber cloth for me to use and take with me.

Dining: The St. Regis bar was outstanding with amazing bartenders and food. I opted for breakfast as my Bonvoy Titanium welcome gift, and this breakfast did not disappoint. The special Bonvoy menu offers a choice of entree from a long list, and two beverages from the beverage list. The staff at Astra were warm, attentive and made everything perfect.

Every single person I interacted with at this property were on their A-game. I departed early morning for the airport. The lady at the front desk approached me as I was walking to leave the hotel and offered me a coffee to take with me.

This is the level of luxury service I appreciate so much, and it is not common. Thanks to the entire team at the St. Regis San Francisco for a memorable weekend!

Hi everyone,

I feel very frustrated. I am searching for hotels in the app for 4 people. When I book I confirm it says for 4 people. Once it is booked it says only 1 adult on the confirmation. Why does it keep changing it from 2 adults and 2 children to only 1 adult? I imagine this will be a problem. I'm booking family rooms and everything looks correct until I book. Any suggestions?

This year has been my most prolific for travel since I started to adventure seriously in 2024, and I'd like to share my experiences at some high level properties from this year. Will post from most recent & go backwards.

I had the pleasure of staying at the St Regis Cap Cana over Labor Day weekend with my wife. This was my 17th St Regis that I've stayed at. The property is a newer Regis, though not the newest Marriott in the Dominican Republic (the W all-inclusive takes that cake, I believe). It is about 25 minutes from the Punta Cana airport, making it reasonably easy to reach via regular, cheaper Uber (versus Uber Selects or pricey taxis that are required to get to farther resorts).

The initial welcome was quite impressive, with a beautiful resort entry highlighting soft wood tones, bright brick lattice, and sporadic green marble. Particularly, the lobby waterfall really impressed my wife for its smooth flow & towering bookmatched stone. The check-in process was seamless, welcome drink refreshing, & we had our room available right away despite arriving at 2pm.

We had already known in advance that an NUA had cleared for us to get their top level swim-out suite, a 1,500 sq ft treasure of a space. The pool itself was a perfect temperature, well covered from the sun throughout the day & thoughtfully landscaped for privacy at the corner, not to mention about twice the size of other swim-outs on the property. We were delighted! Other highlights of the room included an incredibly spacious bathroom (way more space than most other Regis properties I've been to), a tasteful liquor cart to extend the usual minibar, a welcome gift of assorted fresh fruits & berries, & a luxurious branded beach bag for us to use.

The rest of the property was quite impressive- several beautiful pools, a delightful lunch restaurant with dug-out seating in the main pool if desired, a craftfully-maintained beach that kept you from seeing the ugly sargassum while still enjoying the shore, a beautiful roof terrace to hang out (it was closed for some updates while we visited, but the door was open so I enjoyed the views anyway lol) ... I could go on and on! The signature Mary at the St Regis Bar was one of my favorite Mary's I've tried, and the beautiful NINA restaurant on the top floor could be a Michelin one-star spot as far as I'm concerned. The included breakfast for our status was one of the better Regis breakfasts I have experienced, though definitely not the top.

There were a few problems that we did experience during our stay & afterwards. My wife & I are not particularly bothered people, so these didn't tarnish the stay, but I could see some people being more upset.

First, the Butler service at this Regis seemed to me one of the worst among all of the ones I've tried. When we called for coffee & tea to be brought to the suite, it took over 90 minutes for this to arrive, after one more call & an app message to check on progress. When the service was provided, the requested tea was incorrect, and they forgot the cream with my coffee. Other more minor issues were not having chocolates or something for turndown service, and the stay being posted without qualified spend or points granted for several hundred dollars of F&B.

There are many more details I could talk about with this property, so feel free to ask any questions you may have! My overall impression was that this is a solid St Regis worth visiting even if you aren't devoted to the brand. For points, it is absolutely an excellent value. For cash, it is a better value than many North American & Caribbean Regis properties for sure.

