Stay Report: AC Hotel by Marriott Cordoba (Cordoba, Spain - December 2011)

Stay Report: AC Hotel by Marriott Cordoba
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photo courtesy of Marriott

I was stopping in Cordoba after Malaga and Granada.  During my tour of Southern Spain, I had been staying at AC hotels throughout and had enjoyed the hotels, so when we were booking a hotel for Cordoba I continued with the trend and selected the AC Hotel Cordoba.  Unlike the AC Hotels in Granada and Malaga, the AC Hotel Cordoba is not located within the main part of Cordoba; it is a 5-7 minute walk to the main area.  The hotel is located in between the train/bus station and the main city center, so about a 5-10 minute walk or car ride away from either point.  Additionally, there are many shops and restaurants near the hotel.

When you arrive at the hotel, the first thing you notice is the architecture.  The hotel has a very

photo courtesy of Marriott

modern architectural design, both the exterior and interior of the hotel.  From the outside, there is a wall of metal rings that surrounds the entire exterior of the building. While it looks nice, it does block out some views (more on that later).  The modern architecture continues inside the lobby, which is tall but narrow.  As you enter the main entrance, on the right hand side is the restaurant and straight ahead, again on the right-hand side, is the check-in area.   There is a large lounge or relaxing area in front of the check-in desks where guests can sit and relax.  Also across from the check-in desks are large windows, which bring in natural light and make the lobby more open.  I went to check-in, received my key, and proceeded towards the elevators located beyond the check-in desks.   

photo courtesy of Marriott

As in the other hotels, we got 2 rooms – one with 2 twin and the other with a king bed and both were decorated the same.  You entered the room on far right side next to the wall.  As you open the door, there is a little galley with a closet and mirror.  This is the odd part – the bathroom is located in between the galley and the main part of the room where the beds are so you have to cross the bathroom to get from the main door to the bedroom.  There is a door that closes to block off the bathroom from the galley as well as another door that closes the bathroom off from the bedroom.  This would be fine if you are staying by yourself, but if you are staying with someone else, and they are in the bathroom and you need to leave or someone knocks on the door, and the bathroom doors are locked, then you are stuck.  It was an odd design.  The bathroom, designed in all black and silver, was modern, spacious, and nice and had many amenities provided including combs, shoe polish, toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, and lotion.

As you entered into the main bedroom, against the right hand side of the wall were the chest with drawers on the bottom and TV on top and a desk next to it.  Against the other wall were 2 very comfortable twin beds (or a king bed) and 2 nightstands for each bed (2 nightstands also available for the king bed).  The beds were comfortable and provided a good night’s sleep.  Along with far wall were giant windows that would’ve looked out onto the city and the streets and would’ve provided a great view, however the views were blocked by the architectural ring façade.

Facilities at the hotel included a restaurant, where breakfast and dinner were available; complimentary wifi, at that time only available in the lobby; and a fitness center.  The hotel does not provide shuttle service from either the airport or the train station.

Overall, it was a short but pleasant stay in a sleek and modern hotel.  The beds were comfortable, the staff were friendly and efficient (we asked staff at all the hotels questions about local landmarks and each took the time to answer questions and provide extra detail – a great plus!!), free wifi in the lobby and public areas, and the hotels were conveniently located to major activities.   

Stay Report: Hotel Palacio De Santa Paula, Autograph Collection (Granada, Spain - December 2011)

Stay Report: Hotel Palacio De Santa Paula
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photo courtesy of Marriott

I was traveling in Southern Spain, from Malaga to Granada, and was looking for a place to stay in the city.  I had enjoyed the AC Hotel in Malaga so decided to stay at the same hotel in Granada; I was not disappointed.  The hotel is Granada is part of the ‘Autograph Collection’ and the architecture of this hotel was amazing.  From the outside of the building to the inner courtyards to the ways the rooms were laid out and decorated; it was very stunning, as if we were entering a Palace.

The hotel is located on the main street within Granada so it is easily accessible and walkable to everything.  As you enter the front doors, in the middle is a raised platform on which guests can lounge, to the right of the platform were the check-in counters, and to the left of the platform was a restaurant.  Check-in was efficient and smooth and we were shown to our rooms.  We were not on a high floor so we took the stairs through the raised platform, through the inner courtyard (which was really nice) to the hallway in which our rooms were located.

photo courtesy of Marriott

As I was traveling with a group, we needed two rooms – one with a king bed and the other with 2 twins.  Both rooms were similarly laid out and both were amazingly decorated.  As you opened the door, you entered a little hallway on the left that led into the main room.  In the main area, directly in front were the beds against the wall with a nightstand in between as well as an armoire against the wall on the left.  In front of the beds was a sitting area with couches and chairs to relax and look out the tall windows which were on the other side of the wall (decorated in an old-Spanish style).  Across from the sitting area was the entrance to the bathroom (as you entered the hallway, on the other side of the hallway was the bathroom) which was spacious and had all the amenities such as toilet, shower, sink, and a plethora of toiletries.  The rooms were spacious and comfortable, but it was the design and decoration of the room that made it worthwhile.  The room was designed like an old Palace room so it had very distinctive Spanish designs, with red tiles and blue designs and shutters on the windows.  It was nicely decorated and a pleasure to stay in.

