Next up is Valencia and I will be staying here for 1 night. It is kind of a little short and I regret not having more time here. Being the 3rd largest city in Spain, Valencia has much to offer but sadly, I am running out of days before returning to Singapore. I will be needed a night in Valencia and there are no Hilton properties to be found in the city which then leads me to my backup chain, Marriott. I will also need one with a parking facility and hopefully one that is not too hefty since I was driving. The AC Hotel Valencia check off my box and the rate was good too. Since I would be mostly out exploring, I do not need to get a fancy place. While the location of the AC Hotel Valencia might not be the best, it is much better for me since it will be hard and challenging to drive in the city centre.
Booking Process & Pre Arrival
I book directly with Marriott for this stay. I will be staying simply for 1 night and booked the base level standard room. I paid 73.70 Euros for the stay including taxes. A couple of days out, I can see from the app that I have been upgraded to the Standard Plus room. The hotel also very kindly extended complimentary parking for me upon enquiring about their parking facilities. That is an awesome value and nice touch for loyal members. AC Hotel Malaga Palacio features 174 guest rooms and suites spread across 4 categories. You can find the breakdown below.
| Rooms | Bathtub | Room Size |
|---|---|---|
| Standard | Yes | 23 Sqm |
| Standard Plus | Yes | 23 Sqm |
| Family | Yes | 32 Sqm |
| Junior Suite | Yes | 40 Sqm |
Checking In
I arrived shortly after 11.30am after driving in from Alicante. While I managed to navigate easily to the hotel location, it was super hard to find the carpark entrance. I will share more on this later. We parked in the hotel carpark and could access the lobby directly. There was no wait at this time and we were immediately attended to. Check-in was prompt and fast. My room was ready and I was assigned a standard plus room on the 9th floor. This is considered a mid-tier room with only the family king above it. I was also extended complimentary parking which was a nice touch from the staff. Parking would have cost €15 daily. The lobby was standard and cosy. Typical for a 4-star hotel.
The hotel does have its parking facility in the building and this is the one reason why I choose to stay here since it is much easier. The entrance to the car park is located on Avenida de Francia, next to a restaurant called Eliá. I had called ahead to get the instructions but we still found it challenging to find the entrance to the parking. It is especially difficult for tourists who are here for the first time. I would appreciate it if they put up more signs. It turned out that we were spotting for the wrong stuff as to get to the parking at the back of the hotel, we have to mount the curb and get onto the curb walkway. The lots and parking are very narrow and you will have to be careful while navigating. We drove a BMW X1 and it was already super tight.
Standard Plus King Room
I was assigned room 918. It is located at the end of the corridor. Upon entering, there is an elongated entry way and you can also find the bathroom entrance to the left. The room orientation was rather weird and this results in some out-of-the-norm layout as they are trying to fit in everything.
The bathroom entrance is super narrow and badly designed. You can find yourself easily knocking on the glass door when entering. It comes with a single sink and the glass finishing helps with making it look more spacious. All sorts of amenities are provided and toiletries are house branded.
The bathroom comes with a shower and a tub combo. You would have known that this is not my favourite set up but at the very least a half-glass screen is much better than a shower curtain. The water pressure and temperature control were excellent here. Weirdly, no tissue papers are provided. You can find a hairdryer in the bathroom and they are the good quality ones.
The wardrobe can be found alongside the wall and inside you can find bathrobes, bath slippers, a safe and an ironing kit.
Next to it, there is a little cushion platform and this is the only storage place for your luggage but given the width of it meant that it will not fit most huge suitcases. I tried to ask about a luggage rack and got the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard in a hotel. They didn’t have one and they did not have something like this before in the hotel. That is a direct quote from the front desk. LOL! Above the minibar, you can find a high-quality TV mounted on the wall. It is a good size for the room and comes with plenty of channels. Most of them are in the local language though.
The minibar area came with a fully stocked mini fridge and you can also find a Nespresso machine with 4 capsules provided. 2 bottles of water are provided as well and more can be requested.
The room has quite an expansive view but it mainly faces the surrounding area and a patch of bare grounds. The king-size bed takes up most of the room space and it was alright. The sheets were smooth and the pillows offer decent neck support. It’s surrounded by nightstands on both sides of the bed and I am glad to see that power outlets can be conveniently found.
By the side of the bed, you can find a round table. It is a good size for two people and comes with 2 chairs. This also acts as the working desk in the room. The chairs offer good back support for a short period of working. Wifi was easy to connect to and fast. I will however appreciate it if some outlets can be found here rather than you having to drag your cable to the side of the bed.
Fitness Centre
The fitness centre is located on the 10th floor and is open from 8 am until 11 pm. It is pretty standard as far as the gym goes and gets the work done if you require a workout. All sorts of the standard stuff can be found here. It is slightly on the smaller side though. I did appreciate that the place has lots of natural light.
Conclusion
The stay was alight and works quite well into my plans. It is basic and fuss-free. It is quite a nice place for a 1 night stop. I will certainly recommend it if anyone is passing by and driving. When I went to the city centre, I appreciate not having to navigate the roads there. There is a bus stop right outside the hotel that has a direct bus to the city centre. It is easy enough. It is generally ok and the staff are excellent. The only point that I can’t comprehend is the fact that they didn’t have a luggage rack.
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