A sleek, spankin' new Euro-hip hotel across from Sun Devil Stadium and next to Mill Ave.
If you have never heard of AC Hotels, then you are like me. I had to look it up. AC stands for Antonio Catalan, the guy that started these hotels, then he partnered up with Marriott and boom, now you have expansion. This AC Hotel is the first on the West Coast.
One thing you will love or hate about the hotel rooms is that each room is full laminate/pergo flooring. It's nice because over time it feels cleaner than carpet, but if the hotel is full, the sound might bounce off the floors easier. When I visited, the hotel was practically empty so it was quiet all around for us. There isn't too much in terms of drawer space (if you're the type that likes to use drawers for your clothing), but there is a closet, hangers, empty fridge (comes with two bottles of water), coffee and tea maker, iron, ironing board.
I really liked the bathroom color combo, but the non-locking, sliding, heavy frosted glass door could be an issue if you are sharing the room with some not so familar friends that are peepers or if you have curious kids that want to surprise you in the bathroom while you are showering. Nothing is visible through the door at all, it's just that anyone can slide it open if they want to.
The hotel has a stunning rooftop pool that has a view of the corner of Sun Devil Stadium and a clear view of Tempe Town Lake on the other side. It's also an ideal place to watch the post-game ASU football fireworks on Saturdays. There is also a workout facility on the roof that has ellipticals, one bike, dumbbells and a Matrix functional trainer machine.
The lobby and bar area has seating as well as huge, 10 lb heavy fashion forward books, like if you were in a Taschen bookstore.
Parking: $14
Breakfast: $15
Wifi: Free
This hotel does not have free breakfasts or complimentary happy hour snacks. Breakfast here is $15 and is euro-style, with juices, prosciutto, croissants, etc. If you eat half a pound of Prosciutto di Parma you'll easily get your money's worth, but that's a lot of sodium to process.
Parking is $14 daily and you park in a separate structure that is just a few convenient steps from the hotel. When I was there over a long weekend the structure was empty, but I would imagine that it would be much busier on a weekday given that there are many new office buildings that are adjacent. Park in front of the hotel to check-in, then move your car into the structure after you get your parking pass from the front desk.
Slightly annoying was the ice machine. I like that it spits out rabbit pellet ice, but the machine is sensor triggered, not lever or button triggered and the sensor is always sensitive or not sensing. It'll spit out half a cup of ice then randomly stop even though your cup/bottle/ice bin placement hasn't moved at all. Then you have pull your ice bin back and hope the sensor reads it again.
One of the nicest things about staying here is the 40 step walk to Tempe Town Lake and Tempe Beach Park. No shady homeless peeps, just people getting their exercise in or walking their dogs.
If you are looking for a dope new hotel that is near ASU and Mill Avenue in Tempe, I highly recommend booking a room here, especially if you can get a room for under $100 per night like I did. What a steal!