It makes perfect sense that AC by Marriott would open its first North American property in New Orleans: What better place to launch a chain of European-design hotels than in a city where European culture already plays such a strong role?
"There is a lot of European history in New Orleans itself, so culturally it worked out," said Toni Stoeckl, vice president of lifestyle brands at Marriott International. "We are a brand that's about very urban or metro-urban locations, very much focused on being right in the heart of the city."
The AC brand is very much a European import. Marriott acquired a stake in Madrid-based AC Hotels in 2010 and one year later launched the AC by Marriott brand in Europe, which has grown to more than 70 properties throughout the Continent.
The AC Hotel New Orleans Bourbon Street opened at the end of 2014 in the city's Cotton Exchange Building, which dates to 1871, and despite its name is actually located on Carondelet Street about a block and a half south of Canal Street (Carondelet turns into Bourbon Street north of Canal). An additional 30 AC openings in the U.S. and Latin America are planned over the next three years, with Miami and Chicago openings scheduled for April and May, respectively.
At the 220-room AC Hotel New Orleans, dramatic Corinthian columns are lined up along the hotel's facade, evoking a building with history and stature. Inside, the mood turns markedly modern, with contemporary artwork and sleek furnishings.
The sophisticated-yet-social scene at the AC Lounge lobby bar makes for a great place to start or end the night, with an enticing selection of cocktails and bites. And given that European hotels are big on offering breakfast, perhaps it is no surprise that the AC Kitchen adjacent to the lounge offers up a self-service breakfast bar for an additional charge that includes meats and cheeses, pastries, yogurt, cereal and fruit.
Upstairs, the guestrooms are unavoidably varied due to the building's former life as a cotton exchange. Some rooms have high ceilings and soaring windows, while others offer more privacy and are more tucked away. Regardless of the differences in layout, the guestrooms do offer a consistency — clean lines, low lighting, plush bedding, soft hues of gray and brown and modern marble bathrooms.
With an eye toward millennial travelers, the AC Hotel New Orleans Bourbon Street doesn't want to be a place just to rest your head at the end of busy day of working or sightseeing in the city; it clearly wants to be a bit of a destination unto itself, and one with Instagram-worthy design elements.
The target market is "very discerning," Stoeckl said. "They actually want [a hotel brand] to be sophisticated but affordable. They're looking at brands that resonate with them on a personal level. They want to go somewhere and take a picture of something and post it on social media."
Rates for the AC Hotel New Orleans start at $179 per night. See www.marriott.com/ac-hotels/travel.mi.