A new addition to Folsom’s luxury lodging scene reached a construction milestone Tuesday as community leaders and developers gathered at the Palladio for a “topping celebration,” complete with a formal ribbon cutting at the rapidly rising AC Hotel by Marriott
Hosted by the the Folsom Chamber of Commerce, the event took place at the busy job site, where representatives from Insignia Hospitality Group were joined by Folsom Chamber ambassadors, business owners, and a number of city officials to celebrate the structural milestone of the project.
The new hotel is a development by Midland, Texas-based Insignia Hospitality Group Inc., a company known for operating Marriott properties across Texas, New Mexico, and Louisiana. The AC Hotel in Folsom represents one of the company’s first developments of its kind in the Sacramento region.
Insignia Hospitality President Darpan Bhakta attended Tuesday’s event and shared the personal connection his family has to the area.
“I actually have a personal history with this community. It started back in 1999, many years ago when I was very young,” said Bhakta. “I’ve always liked this community, my wife is from here and grew up here, went to high school here at Folsom High, the old Folsom High. So we looked at this area through the years when we would visit my in-laws. Finally we were able to make something work. You have a beautiful, beautiful community. I’m glad to have our team be a part of it.”
Bhakta also offered background on the hotel’s design and its connection to the Marriott AC brand.
“It’s part of the Marriott select service lifestyle brand. AC stands for Antonio Catalan. They brought the brand from Spain in 2012. So this is a very modern, slick traveler design hotel,” he explained. “Some of this design is a custom design, so you won’t really see every AC style hotel in America look exactly the same; everyone. It has its own little features, local art, design, things like that.”
Folsom Times photos by Bill Sullivan.
The five-story hotel will feature 138 units, including 130 rooms and eight condo suites located on the fifth floor. Guests will also have access to a variety of upscale amenities including a spacious lobby and lounge, breakfast bar, fitness center, and multiple meeting spaces. The building spans 85,473 square feet and follows an L-shaped architectural layout that includes an outdoor patio area.
The AC Hotel is being constructed on a 1.45-acre site at the northwest corner of the Palladio, near the intersection of Broadstone Parkway and Palladio Parkway. The project replaces 218 existing parking stalls previously serving the shopping center and introduces 29 new dedicated spaces for hotel guests and visitors. The location was originally envisioned for hotel development as part of Palladio’s long-term master plan, making this project a long-awaited fulfillment of that vision.
First announced in 2022, the hotel is designed to complement the Palladio’s European-inspired architecture. A rendering provided by Choose Folsom illustrates the hotel’s integration into the surrounding landscape, showcasing a modern structure that blends seamlessly with the center’s retail and dining offerings.
This will be the second AC Hotel by Marriott in the Sacramento region, joining the existing location in Downtown Sacramento. Known for their minimalist design and refined European style, AC Hotels cater to travelers seeking a sleek, urban lodging experience. The brand originated in Spain in 1999 and has expanded globally since joining the Marriott portfolio.
Several members of the Folsom City Council and city staff were in attendance to show their support for the project, including Mayor Sarah Aquino, who addressed the crowd during the ceremony.
“This will be the ninth hotel here in Folsom and I can’t think of a better place for it than right here at the Palladio,” said Aquino. She went on to thank the company for choosing Folsom and acknowledged that she knows doing business in California can be much more challenging than other states and that the city appreciates their effort to do so.
City officials and chamber representatives also noted the hotel is expected to contribute significantly to Folsom’s hospitality sector, supporting tourism, local business, and generating transient occupancy tax revenue. With the roof now in place, construction will shift to interior buildout and final exterior work ahead of an anticipated opening in spring 2026.
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