The New 'Aloft Experience' Site is Kind of Awesome

June 8, 2009 at 11:28 AM | by Jenna | 1 Comment

Aloft recently explanded their website, launching a totally new section called The Aloft Experience — and the most important thing we have to say here is this: the music on the site is stellar. There is a little music player rolling through a playlist that includes Duran Duran, Jem and Sarah Bareilles. And you know how much we love us some decent hotel website music.

The new "microsite" is pretty sweet; the official purpose of the new offshoot is:

It showcases a range of interactive features, including a guided insider�s tour of the hotel, maps and city guides for each location which engage visitors through a series of original, branded games that bring the Aloft Hotels experience to life.

We poked around a bit (with the music playing the whole time, obviously), and it's essentially a virtual tour of an Aloft property with pretty nice photos and little pink plus-signs that give bits of info about the features you're looking at when you scroll over them. Nothing particularly lifechanging here, but definitely a good way to get a feel for the brand and the experience for those unfamiliar with the chain.

But if you're looking for something potentially-lifechanging: in conjunction with the launch of the site, Starwood is running the "Aloft Explore, Amuse + Win" sweepstakes, with a chance to win (literally) one million Starwood Preferred Guest Starpoints — enough "for over 25 roundtrip airline tickets, more than 140 free nights at Aloft Hotels, or adventures and getaways at participating Starwood properties around the world." You can also go for a "Click-to-Win" sorta thing that gives out daily prizes like laptops, digital cameras, GPS systems and nights at Aloft.

Check out the new site here. Turn your speakers up.

Look a little closer

The best part of the site is all of the fun games you can pay throughout the site - high quality, unique stuff that really inspires you to spend time on the site, and really conveys what the brand is about. There's also a cool boardgame (which is kind of hard to find), that's not only beautiful looking, but really fun and addictive.

This is by far the most original and innovative thing a hotel brand has done in a long time, and I applaud Aloft's bravery to do something other than what is safe and expected. I hope other people appreciate the depth and quality of the experience as well - when was the last time you actually spent this much time on a hotel's website (booorrring), other than to find locations and book rooms?

But PLEASE get rid of that awful, painful, lame, whiny music!

June 9, 2009 at 1:25 PM

1 Comment

Return to » The New 'Aloft Experience' Site is Kind of Awesome

zannif
HotelChatter Member

Look a little closer
That's funny...I think the music is absolutely nauseating. In fact, the best way to experience this fabulous site is with your speakers turned entirely off. Why would they go with such a random selection go has-beens and never-gonna-be's for such a fun and contemporary brand?
The best part of the site is all of the fun games you can pay throughout the site - high quality, unique stuff that really inspires you to spend time on the site, and really conveys what the brand is about. There's also a cool boardgame (which is kind of hard to find), that's not only beautiful looking, but really fun and addictive.
This is by far the most original and innovative thing a hotel brand has done in a long time, and I applaud Aloft's bravery to do something other than what is safe and expected. I hope other people appreciate the depth and quality of the experience as well - when was the last time you actually spent this much time on a hotel's website (booorrring), other than to find locations and book rooms?
But PLEASE get rid of that awful, painful, lame, whiny music!

June 9, 2009 at 1:25 PM

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