New Bay Area Hotel Slated to Open in Downtown San Rafael in Summer 2023
AC Hotel® San Rafael by Marriott is pleased to announce the following members of its pre-opening executive team: General Manager Mark Pope, Director of Sales Aashna Grewal, and Director of Engineering & Style Jesus Avila. Set to open this summer, AC Hotel San Rafael is situated in the heart of downtown San Rafael at 1201 Fifth Avenue at 5th Avenue and B Street. Featuring 140 guest rooms across 5 floors, the new hotel is a destination for locals and visitors alike between San Francisco, Marin County and wine country.
The hotel will feature the brand’s signature AC Kitchen offering a European inspired breakfast, the AC Lounge will serve a menu of Spanish tapas, and the city’s first rooftop bar, Above Fifth, will offer local wine, craft cocktails and food alongside views of Mount Tam and the surrounding Marin County. The AC Hotel brand was first conceptualized by Antonio Catalán in Spain in 1998 with the goal of offering guests a design-forward, yet functional hotel with emphasis on creating a seamless guest experience. The hotel will be managed by Evolution Hospitality, the lifestyle division of Aimbridge Hospitality, a premier lifestyle hotel and resort operator based in California.
“We look forward to introducing a new destination to downtown San Rafael that has been designed with both travelers and locals in mind,” says Mark Pope, General Manager. “We have a very experienced opening team and are supported by the best management company in the industry in Evolution Hospitality. As locals ourselves, we are focused on bringing the essence of Marin County and San Rafael to life at the new AC San Rafael, and I strongly believe that this stunningly beautiful hotel will reflect that goal.”
The executive team bringing the vision for AC Hotel San Rafael to life includes:
Mark Pope, General Manager
With nearly 20 years of hospitality experience, General Manager Mark Pope has worked across multiple luxury, boutique and select service properties throughout Northern and Southern California. Mark brings a focus on team development and guest experience to each property, achieving five TripAdvisor People’s Choice Awards throughout his career. He moved from Michigan to Southern California in 2014 working as Director of Guest Experience for the Sunset Plaza Hotel and later as Area Project Manager – Revenue for the Luxe Hotel before moving to the Bay Area, accepting the position of General Manager for Extended Stay America’s Pleasant Hill property. Here he was a two-time Choreographer Award winner as the top performing General Manager in the Western Division. Two years later he became District Manager for the company’s San Jose properties, seeing the destinations through the early days of the pandemic and exceeding the budget amidst the softening market. The opportunity to lead a hotel from pre-opening to launch led him to the Moxy Oakland Downtown by Marriott where he served as the Opening Manager/General Manager taking the hotel through construction and its first year of operation. Looking to open another hotel destination from the ground up, Mark joined the Evolution Hospitality team to open the AC San Rafael in October 2022.
Aashna Grewal, Director of Sales
Director of Sales Aashna Grewal spent more than five years working a number of sales roles for Marriott destinations in India before moving to the Bay Area in 2016 to work as a Sales Manager for the Claremont Club & Spa, A Fairmont Hotel in Berkeley. She later joined the Pier 2620 Hotel Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco as Senior Sales Manager, handling group and catering leads from all market segments for the 233 room property. She stepped into a Director of Sales position at Four Points by Sheraton in San Rafael two years later, working closely with the General Manager and Management Company to determine appropriate sales strategies while managing all sales for the hotel. During her time with the destination, Aashna saw the hotel’s transition into the Marriott Hotels and Resorts portfolio, liaising with their national and global sales teams. Eager to grow within Marriott Hotels, Aashna was excited to join the Evolution Hospitality team at AC San Rafael, continuing to work in the greater Marin community while gaining experience in opening a hotel.
Jesus Avila, Director of Engineering and Style
Jesus Avila brings a diverse background of experience with both restaurants and hotels to his dual role of Director of Engineering and Style for AC San Rafael. As Task Force General Manager for Chipotle locations throughout Northern and Southern California, Jesus gained experience in not only opening new locations but also managing all aspects of operations and finances for existing restaurants. In 2005 Jesus opened his own restaurant and bar, Tortilla Flats, which he owned and managed for nearly twelve years in Chico, California before he relocated to Pleasant Hill to switch to the hotel side of the industry. He joined Mark Pope’s team as Director of Maintenance for Extended Stay America, and later took on the General Manager position for one of its San Jose locations. In late 2020, he joined the pre-opening team for the Moxy Oakland Downtown as Director of Engineering and Housekeeping, responsible for coordinating all of the building interiors, fire and safety systems and more. Jesus joined Mark Pope’s opening team for the AC San Rafael in January 2023, marking his fourth hotel project with Mark, and his first with Evolution Hospitality.
The AC San Rafael is slated to open in summer of 2023. For more information on the opening and property details, please visit the website. For those interested in joining the opening team, the AC San Rafael is hosting a recruiting event at Pond Farm Brewing on Thursday, May 18. Details here.