Aloft Harlem (New York City) [Master Thread]
Apr 26, 2011, 7:08 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Central Texas
Programs: Starwood Gold , HH Gold, Hyatt Gold, Aadvantage, Rapid Rewards CP
Posts: 1,586
Aloft Harlem (New York City) [Master Thread]
I just returned today from New York and stayed at the Harlem Aloft. It is a new hotel (opened in Dec.). It was the only Starwood hotel with availability on pts (7000 per night) this past weekend and we're glad to have stayed there. The service was wonderful. They went out of their way to ensure we had a wonderful stay. The location is not upscale, but the hotel is nice. There was quite a varied clientele in the hotel (Europeans, Americans of all stripes). It has a bar and limited food that is breakfast oriented. Free coffee in the morning in the breakfast area. They have a security presence at night that is low key, not uniformed. The vibe is hip and youth oriented, with booming upbeat music at the bar and lobby at night (not heard from our room on the 4th floor) and clean well designed rooms that are not large, but don't feel cramped. We both slept well on the mattress, firm but not too. The room we had faced the street and had no view really, but good light from the windows across the full width of the room. The bar / lobby has a pool table and there is a workout room with machines on the 2nd floor I think. Very pet friendly hotel...no charge, provide bowls and bed and constantly giving our dog treats when we passed.
We liked the public transportation there...you can take the M10 bus from within two blocks north and it drops off in front of the hotel. Number 10 runs along the west side of Central Park. On the next block over west is the subway with several lines including the A and D which have express lines. The M3 bus is near the subway terminal also. It runs along the east side of Central Park and gets you to the Museum Mile and shopping and restaurants on Madison Ave. in 20 minutes or so. We bought a 7 day unlimited pass each that was a good bargain. This being my first trip to NYC, I noticed that the subway is somewhat antiquated in comparison to Paris, London, and even DC...few subway cars had any info about where you where going posted and the conductor's announcements were often unintelligible. We kept a map and used that to figure our way around.
The neighborhood is fairly stable around there and we were in the neighborhood at all hours walking to or from the bus line, the subway, or to walk the dog. I walked the dog by myself and felt safe enough even at night. Most everyone we interacted with was friendly and helpful. We kept to ourselves at night and walked with purpose. There is the Police station catty corner from the hotel, several churchs around, we saw at least one drug dealer, lots of young and older folks walking. It's clear that the neighborhood has some renovated properties so there are folks coming in or staying and making it better. The hotel has new condos on upper floors. They may not be associated with the hotel not sure about that. Walked the dog primarily in Morningside Park, which is a long narrow park that goes from 123rd (a couple of blocks west) and runs down to the Saint John the Divine Cathedral. The Apollo Theatre is around the corner on 125th. There is a movie theater on the next corner across the street. A vendor sells fresh fruit from a street stand for reasonable prices about a block away toward 125th. There is a florist, Harlem Flo - Floral Atelier, right next door...high end look and great for the neighborhood.
Not much that we saw in the neighborhood for eating out, so we used the small fridge in the room for breakfast goods and ate out in Manhattan.
We enjoyed our stay and would recommend it. Not knowing what to expect from the neighborhood, I would say we were pleased that it was what it was.
We liked the public transportation there...you can take the M10 bus from within two blocks north and it drops off in front of the hotel. Number 10 runs along the west side of Central Park. On the next block over west is the subway with several lines including the A and D which have express lines. The M3 bus is near the subway terminal also. It runs along the east side of Central Park and gets you to the Museum Mile and shopping and restaurants on Madison Ave. in 20 minutes or so. We bought a 7 day unlimited pass each that was a good bargain. This being my first trip to NYC, I noticed that the subway is somewhat antiquated in comparison to Paris, London, and even DC...few subway cars had any info about where you where going posted and the conductor's announcements were often unintelligible. We kept a map and used that to figure our way around.
The neighborhood is fairly stable around there and we were in the neighborhood at all hours walking to or from the bus line, the subway, or to walk the dog. I walked the dog by myself and felt safe enough even at night. Most everyone we interacted with was friendly and helpful. We kept to ourselves at night and walked with purpose. There is the Police station catty corner from the hotel, several churchs around, we saw at least one drug dealer, lots of young and older folks walking. It's clear that the neighborhood has some renovated properties so there are folks coming in or staying and making it better. The hotel has new condos on upper floors. They may not be associated with the hotel not sure about that. Walked the dog primarily in Morningside Park, which is a long narrow park that goes from 123rd (a couple of blocks west) and runs down to the Saint John the Divine Cathedral. The Apollo Theatre is around the corner on 125th. There is a movie theater on the next corner across the street. A vendor sells fresh fruit from a street stand for reasonable prices about a block away toward 125th. There is a florist, Harlem Flo - Floral Atelier, right next door...high end look and great for the neighborhood.
Not much that we saw in the neighborhood for eating out, so we used the small fridge in the room for breakfast goods and ate out in Manhattan.
We enjoyed our stay and would recommend it. Not knowing what to expect from the neighborhood, I would say we were pleased that it was what it was.
Last edited by Frenchie Flyer; Apr 27, 2011 at 4:52 pm Reason: added pet friendly, bus name edit
Apr 26, 2011, 7:39 pm
#2
Suspended
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: New York, NY
Programs: Delta - Gold; Starwood - Platinum; HHonors - Diamond & Avis Preferred
Posts: 10,869
I just returned today from New York and stayed at the Harlem Aloft. It is a new hotel (opened in Dec.). It was the only Starwood hotel with availability on pts (7000 per night) this past weekend and we're glad to have stayed there. The service was wonderful. They went out of their way to ensure we had a wonderful stay. The location is not upscale, but the hotel is nice. There was quite a varied clientele in the hotel (Europeans, Americans of all stripes). It has a bar and limited food that is breakfast oriented. Free coffee in the morning in the breakfast area. They have a security presence at night that is low key, not uniformed. The vibe is hip and youth oriented, with booming upbeat music at the bar and lobby at night (not heard from our room on the 4th floor) and clean well designed rooms that are not large, but don't feel cramped. We both slept well on the mattress, firm but not too. The room we had faced the street and had no view really, but good light from the windows across the full width of the room. The bar / lobby has a pool table and there is a workout room with machines on the 2nd floor I think.
