For a quick last minute trip to Tampa and Clearwater Florida we needed a one night stay near the TPA airport due to a late arrival time in Tampa. We sure were glad we did this since our flight out of Denver was delayed roughly 1.5 hrs mainly due to weather in Denver. As always we first searched utilizing our current hotel status with Marriott Bonvoy. We were shooting to utilize one of our 2021 awarded 35k night certificates for this quick night and it lined up perfectly with the AC Hotel Tampa Airport location. With the hotel having some solid reviews on Google and limited time to plan we had the reservation booked.
Arrival/Check In
Let’s first note that the check in went amazing. The hotel messaged and responded quickly within the chat function of the app, when we let them know we were going to be late checking in. Upon arrival the lobby was clean, modern, and presentable. Check in was a breeze and the front desk attendant noted our Bonvoy status and gave us a slight status upgrade with a pool view.
The Room
Upon entering the room, it was inviting, simplistic, modern and geared to millennial professionals as the AC Hotel brand seems to do well. The inviting-ness may have come from the long travel day and late arrival, but either way it was inviting. We really enjoyed the multi purpose bench/storage underneath the TV. It complemented the rooms design well and was useful in many ways, but mainly while getting dressed for whatever your day has in store. The bathroom was clean and large for a simple hotel, but the shower glass minimalistic design that we have seen being used more often caused some water to splash into the main flooring area of the bathroom. This caused a slight slipping hazard, but overall the room was a hit for us especially for just our one night stay.
Amenities
For only staying one night we can’t touch on all the amenities, but overall everything on the property seemed to be well maintained from our point of view.
What we did end up using was the pantry area and parking garage. Let’s start off with the pantry, which we used on our late arrival, with that said like other pantry style snack areas at other Marriott properties it was on the honor system and we were able to purchase via the front desk located directly behind the pantry area. The difference though was that this pantry offered a plentiful array of snacks and drinks, from the basics to full organic snacks we haven’t even seen before. It was a nice change of pace and allowed us to get some nutrition and fullness before departing for the bed.
We also were able to use the parking garage available onsite. Upon check in the front desk explained that parking was available in the garage noting it was the closest garage to the hotel to the East. Which was a blessing compared to other garages we have had to use at other hotels that end up being a block away or shared with another business. Another quick easy breeze to our one night stay.
The last two amenities to note that again we werenโt able to use was the pool and the restaurant/bar, but we must say upon visiting the area again both of these amenities seemed to be a bit above the standard mid level Marriott hotel amenities you would suspect to see and use. If and when we return we would be sure to stay to confirm that our point of views are 100% accurate.
Final Overview – Rating
Although our trip here was very short lived, we would highly recommend this hotel for any business traveler or late night traveler arriving into TPA. Even a family not wanting to stay in the hustle and bustle of downtown Tampa would enjoy this stay in our opinion. We definitely plan on utilizing the hotel again upon our return to SW Florida later this year. Overall for the hotel being a modern mid-level hotel offered by Marriott we were pleasantly surprised and compared to others we have stayed at in this level we would give this hotel 4.4 out of 5.
