AC Hotel by Marriott Vancouver Waterfront

The waterfront walk was a favorite, with lots of places to stop for a drink. AC Bar had the best drinks and appetizers along the waterfront. The view was beautiful, and the updated room was clean. Service and food were great, too. I booked the breakfast for four with the room, a $100 value. Having the parking garage attached was handy, since the elevator goes straight to the lobby for check-in. The one letdown was the coffee: the lobby pot was empty, and the in-room coffee maker was dirty. Still, a great stay.

The room's modern, tasteful decor added to the comfort, and the hotel was impressively clean. The staff were very friendly and accommodating from the moment I arrived, which made me feel welcome. Nighttime noise was the one big problem. It made getting a good night's sleep difficult, and for me that took away from an otherwise very good stay.

The walking path beside the Columbia River is spectacular, with viewpoints, play areas for kids, bars, and restaurants along the way. It's easy to get to from this beautiful hotel, and the on-site restaurant serves excellent food. The service was exceptional, with friendly, kind, helpful people. The place is modern and spotless. My only little gripe is the pillows. I prefer memory foam or polyfill to those loose, wannabe down ones. Otherwise, the room was perfect. This will be our go-to when we're in Vancouver.

This was our third stay here, and two of the three have been poor. On this visit, we paid $35 for parking that wasn't secured. People were allowed to come and go freely, including at night. The website also said nothing about major waterfront construction just feet away. It started at 6:30 a.m. on several mornings, shaking our whole room, including the showroom glass and metal shelving. They said they'd upgraded us, though no other upgrades were available. We asked the first night for extra pillows. After 30 minutes, a staff member brought three, oddly leaning away from them and covering his face, then dropped them and left. He smelled strongly of weed, and the room smelled like it after I brought the pillows inside. I ended up throwing them in the lobby. Our room wasn't serviced once during the six nights. Someone came by at 9 a.m.; I asked if they could return later since it was still early, but they didn't. We were left with the same two towels for the whole stay. We paid $1,400 for a poor experience. The location next to I-5 is good.