AC Hotels by Marriott, part of Marriott Bonvoy, has opened the doors to its newest hotel in downtown Bethesda, Maryland, bringing the brand's signature "perfectly precise hotel" experience to a thriving urban centre. Welcoming its first guests on 16 August 2022, AC Hotel Bethesda Downtown boasts a purposeful design that perfectly balances form and function, featuring curated artwork evoking a true sense of place.
Developed and managed by OTO Development, part of The Johnson Group, the new hotel neighbours and shares amenities with Avocet Tower, a trophy-class office building by Stonebridge.
"Like many travellers, we appreciate everything about the AC Hotels by Marriott brand, having opened properties in top destinations," said David Ward, COO of OTO Development. "It's a delight to provide the AC signature guest experience imbued with a particular sophistication and practical comforts."
With the completion of the Bethesda Project, OTO has opened six AC Hotels in South San Francisco, California; Chapel Hill, North Carolina; Spartanburg, South Carolina; Times Square, New York; and Washington, D.C., with two more currently under development in Naples and Jacksonville, Florida.
AC Hotel Bethesda Downtown stands 18 stories tall and comprises 220 sleek, modern guestrooms, over 11,000 square feet of activated shared space and a signature restaurant. Other amenities include 3,500 square feet of flexible, top-floor meeting space with an outdoor terrace, a 5,000-square-foot fitness centre equipped with a full range of weights, cardio equipment, a yoga studio, a spin room, and stunning views.
According to Chris Raines, General Manager, from commissioned artwork to premium amenities to intuitive technology and high-end toiletries, the hotel delivers guests with everything they want — and nothing they don't — in a thoughtfully designed space.
AC Hotel Bethesda Downtown's shared space is illuminated, figuratively and literally, by two dramatic installations by the German artist Anke Neumann of LichtPapier. The abstract, organic compositions are created from fibre optic lights and handmade paper. "The Fizz" features dozens of cloudlike forms spread across the restaurant ceiling, where they combine into a distinctive sense of movement and chaotic harmony. Meanwhile, "The Fizz Tree" branches out within a wall niche at the front desk.
Michael Sirvet heads the local coterie of commissioned artists with "Aeolian," an ebony-stained wood sculpture. Other D.C. artists featured in the hotel include Lori Katz, Madeline Stratton, Nicole Salimbene, and Kerry Hays.
AC Hotel Bethesda Downtown has created a food-and-beverage programme on par with the city's more refined eateries. Corella Café & Lounge, named after the hometown of AC Hotels' founder Antonio Catalán, showcases minimalist aesthetics with soaring 23-foot ceilings. Throughout the day, the light-drenched venue serves everything from locally roasted morning coffee to late-night bites and creative cocktails. Seating is available inside, at the bar, and on an ample street-level patio.
Corella's signature cocktail is a tea-infused gin martini that celebrates Bethesda's Madonna of the Trail, the first in a series of 12 granite mother-and-child statues along a key 19th-century migratory route stretching from Maryland to California. Corella toasts the unconquerable spirit of the pioneer women represented by the statues, the determined mothers on their quest toward a better life for their children. The cocktail ritual reflects the 12 Madonnas of the Trail with a spirited mix of 12 ingredients, including gin from Tenth Ward Spirits, a local, female-owned distillery.
AC Hotel Bethesda Downtown is situated at the lively intersection of Montgomery and Wisconsin Avenues, a few blocks from Marriott International's new global headquarters. It is also only seven miles from downtown D.C., a one-minute walk from the Red Line Metro Station, a three-minute bike ride to the Capital Crescent Trail, and near the National Institute of Health and Walter Reed National Military Medical Centre.
