AC Hotel Belfast

"Last minute stay decision after a night in town. Hotel was spotless. Breakfast delicious. Trevor was so accomodating as was Nick in the bar. Well definitely stay again. 5 stars"

"Don't really feel the hotel deserves less than 4 because of the offering but a couple of things were just 'off'. Had food In the hotel restaurant and despite coming back late and told the kitchen was closing, the staff took an age to serve us and the food, championed by a Michelin star chef... was a bit 'meh'. 'Crispy chicken wings' were anything but crispy, saturated in sauce and luke warm. Outside area apparently gets locked at 11pm but no indication of this and when we knocked a glass door to get in, instead of the staff member walking 10 feet to let us back in ? I was told through the glass that I needed to walk all the way round to front door to get in ... and walk back round the hotel with our drinks to get back out..... bizarre. 1st world problems maybe but just open the door and let me in. Problems aside ... the location for the 02 is perfect, the room (superior) has a wonderful view over the river and was nice. Would I eat here again? Absolutely not..... would I stay here again ? Yes I absolutely would"

"Having stayed at the AC Hotel by Marriott in Belfast on two consecutive weekends, I can confidently say there will not be a third visit. My first stay was disappointing enough that I would not have chosen to return. However, the second weekend had already been booked for a family birthday celebration, so I found myself back again, hoping for a better experience. Unfortunately, that was not the case. One particularly frustrating incident involved my brother, who had paid an additional £40 for an early check-in as he had scheduled online Teams meetings and needed access to his room to work. Despite paying for this service, he was informed on arrival that the room was not ready. The response was simply to offer a refund of the £40. While a refund was appropriate, it completely missed the point. He had paid for early access because he needed the room at a particular time, not because he wanted his money back. Then there was the ongoing fiasco with the room keys. Access required the key to work at three different points: the lift, the corridor access door and finally the bedroom itself. On repeated occasions, the key would work at two points but fail at the third. This meant yet another trip back down to reception to have it sorted. What should have been a straightforward process became unnecessarily frustrating. I also found the general standard of customer service disappointing. Staff did not come across as particularly welcoming, and the overall presentation was not what I would expect from a hotel operating under the Marriott name. Some uniforms appeared scruffy or stained, and grooming and presentation standards seemed inconsistent. I have no issue with staff expressing their individuality, including through tattoos, but I do expect a consistently neat and professional appearance in a hotel at this price point. The bar was another area of disappointment. A number of the younger staff appeared inexperienced and unsure of procedures, which suggested to me that more training and support may be needed. One particular member of staff, Axxxxxx had a manner that I personally found passive-aggressive and quite unwelcoming. When I mentioned my concerns to another member of the bar team, I was disappointed that the response seemed to focus more on explaining his behaviour than on listening to the customer’s experience. My criticism is not simply directed at individual members of staff. Ultimately, good customer service, appropriate training, professional presentation and the smooth running of a hotel are management responsibilities. In my opinion, these are areas that seriously need attention at this property. The AC Hotel by Marriott is not a budget hotel, and the prices charged should be reflected in the overall guest experience. Unfortunately, across two consecutive weekends, I found the standard consistently below expectations. Belfast has an excellent selection of hotels, many offering very good service and hospitality. Having now given this hotel two opportunities, I would certainly choose elsewhere in future. The Marriott name carries certain expectations, and unfortunately, on both visits, I felt those expectations were not met."