I have stayed at an Aloft before but this one was particularly disappointing for a multiple-night business trip stay. The hotel is connected with the Element hotel next door (it shares the connected gym as well as parking lot), so first off, one should compare rates. The Aloft is located behind a couple of fast food restaurants near Sea World. Check-in experience was subpar, taking extensive time as the sole agent was on the phone for ten minutes, not even looking up at me to acknowledge me waiting. The room itself is sparing: hard floors; exposed rack bar for a “closet”; no wall dividing the bathroom area; built in shower with flimsy plastic door. The decor was quirky, with repeating wallpaper that has random images interspersed; a window curtain that has matrix-like number grids on it; a wall decal sticker in the corner with electrical diagram shapes. The decor gave the room an irreverent but also chintzy feel. And the room's limited functionality was a big challenge, especially when the hotel cut corners on even the most basic operations. The bathroom sink light only had one of the two *****s working. There was no iron provided, just a crappy steamer. The bathroom amenities, drybar-branded bottles attached to the wall, are overperfumed (and I had 2x conditioner bottles, and no shampoo bottle--though housekeeping remedied this for the next day). The electrical outlets in the room are poorly situated and the pop-out one by the table cannot accommodate an apple laptop plug because it’s too narrow. And the oval desk by the seating area doesn’t really work for a laptop; it was thoroughly uncomfortable trying to work in the room. Noise from the hallway was pretty bad. The worst part of this hotel was that the claim of “daily housekeeping” is an outright lie—they only change garbage and towels and won’t change linens even if asked, despite the fact that the hotel website falsely advertises this (upon check-in, they hand you a letter at the front saying linen service is only every five days, as if this absolves them from responsibility). The room really could have used a thorough cleaning, as well; I walked in the room in socks which were gross on the bottom by the end. This housekeeping claim is clearly bait and switch. The gym does have a lot of equipment, though the two stretching mats look like they’ve been attacked by rats, with huge pieces of the mats missing. The elevators are slow and you have to push buttons on each elevator separately. The parking charge of $24 / day is highway robbery. Checkout was smooth though they could not print the bill for some reason (laziness?). Overall, I would not stay at this property again. It does not suit a professional needing to work in the evenings and sleep comfortably.
Excellent
41 Reviews