HotelChatter

· Immediately upon entering, a variety of options present themselves to you: a snack bar/cafe area on the left, the Front Desk in front of you, and a pool table area to the right. Lounge-ish music plays gently in the background. The scene reminded us of a teenager's playroom, complete with cool spherical swivel chairs and neon signs.

· The high ceiling functions basically as one huge skylight, so even on a cloudy day, plenty of gray light poured into the lobby.

· The menu at the 24-hour snack bar—named "re:fuel"—is much more inspired than its cheesy name. Fresh fruit, chocolate, pretzels, cereal, coffee, and ice cream. Not to mention Aloft-branded snacks like gummi bears and yogurt-dipped pretzels ($2).

· Behind the large front area and past the bar (w xyz) is another smaller room with computers and comfy couches. Up on the wall is a very cool four-screen digital art installation. It may not show in our video, but the images shown on the screens are actually movies. Each new image displays an ambient scene like a desert, or a waterfall, or (as pictured) some tall waterfront buildings. But what they're showing is a live scene—look close enough and you'll see the water ripple beneath the buildings!

For info on the hotel opening, see our initial response here.