I stayed here for one night, after staying a night at the Courtyard Oakland Downtown. I arrived very early - around 7:30am - to drop off my bags before going to a conference. I was planning to check into my room in the evening after the conference, but fortunately they had rooms available so I was able to check in immediately. The front desk was very pleasant.The hotel feels very new. Everything still looks fresh. I’ve stayed in AC Hotels before, and this room has the same simple, clean, well-designed European feel. I had a nice view looking towards downtown San Francisco in the distance. The room was a good size, the bed was comfortable, and the WiFi was good.Because this AC Hotel shares common amenities with the Residence Inn, AC Hotel guests have access to the same free breakfast available to Residence Inn customers. I used the gym, and it was decent. It had cardio equipment, a cable gym and dumbbells.This hotel is roughly 3 blocks away from the Oakland and 12th BART station, so fairly easy access to San Francisco. Also a collection of good restaurants at Swan’s Market near the convention center. Other than that, the rest of the immediate area has a lot of office buildings but the streets are fairly barren. Some tourists may not feel comfortable with the homeless in the area.I liked the hotel. It’s a good quality hotel and much more affordable than any equivalent class hotel in San Francisco, but because downtown Oakland is a grittier place, it’s not for everyone.

This hotel is in a sketchy area. The only ones out in the area are homeless lying on the street and drunks/drug addicted folks loitering the area. Private security is visibly present watching what few stores were open after regular business hours. No one else is to be found. The hotel itself is newly built in 2023. It is adjacent to the Residence Inn next door. New fixtures, modern design, clean. Clearly an effort to re-vitalize this part of town. But it stands alone and needs far more amenities to make occupants more comfortable and feel SAFE about staying here.

Very kind and professional welcome at check in. And clean and courteous service at breakfast. And clean comfortable room.

Hotel Review - AC Hotel of Oakland by MarriottDowntown Oakland, CaliforniaRoom: King room, Gold member upgrade to Window-room on 14th floorRate: $550 USD/2 nights, Friday night to Sunday morningMember? Yes, Marriott Bonvoy Gold Elite memberRating: 3.1/5.0 Review: I will start by saying that I did not have high expectations for this hotel. At all. This hotel has excellent bedding, terrific ambiance yet it was depressing. The location was fantastic as it is less than a block from my apartment (yes, that is correct, not a typo, I live nearby), two blocks from the 12th Street-City Center BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) station, and easily close by major attractions such as OMCA - the Oakland Museum of California, a museum I was very much impressed by. The hotel itself is decorated wonderfully and lavishly, it's a shame the rooms do not match that theme. As I said, the bedding is very comfortable, the showers are European in theme which is a general plus though the pressure could be better. Shampoo, conditioner, and body wash are presented by the brand ‘Korres’ in increasingly-common wall mounts, and the rooms in general are extremely clean and of course, the in-room tv presents a wide variety of channels, and lastly there are tons of charging options for your devices, be it phone, smart-watch, tablet, laptop, or others. The furniture was decorative, appearing new, and the seating was imitation leather, which is at least appreciated and felt nice. The refrigerator, dubbed a ‘smartfridge’ was a nice touch and when it worked, kept drinks (and food too, to be assumed) very chilled. The fitness center, as an aside, was nothing special but it was fairly high-end and reliable, but honestly? My apartment complex has a much more high end fitness center on its premises. It works in a pinch though which is honestly all you can ask for as a visitor. The rooms are exceptionally clean of course which is consistent across most Marriott properties. The noise level is also exceptionally quiet which is a huge plus. Now for the several glaring negatives; room service is not offered nor available, nor was it listed on any menu or option list given. Over the entire weekend I spent here, my room was never serviced, and I was never informed of the room cleaning schedule or timeframe or options to have the room serviced every other day. The staff at check-in was brusque and cold, which could have been attributed as a one-off but it only compounded the overall experience. There is no on-site restaurant but a bar is offered on the first floor with on-site breakfast from 6:30 AM to 9:00 AM on weekdays, and 7:00 AM to 9:30 AM on weekends. The fitness center we have already covered. There is an on-site laundry, but unless you’re staying with a large family, or group, or you are staying in the Bay Area for 5 days or more, you likely will never use it, rendering the laundry facility as no more than a gimmick. The AC Oakland Hotel by Marriott is not bad if you’re seeking a fairly reliable clean place to stay and use as a metaphorical “base of operations” while you explore Oakland, the South Bay, or downtown San Francisco, just do not have high hopes or comparatively realistic (or rather, unrealistic) expectations. I will give this AC Oakland Hotel by Marriott a barely respectable 3.0/5.0, as a total score on the Brooke in the Air Travel review scale and not terrible in terms of actual value. - A Brooke In The Air Travel review.

Pros: quiet, clean, good breakfast, good blackout curtains, comfy bed.Cons: it's geared towards men. The shower amenities smell masculine. The toilets are high off the floor. There's no lotion (unless you ask for it). The decor is very sterile - no carpet, no soft surfaces. It's not a big deal, it's just something that sort of stood out to me in both my visits.