photo courtesy of Marriott

Facilities at the hotel included complimentary wifi (at that time only located in the lobby), a restaurant, a fitness center, and meeting rooms.  Overall, the hotel provided a spacious and comfortable room in walking distance to the heart of Granada; however, it is the architecture and design of the hotel and the rooms that make this hotel a must visit in Granada!

Stay Report: AC Hotel by Marriott Malaga Palacio (Malaga, Spain - December 2011)

Stay Report: AC Hotel by Marriott Malaga Palacio
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photo courtesy of Marriott

I was going to be in Southern Spain for a couple of days, and was looking for a hotel that was nice and that I could also use as a base while I traveling around Southern Spain.  The AC Hotel brand is part of Marriott’s brand and it was my first time experiencing the brand, but I choose the hotel because of the Marriott connection as well as because of the location of the hotel.  The hotel is centrally located within the center of Malaga so it is walking distance to many sights and amenities.  Overall, the hotel provided great customer service, good rooms, and allowed us to store luggage at the hotel.

As AC Hotels are part of the Marriott brand, it was very easy to book the hotel through Marriott’s website.  Since I was traveling in a group, I needed to book two rooms as most European hotel rooms are small and can only 2-3 people; one room had a King bed while the other had 2 beds.  The hotel does not provide transportation to/from the airport so this has to be arranged personally; we took taxis which were efficient since the hotel is well-known.

photo courtesy of Marriott

The main entrance to the hotel is on the corner between the side street and a pedestrian-only walkway, so the taxis have to park on the side street close to the entrance.  It makes transportation of your luggage a bit difficult, but it does provide more of the ‘live like a local’ feel.  To access the lobby, at the street level you go through the main door and then go up a couple of steps to enter into the lobby.

The lobby of the hotel was stylishly decorated but was a bit compact.  Straight ahead were the check-in desks and to the right were the elevators, a sitting area, as well as the restaurant/bar.  Check-in was efficient, we received our key, and proceeded to our rooms with the bellman coming later with our luggage.

The hotel itself was modern and stylishly decorated, and this décor continued into the rooms.  I had booked two rooms, but both rooms had the same basic layout.  As you entered the room, on the left-hand side was the bathroom.  The bathroom was spacious, bigger than most European hotels and was as big as American hotels.  The bathroom was clean and modern and contained a toilet, a sink, and a tub.  Underneath the clear sink was a little stand that contained the towels plus a lot of complimentary toiletries such as combs, toothbrushes, tissue packs, and shoe polish along with shampoos and lotions.  The plethora of toiletries was a very nice customer service touch and was appreciated. 

photo courtesy of Marriott

The bathroom and the main part of the room shared a wall.  In the room, this is where the closets and storage were located.  The closets were very big and tall and provided a lot of storage, along with the shelves.  The closets were opaque so the light was showing through but you could not see in; another stylish detail.  The main part of the main had the beds, either two single or one queen/king bed, and nightstands on either side.  Each side also had individual lamps mounted on the headboard, which itself was mounted to the wall.  The beds were comfortable, a bit low to the ground, but they provided a good night’s sleep.

Across from the beds was a chest with drawers on the bottom and a TV on top of it as well as a desk.  Next to the bed were two chairs and a small table which faced the window.  Each room had a window and a balcony, and this was one of the best parts of the room.  The balconies were big enough that you could go outside, sit, and enjoy a cup of tea while enjoying the sights.  One room’s balcony faced the pedestrian walkway and the sea, while the other room faced the side street and the surrounding city and architecture. 

You could also see some great views of the city from the hotel’s rooftop pool.  This is one of the facilities that the hotel provided, along with a restaurant, a bar, complimentary wifi in the lobby, a fitness center, meeting rooms, and luggage storage.  We spent most of our time exploring the city so did not have time to experience all the facilities.  I did use the luggage storage, which was a nice convenience and the complimentary wifi, which was only available in the lobby at the time but was a decent speed.  

Overall, it was a really nice stay at the AC Hotel Malaga Palacio by Marriott.  The hotel provides a nice, clean, and modern room near the heart of Malaga.  From this hotel, you are within walking distance to all of Malaga’s city center (and the hotel is well-known by all taxi drivers and local restaurants).  I used this hotel as a base to go and explore Southern Spain, and it provided a great stay so I would definitely recommend this hotel!