Hotel Review: AC Hotel by Marriott Colón, Valencia

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The AC Hotel by Marriott Colón Valencia markets itself as a “four-star lifestyle hotel in the center of Valencia.” Earlier this year, my wife and I spent five nights at this property during the annual Las Fallas festival in Valencia, Spain.

The festival is a celebration of art, religion and satire that culminates on March 19, when the neighborhoods get together to burn massive, brightly colored papier-mâché structures. The elaborate figurines known as fallas cost hundreds of thousands of euros to create and often have a central satirical theme. The AC Hotel Colón Valencia was the perfect base to explore all the festival had to offer. 

Overview of AC Hotel by Marriott Colón Valencia

The AC Hotel Colón Valencia is a seven-story, mid-sized hotel in the heart of Valencia’s commercial and financial district. Its central location is ideal for tourists and business travelers. The hotel’s website does mention childcare as a service offered, but for the most part, the vibe seemed to be more professional than family-oriented.

How I Booked AC Hotel Colón Valencia

We booked a standard queen guest room using Marriott Bonvoy points and took advantage of Marriott’s Stay for 5, Pay for 4 perk. 

The promotion is available to any Marriott Bonvoy member and allows you to get the fifth night free on an award booking of five consecutive nights at the same hotel. If the points required for the five nights vary, the free night will be credited to the night with the lowest point cost.

In our case, all five nights were valued at 21,000 points, so the total needed for the booking after the fifth night free promotion was 84,000 points. 

Thankfully, my wife and I had the points on hand to cover this redemption, but because of the high cash prices, this booking would have also been a decent use of a free night certificate. Three months ahead of our trip, the cash rate for our five-night stay was more than 1,800 euros. ($1,977)

You can use the following credit cards to earn Marriott Bonvoy points for a stay at AC Hotel Colón Valencia:

• Marriott Bonvoy American Express Card
• Marriott Bonvoy Bevy™ American Express® Card
• Marriott Bonvoy Bold® Credit Card
• Marriott Bonvoy Boundless® Credit Card
• Marriott Bonvoy Bountiful™ Credit Card
• Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card
• Marriott Bonvoy Business® American Express® Card

AC Hotel Marriott Colón Valencia Location

The location of the hotel is perfect for tourists, especially during the festival. We arrived at Valencia (VLC) airport at around 10 p.m. and found that both the No. 3 and No. 5 metro lines would take us to the Xàtiva metro stop in just 20 minutes. From there, it was only a five-minute walk to the hotel. 

As we emerged from the clean and efficient metro, we found ourselves right in the middle of an already raging festival atmosphere. The short walk to the hotel was filled with noise from the fireworks that seemed unending for the next five days and the ever-present smells of gunpowder and churros. 

In the few hundred meters it took to get to the hotel, we passed the regional train station and the impressive bullfighting ring. 

We quickly checked in and returned to the party as the official opening fireworks ceremony was happening only blocks away in the city’s main plaza.  

Best Parts of AC Hotel Colón Valencia

As mentioned, the location of the hotel couldn’t have been more perfect for enjoying Las Fallas, but this wouldn’t have meant anything if being in the heart of the party meant not being able to sleep at night. The soundproofing of the building was exceptional considering the chaos. 

One of the primary elements of Las Fallas is noise. A fireworks display known as La Mascletà takes place every afternoon at 2 p.m. In full Valencian sun, the fireworks are not meant to be seen as much as they are to be heard. 

Thunderous explosions go on for at least six minutes every afternoon, and it would take a full-on survival bunker to completely drown out the noise. A couple of the days, we found ourselves enjoying the body-shaking cacophony in the main plaza, but on the days we were resting at the hotel mere blocks away, closing the window muted the display to a fully tolerable level.

On the final day of the festival, we took a short break from touring the fallas figurines before the main event that evening. As we walked back to the hotel that afternoon, we noticed people lining up for a fire parade. An hour later we were shocked when we walked outside to a raucous parade directly in front of the hotel building. From our fifth-floor room, we hadn’t even noticed the parade begin.

The other highlight of our stay was breakfast. Served from 6:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. during the week and 7:30 a.m. to 11 a.m. on the weekends, the breakfast had everything we needed to shake off a late night of partying and prepare for the next. More on this later …

AC Hotel Colón Valencia Drawbacks

While it wasn’t our experience, the central location might have been a headache during the festival if we had had a street-facing room. If you plan on visiting Valencia during Las Fallas, I recommend requesting an interior-facing room just to be safe.