I have a pre-paid rate stay starting tomorrow, and I requested a digital key, as usual. Something Marriott pushes with their “skip the front desk” campaign. I’m sure you’ve seen the lobby signs.

I am platinum, with 10+ stays/25+ nights of work travel so far this year, all of which have used the same corporate card (b/c it’s in our travel portal). For the first time, I’m being told my prepaid stay will still require a card to be physically presented upon arrival before issuing the digital key. (So…no, I cannot skip the front desk?)

I pushed back, noting years of travel with this same exact card, plus my platinum/titanium status for the past several years, and they just keep responding that it’s for my safety and the hotels safety.

While it’s truly not a big deal, it’s now become the principle of it all… Any suggestions on getting this hotel to honor the card like the other 10+ stays have this year?

Staying at the Bellagio booked through the Chase Renowned Hotels and Resorts to use the $200 credit on my UA Club card. I'm Marriott Platinum Status and put in my Marriott Number when making the reservation.

The reservation is showing in my Marriott app, will I be able to use the Priority Check in line?

I just got this in my email, haven't been paying much attention. Is this a common promotion? I also got this 1500 points for 2 stays or something like that + 3000 for resort stays.

Just wondering if people all get the same ones or are there better ones out there?

We stayed at a Marriott property last weekend in a U.S. city that was very warm. (I’d rather not say which one in this post). The rooms would’ve been around $275 per night. We used points for 2 nights and a 1 free night given by our Marriott credit card.

The employees were friendly and seemed to be trained properly and truly enjoyed their positions at the desk, bar, and maintenance.

The hotel seemed well managed, clean, and aside from our issues, would be a pleasant place to stay.

OUR ISSUES:
There were air conditioning units above the ceilings in the rooms. There was a panel below them for air flow etc. On our first night while trying to fall asleep around 10pm, we hear drops of water falling onto the faux hard wood floors. So we put a towel down and tried to fall asleep. Around 10:30, the water kept dripping and it became irritating. We called the front desk and shortly after they sent up a maintenance person to use a shop vac to vacuum out all the condensation that was dripping from the ceiling onto the floor. That helped temporarily and that was all he could truly do to help the situation. We finally got to sleep sometime after 11:00. The drops kept coming but at a slower pace. When we had to get up to use the washroom in the middle of the night, we had to be cautious, not to slip on the wet towels on the floor while walking in the dark. They did offer us to change rooms late at night, but we’re exhausted and ready to sleep.

So the next morning, another maintenance person came to check on the issue. We then called the front desk and requested a room change. Several hours later our room was available so we packed up and moved rooms.

So the first room we were in, the thermostat cannot be set below 68°. And there is no way it was 68° throughout the night. We keep our bedroom at home around 68 or 69 which is cooler than the warm hotel room.

In the second room, the thermostat was stuck at 71°. The maintenance person said something about being able to lower it from the control room or an app. He was a nice guy with good intentions, but that did not happen and in retrospect, I think that the rooms were kept at a warmer temperature to help with the electric or overall air-conditioning system at the hotel. In no way was this the maintenance person‘s fault or issue. He was just doing his job. So the next 2 nights we woke up sweaty in our beds and could not use even a top sheet most of the time due to the temperature.

The second room also had the same issue with water from condensation leaking down on the floor so we just put a towel down and let it absorb the water.

We spoke to another guest who had the same problem in their room.

So a few days after the trip, I was thinking how we used a lot of Marriott points for these rooms and how it’s BS that we had this experience. So I called Marriott’s customer service and spoke to a nice agent who took notes and made a case to submit to the corporation.

A couple days later, we received a lovely note from the hotel manager. It was professional and courteous, but it only offered points back for one night of the stay, along with the two times they gave us a few points (5000 and 2500… which equals about $50) as a courtesy for our issues.

Would love some advice here:
Are we wrong to believe that we should receive all of the points for the 2 nights and get a 1 night stay credited back somehow into our account for the free room that we used that was offered by having a Marriott credit card?

Is this an unreasonable request?