Love is Love | Valentine's Day Staycation At AC Hotel By Marriott

Thanks to AC Hotel by Marriott Seattle Bellevue/Downtown for sponsoring this post.

As always, all opinions in the post are my own.

It’s February… Love is in the air, Love is all around, Love is LOVE!!!

Love is a widely popular topic, and yet, Love is such a delicate subject that people do not want to talk about it, especially around Valentine’s Day! And I get it, it is especially hard if you are single, or if you have been through a recent breakup, or if there are hardships in your relationship with your partner, but let’s keep those negative feelings aside a little, and let’s focus on the positives…

Love should be in the air, not just on Valentine’s Day, but every day! While some people hate V-Day, some of us LOVE this day, and to some, it’s just another day. No matter how you feel about Valentine’s Day or how you choose to celebrate it (or not) or who you choose to celebrate it with, remember to always love yourself first! Love isn’t something you only share with a certain-someone-special alone, Love is also that relationship you share with yourself, Love is also what you feel towards all your loved ones – family, friends, pets, and anyone else who is important to you in life. So remember to always tell the ones you love just how much you do, and just how much they mean to you, not just on Valentine’s Day, but EVERY.SINGLE.DAY!

While we do not need a Hallmark Holiday, or a dedicated time/day of the year to CELEBRATE LOVE, it is just nice to do something extra special on a certain day to express your love! And if you are a hopeless romantic who celebrates Valentine’s Day by going on a romantic date, exchanging gifts/chocolates/flowers, do not let anyone make you feel any less about doing so (because I see that as being another popular trend on the internet). There is nothing wrong in doing whatever makes you happy, nothing wrong with loving someone, and nothing wrong in expressing it whichever way you want. So don’t let anyone dampen your spirits, not on Valentine’s Day, or on any other day! And remember, there is nothing wrong with wearing your heart on your sleeves!!!

As far as I am concerned, I always celebrate everything in life, I always have, even before I became a blogger (because, some people seem to think that bloggers overdo holidays and celebrations, but they fail to even acknowledge that some of us are just built that way, blogger or not!). I always go all out and celebrate every occasion (and yes, even before I became a blogger) and Valentine’s Day is no different. Thank heavens that my hubs (Vinay, I should really start using his name on the blog than refer to him as my husband, about time eh!) is the same way, and even if he wasn’t so into celebrations before he met me, he sure loves to celebrate everything since we came into each other’s lives. And it means soooo much to me to be with someone who values these sentiments just as much as I do, if not more (cuz, dammit, he brings me greeting cards which are way too cuter/touchy-er than the ones I buy).

Typically, Vinay and I sneak away on a vacation (at least for 10 days) around Valentine’s Day as it is so close to our Wedding Anniversary! But this year has been a little different with the introduction of our little Valentine :). Plus, we just got back from our recent trip to Joshua Tree and Palm Springs, and there’s more travel on the cards soon, so we decided to stay local for V-Day this year. But when I thought local, I never considered the option of a Staycation, cuz TBH a staycatIon was never appealing to me, until now… but now that our little family of 3 spent an entire Valentine’s Day Weekend at the AC Hotel by Marriott Seattle Bellevue/Downtown, my perception about a staycation has completely changed!

For starters, The AC Hotel by Marriott Seattle Bellevue/Downtown was all-sorts-of amazing… The Hotel is right in the heart of Bellevue Downtown and is super close to everything when I say everything, I mean EVERY.THING – from shopping malls to restaurants to cool cafes to movie theaters to parks to museums to public transportation to corporate offices. Everything is within walking distance and you never even have to take your car out if you are willing to walk for 10-15 mins. And getting to Seattle Downtown is just a 20-minute car ride and so is venturing out on a wine tasting tour at one of Washington’s popular wineries.

The staff at the hotel were extremely friendly, helpful, warm and always smiling (very important to me – people who greet and talk to you with a smile)! They arranged for an early check-in for us, including setting up a crib in the room for our baby, which scored them extra-extra brownie points right away. Our baby boy loved to stand in the crib and stare out the window endlessly, hey, anything to keep him occupied is a deal-maker ;). They answered all our questions with utmost patience, engaged with us during our never-ending strolls in the lobby as we tried to keep our little one entertained.

Sweet treats, aka dark chocolates, were waiting in our corner king room to welcome us, the hotel surely knows their way to a women’s heart (little things make a huge difference)! The room was Monica clean (which means 100% in my eyes, reference from the TV show ‘Friends’) and came with luxurious amenities (including a mini-refrigerator, not very common in most hotels, especially in downtown). Being new homeowners, Vinay and I loved their bath and want to use it as an inspiration if and when we renovate our bathrooms at our new home.

The valet service was always available and they were always quick to bring our car out when needed, and with the pretty decor in every corner of the hotel, I wouldn’t mind waiting if I had to.

The European-styled interiors of this boutique hotel are very tastefully done with a minimalistic approach – it is modern and sophisticated, has a luxurious feel to it, and the artwork in every corner of the hotel walls is simply beautiful. The stylish decor especially won my heart, which most certainly invoked a creative spark in me and I so wish to replicate certain parts of the hotel in our home (now if only I could steal their office space and make it my own, such an ideal place to work at).

There is also plenty of space inside the hotel, outside your room, in case you want to work, to read, to hold a meeting, or just to chit-chat.

The ambiance of the AC Kitchen and AC Lounge are just perfect for spending some relaxing time while enjoying their European inspired breakfast or their refreshing cocktails and delicious tapas.

And I am not going to lie, I did think to myself that a corner room wouldn’t offer much value when you are in downtown, I mean, all you get to see is the busy street below you and slow-moving traffic, WRONG! Much to my surprise, we saw one of the most beautiful sunsets from the comfort of our hotel room in a downtown, now that has never happened before! Given how much Vinay and I love to chase sunrises and sunsets, this totally made our staycation even more romantic and ideal.

All in all, our family of 3 got some much needed time away from all the weekend chores and we got to enjoy some alone time together at The AC Hotel by Marriott Seattle Bellevue/Downtown! And now, I am a fan of staycations, because, I would never be able to spend more time in a hotel room without venturing out much if we were in a new city. Given the high standards this hotel set, we highly recommend AC Hotels around the world to anyone planning a vacation, or a staycation! And with all our upcoming travels, I can’t wait to check out their other hotel locations around the world and book our next stay!