The other potential drawback to this hotel during the festival is dealing with road closures. During Las Fallas, parades flood the streets from every direction as marching bands and women in beautifully adorned dresses celebrate and bring offerings of flowers. If you have mobility issues or prefer not to use public transport, getting a taxi could prove quite difficult.

Getting to AC Hotel Colón Valencia

From our home in Salt Lake City, we found a great deal on a United Airlines Cyber Monday promotion to London for only 15,000 MileagePlus miles. With this as a jumping-off point, we had our pick of several low-cost airlines with direct flights to Valencia. 

Once on the ground in Valencia, the signs to the subway system were clearly visible and we had no issues finding our way. The physical metrocard itself cost 1 euro ($1.10) and we topped it up with another 5 euros ($5.50) to cover our fare to and from the airport. The cost was 1.20 euros ($1.35) per person, and we simply passed back the reusable card to swipe again for the second person.

We could have taken the metro more as it seemed useful in the city, but there was so much to see around every corner during the Las Fallas festival that we never wanted to be underground.  

Check-In

We arrived around 11 p.m. to a security guard posted at the front door directing us to two smiling faces behind the desk. We were warmly greeted at reception with a mix of English and Spanish. The front desk was staffed at all hours of the day with usually two but at least one attendant. 

At check-in, we were given a special menu that would be served in the hotel restaurant during the festival weekend as well as a useful flier showing basic info such as check-in and checkout times, breakfast hours, etc. After a day of travel, it was a nice touch to find two pitchers of fruit-infused water next to the front desk. The water varied from cucumber to orange to lime to lemon throughout our stay.

The receptionists were not just pleasant but seemed genuinely excited to welcome us as guests during the annual celebration and were eager to provide information about the festival. 

The check-in attendant instantly acknowledged my wife’s Platinum status with Marriott and informed us that breakfast would be included in our stay. I later inquired about the cost of breakfast if we hadn’t had status and found it was 13.20 euros ($14.50) per person. 

They also offered us a choice between 500 Marriott points or 8.20 euros ($9) per person per day credit to be used on food or beverages at the lounge/restaurant. While normally I would have considered the dining credit to offer a higher value, in this situation we knew we’d be out enjoying the city almost all day every day so we decided to take the points instead.

No room upgrade was offered, but we did have a nice welcome gift waiting in the room. On the bed were two bandanas in the traditional colors of the festival as well as a box of chocolates. The blue and white neck scarves, worn by almost everyone on the streets during the festival, helped us get into the spirit of Las Fallas right away. 

The Room at AC Hotel Marriott Colón Valencia

The room was a decent size for European standards and could best be described as comfortably functional. We certainly were not stepping over our luggage, but the word “spacious” never entered my mind. 

The window, which opened just about 3 inches to allow for a breeze, was large enough to provide plenty of natural light during the day and could be covered with a lighter curtain as well as a blackout curtain if your sleep schedule demanded a midday nap. 

The view from our room was nothing particularly special, with the patio area of the restaurant directly below and an athletic court on the interior of the surrounding block just over the fence.

Comfort of the Room

Temperature was not much of an issue for us as we stayed in mid-March with outside temperatures varying from T-shirts during the day to light jackets at night. With no extremes to deal with, the air conditioning was not pushed to its limits but seemed to act quickly on arrival as our core temps were up from carrying luggage. 

The noise of the room is a tricky one to describe. As far as standard ambient city noise, the room was quite well insulated and would likely be a 9 out of 10 most of the year. However, since we were there during Las Fallas, the sound of fireworks was constantly in the background. If you happened to be staying at the hotel and didn’t know or care about the festival, I imagine the noise would be a considerable nuisance.

However, expectations being what they were in our case, the noise-dampening of the room was adequate, bordering on impressive given the location. We met up with friends and travelers staying in various neighborhoods throughout the city who were really struggling to sleep, with the small break in fireworks between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. being their only opportunity. 

The bed was quite comfortable with a soft and a hard pillow available on each side with cozy yet unremarkable linens. It was just what I’d have expected from a hotel of this caliber but no astronomical thread counts that made us refuse to leave bed in the mornings.

