Aloha! Today, a tipster wrote in to tell us that Aloft in Plano, Texas looked like it was nearing completion. Looks like you're shooting for a November 20th opening. Cool! You go, Aloft!
With this in mind, we realize it might be time to start planning the kickass grand opening party -- and we'd like to remind you that it's pretty important to have a celebrity on the guest list. Fortunately for you, we took the liberty of coming up with a few suggestions.
It's "cleverly designed." The lobby is "a hoot." Rooms are "subdued." We'll give you one guess where The New York Times stayed recently...Aloft!
Specifically, Aloft Montreal Airport. The review is more about the brand than the property itself, and it's spot on about the elements of Aloft that do and do not work. For instance, the hotel earns points for having guest rooms with a "refreshing lack of clutter," but loses out with "corporate chirpiness" like when desk clerks say "Aloha" instead of hello.
(We don't quite get all that aloha business either. We're not in Hawaii, a place of sun and fun. We're in Montreal, or Lexington, or Chicago, or Philadelphia, likely on business. So thanks, Aloft, for reminding us that we're not in Hawaii on vacation.)
In all, the Times sums up Aloft so well, we're a little miffed we didn't think of this analogy ourselves: "If the design-savvy retailer Target opened a hotel, this is what it would look like."
Lo! What light through yonder window breaks? It is Chicago, and Aloft is the sun...
Even the esteemed Bard Shakespeare would find something novel to say about the grand opening of the Aloft Rosemont at O'Hare Airport, that hasn't been said a thousand times before.
Surely he would concoct some delicious snark about Aloft Hotels dotting the globe in a slow yet deliberate campaign for world hotel domination.
No doubt he would kill us softly with some carefully crafted sonnet about those uber-hip W-ish terms for 24-hour food bars (example: re:fuel), the ticket kiosks in the lobby, the funky amenities in those sleek open-style bathrooms, free water bottles in the room, nightclub-styled public seating areas. Yet, all we can muster is "yadda yadda."
Aloft was probably the most over hyped hotel brand, ever, so needless to say we were all a little asick of aloft long before they opened a hotel. However, visiting the aloft Lexington changed all that.
We get it. Starwood is gussying up roadside hotels and making them millennial nostalgic, if there is such a thing, and you know what? Roadside hotels were in need of some millennializing.
Well, in case there was any doubt that the crappy economic climate and dismal hotel occupancy rates have thwarted Starwood's efforts to take over the whole entire world, cast your fears aside.
Their decision to scrap a couple of Alofts is no indication that they'll be doing anything but forging on full-speed ahead across the rest of this planet. And this week, they're toasting to the newly-conquered Republic of Starwood -- formerly known as China.
But seriously: Starwood announced their 100th hotel in China yesterday, a milestone they've reached with the signing of the Sheraton Beijing Dongcheng. The new property will have 470 rooms and will be a part of the Global Trade Center development.
Oh, and in case you were wondering about the math:
In addition to the 43 hotels Starwood currently operates in China, Starwood has 57 new properties scheduled to open. These include 22 Sheratons, 12 Four Points by Sheratons, eight Westins, five W hotels, four St Regis, three Le Meridien hotels, two aloft hotels and one Luxury Collection hotel.
57 old + 43 new = 100. 100 Starwood hotels in one country = step one toward world domination. Right?
One area they haven't yet conquered? The interwebs! Starwood, you should really ask Bill Marriott how to handle that one.
Someone we know stayed at the Aloft Lexington with a child and was surprised to find it totally kid-friendly, from the cool things to do on-site to the oddly large number of kids present during his stay and even right down to the air mattress that they bring into the room for the kiddies.
Here's what it's like:
They call it Camp Kids.
They come in and blow up an air mattress and put some caterpillar sheets on it. Then they let the kids pick out some sugary snacks.
The rest of Aloft seems pretty kid-friendly whether or not you are a real kid or just a grown-up one. The hotel features an indoor swimming pool and the re: mix (XYZ) lobby/lounge features flat-screen TVs and a pool table. Oh yeah, and a bar.
However, there is an age limit on the Camp Kids program. You gotta be 12 and under to score caterpillar sheets and sugary snacks. Fudge, we just missed the age cut-off.
And did you hear?! Rooms have an urban-influenced design, loft-like ceilings, oversized windows, platform beds... Zzzzzz.
Are we boring you yet? You may have heard this all before, but that doesn't matter to Starwood and its attempt at world domination (even if the plan has been scaled back a bit). And we've still got four more openings to go before the year is out.
Though after aloft Philadelphia Airportopens next Saturday, we get a much-needed vacay from the aloft extravaganza. The fervor takes a break until October 1, when the aloft Denver International Airport opens, followed by aloft Charlotte Uptown at the Epicentre on November 1 and aloft Dulles North on November 6.
Seems to us a break is exactly what we need to get excited about aloft again, as we're firm believers that you can have too much of a good thing.
Did you hear? Everything sucks! Gas prices are high! The economy is not doing so well! And really, really scary stuff is happening on Greyhound buses.
Things ain't good, folks, and the New York Times assures us today that the hotel industry isn't going to get out of all this suckiness unscathed.
In "Terrible Timing for a Hotel Boom," the Times gently points out that it's kind of ironic (in the sad "rain on your wedding day" way that Alanis sings about -- so more like unfortunate) that the hotel industry saw high occupancy rates over the last few years but now, in the year so many hotel chains have chosen to expand at a crazy pace, occupancy rates are down -- and occupancy in some destinations, like Maui, have already "fallen off a cliff." 85% last year to 67% this year. Ouch.
So some hotel chains are going to put the brakes on. Yes, this includes Aloft.
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by Jenna
