AC Hotels by Marriott has opened its latest property in downtown Bethesda, Md., close to the corporation's headquarters.
OTO Development, part of The Johnson Group, developed and will manage the new hotel, which is adjacent to and shares amenities with Avocet Tower, an office building developed by Stonebridge.
With the completion of the Bethesda project, OTO has opened six AC Hotels. The others are in south San Francisco; Chapel Hill, N.C.; Spartanburg, S.C.; New York City's Times Square; and Washington, D.C., with two more currently under development in Naples and Jacksonville, Fla.
The 18-story AC Hotel Bethesda Downtown has 220 guestrooms and more than 11,000 square feet of shared space with a signature restaurant. Other amenities include 3,500 square feet of flexible top-floor meeting space with an outdoor terrace overlooking Silver Spring, Tysons Corner, Arlington, and Downtown D.C.. The hotel also has a 5,000-square-foot fitness center with weights, cardio equipment, a yoga studio and a spin room.
Art & Design
The hotel’s art portfolio is highlighted, figuratively and literally, by two dramatic installations by German artist Anke Neumann of LichtPapier, who illuminates the hotel’s shared space with abstract, organic compositions created out of fiber optic lights and handmade paper. “The Fizz” comprises dozens of cloudlike forms scattered across the restaurant ceiling, where they comingle into a sense of movement and chaotic harmony. Meanwhile, “The Fizz Tree” branches out within a wall niche at the front desk.
Michael Sirvet leads the local coterie of commissioned artists with “Aeolian,” an ebony-stained wood sculpture he describes as mechanical in both the thought and the creative process. Other D.C. artists whose creativity is featured in the hotel include Lori Katz, Madeline Stratton and Nicole Salimbene; Kerry Hays, a D.C. native now living in Atlanta, showcases several abstract paintings with a sculptural quality.
The AC Hotel Bethesda Downtown's Corella Café & Lounge is named after the hometown of Antonio Catalán, the founder of AC Hotels. With minimalist aesthetics including 23-foot ceilings, the venue is designed to flex throughout the day. Seating is available inside, at the bar and out on the street-level patio.
The hotel is located at the intersection of Montgomery and Wisconsin, just a few blocks from Marriott International’s new global headquarters and seven miles from downtown D.C. The hotel is a one-minute walk from the Red Line Metro Station and a three-minute bike ride to the Capital Crescent Trail.
Project partners include Cooper Carry, architect/interior design; Balfour Beatty, base building contractor; and Coakley & Williams Construction, general contractor. The curated artwork was sourced from Kalisher and Material Driven.