The Bathroom

The bathroom was a bit compact but not overly inconvenient. The first thing my wife noticed was how narrow the passageway between the vanity and the shower was with the toilet protruding into the walkway. Not that you had to straddle it and jump over it or even turn a set of broad shoulders sideways to get through, but it was noticeably tight.

Privacy could be an issue if you aren’t fully comfortable with your roommate as the door was nothing more than a thin piece of lightly fogged glass. With no separation between the toilet and the rest of the bathroom, any side effects of a local paella gone wrong would be clearly audible in the rest of the room. 

The shower was average in size. It took a little tweaking to get the temperature just right, and it did seem to fluctuate a few degrees here and there once you had it set but nothing that had us jumping out of the way and only a mild inconvenience in the end.

I shower in the morning, and my wife has always been one for the evenings, so we never tested the supply of hot water in a back-to-back shower situation, but I didn’t get the sense that it was in any danger of running out. 

The real highlight was the water volume. You could toggle between a hand wand and an overhead rain shower setting that felt like an absolute monsoon without any of the force of a pressure washer. The expansive shower head almost made me feel guilty for wasting water at times but it was ultimately a welcomed relief from a long travel day and endless hours of wandering Las Fallas. 

The shower included wall-mounted hand-pump bottles of Korres-branded citrus-scented shampoo, conditioner and shower gel. The bathroom came stocked with generously sized towels for the shower, hand and face towels as well as an amenities cart filled with tissues, a comb, a toothbrush and toothpaste set, a shower cap, a nail filing kit, a pair of slippers and a shoe shine sponge. 

A hair dryer was mounted on the wall next to the mirror. The one noticeable absence from the room was an iron. In the welcome literature, it was stated that you could call down to the front desk for the service, but with all the other modern comforts having been included, it felt just a bit out of place to not have it available for guests to use in their rooms.

Room Amenities

The room had a minibar fridge as well as a complimentary pod-style Nespresso coffee machine and bottles of water. The complimentary items were replaced daily during room service. However, on days we declined cleaning, we were offered replacements for the coffee and water straight from the cart.

Outlets were conveniently placed above the nightstands on both sides of the bed. However, we did need our adapters for our U.S. chargers, and there were no USB ports. 

A small but sufficient workstation was available with a chair pulled up to the desk that doubled as the coffee station but had a good 3 feet of clear workspace.

A safe was available in the room, but the overall vibe was secure and we didn’t end up using it. 

Food and Drink

As mentioned, the breakfast was a true standout and set us up for a great day every morning. The large spread of meats, cheeses, pastries, yogurts and cereals typical of a hotel of this caliber were accompanied by some regional favorites that helped set the experience apart. 

Tortilla de patatas (Spanish potato omelet) was offered in various forms throughout our stay and the hotel had added churros to the menu specifically for the festival week. Of course, being on the peninsula, the Iberian ham was of high quality as well. Eggs cooked to order were available and offered along with coffee and tea every morning.  

As we were primarily in Valencia for the festival, we spent most of our days out and about eating street food and trying local restaurants. However, I did take a look at the hotel’s lunch and dinner menu and found the prices to be roughly in line with the standard for the area, if not a little higher.

Although we didn’t try it, a special Las Fallas menu was offered in the restaurant in the evenings. 

Amenities

The amenities at the AC Hotel Marriott Colón Valencia were very much in line with its business feel. There was no pool, spa or game room to entertain the kids—just a gym and a small workspace.

The small fitness area was located in the basement of the hotel. The room featured a treadmill, two stationary bikes, an elliptical machine and free weights. 

On the first floor next to the restaurant/lounge was a business corner. The space was tucked in a corner between the inside and outside dining areas and offered very little in the way of privacy, but if you just needed to print something off real quick, it was better than nothing.

Service

The staff was friendly and welcoming, and the whole experience felt professional. The front desk attendees were happy to answer any and all questions we had. Because the five nights we were there aligned with the city’s largest festival, the staff had all the information about events readily available. 

Final Thoughts on AC Hotel Marriott Colón Valencia

If you’re looking to travel to Valencia during Las Fallas in March, I’d absolutely recommend this hotel. The service, breakfast and location made for such an easy stay that my wife and I were able to focus on enjoying every aspect of the festival.

While I don’t think the nearly $2,000 price point for five nights is justified (even during the festival), the value is certainly there if you have the points for an award stay.