We liked the public transportation there...you can take the number 10 bus from within two blocks and it drops off in front of the hotel. Number 10 runs along the west side of Central Park. On the next block over west is the subway with several lines including the A and D which have express lines. The number 3 bus is near the subway terminal also. It runs along the east side of Central Park and gets you to the Museum Mile and shopping and restaurants on Madison Ave. in 20 minutes or so. We bought a 7 day unlimited pass each that was a good bargain. This being my first trip to NYC, I noticed that the subway is somewhat antiquated in comparison to Paris, London, and even DC...few subway cars had any info about where you where going posted and the conductor's announcements were often unintelligible. We kept a map and used that to figure our way around.
The neighborhood is fairly stable around there and we were in the neighborhood at all hours walking to or from the bus line, the subway, or to walk the dog. I walked the dog by myself and felt safe enough even at night. Most everyone we interacted with was friendly and helpful. We kept to ourselves at night and walked with purpose. There is the Police station catty corner from the hotel, several churchs around, we saw at least one drug dealer, lots of young and older folks walking. It's clear that the neighborhood has some renovated properties so there are folks coming in or staying and making it better. The hotel has new condos on upper floors. They may not be associated with the hotel not sure about that. Walked the dog primarily in Morningside Park, which is a long narrow park that goes from 123rd (a couple of blocks west) and runs down to the Saint John the Divine Cathedral. The Apollo Theatre is around the corner on 125th. There is a movie theater on the next corner across the street. A vendor sells fresh fruit from a street stand for reasonable prices about a block away toward 125th. There is a florist, Harlem Flo - Floral Atelier, right next door...high end look and great for the neighborhood.
Not much that we saw in the neighborhood for eating out, so we used the small fridge in the room for breakfast goods and ate out in Manhattan.
We enjoyed our stay and would recommend it. Not knowing what to expect from the neighborhood, I would say we were pleased that it was what it was.
We liked the public transportation there...you can take the number 10 bus from within two blocks and it drops off in front of the hotel. Number 10 runs along the west side of Central Park. On the next block over west is the subway with several lines including the A and D which have express lines. The number 3 bus is near the subway terminal also. It runs along the east side of Central Park and gets you to the Museum Mile and shopping and restaurants on Madison Ave. in 20 minutes or so. We bought a 7 day unlimited pass each that was a good bargain. This being my first trip to NYC, I noticed that the subway is somewhat antiquated in comparison to Paris, London, and even DC...few subway cars had any info about where you where going posted and the conductor's announcements were often unintelligible. We kept a map and used that to figure our way around.
The neighborhood is fairly stable around there and we were in the neighborhood at all hours walking to or from the bus line, the subway, or to walk the dog. I walked the dog by myself and felt safe enough even at night. Most everyone we interacted with was friendly and helpful. We kept to ourselves at night and walked with purpose. There is the Police station catty corner from the hotel, several churchs around, we saw at least one drug dealer, lots of young and older folks walking. It's clear that the neighborhood has some renovated properties so there are folks coming in or staying and making it better. The hotel has new condos on upper floors. They may not be associated with the hotel not sure about that. Walked the dog primarily in Morningside Park, which is a long narrow park that goes from 123rd (a couple of blocks west) and runs down to the Saint John the Divine Cathedral. The Apollo Theatre is around the corner on 125th. There is a movie theater on the next corner across the street. A vendor sells fresh fruit from a street stand for reasonable prices about a block away toward 125th. There is a florist, Harlem Flo - Floral Atelier, right next door...high end look and great for the neighborhood.
Not much that we saw in the neighborhood for eating out, so we used the small fridge in the room for breakfast goods and ate out in Manhattan.
We enjoyed our stay and would recommend it. Not knowing what to expect from the neighborhood, I would say we were pleased that it was what it was.
Some things to note:
- The 2/3 trains do not run on the east side of Central Park. They run on the west side of the park. They are further west than the A/B/C/D trains. Could you mean the 4/5/6 train? It runs on Lexington Ave. and is convenient to venues on the east side of central park.
- The flats section of Harlem, comprises several areas. The area where the aloft is located is on 8th Ave (AKA FDB) was torn down and mostly new pre fabricated buildings were built. Since the majority of FDB does not sit in the Historic District as of yet. If you had gone just east to Marcus Garvey Park or North to Hamilton Height/Strivers row, you would have been in the Historic sections of lower Harlem. Thats where the real money is.
- Most of the restaurants of note are on Lenox Ave. However there are some nice restaurants below 116 on FDB, like Melba's.
Apr 26, 2011, 8:30 pm
#3
Original Poster
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: Central Texas
Programs: Starwood Gold , HH Gold, Hyatt Gold, Aadvantage, Rapid Rewards CP
Posts: 1,586
The number 3 that I was mentioning is a bus and not the subway. We rode it several times down to Museum Mile on the east side of Central Park. Sorry for the confusion. Glad to know more about the neighborhood and sorry we didn't have time to explore more. We'll have to go back.
Any comment made about the neighborhood in my post is strictly our experience in the blocks comprising the hotel and about a block north and south and three blocks west and a block east that we walked and rode public transit.
Any comment made about the neighborhood in my post is strictly our experience in the blocks comprising the hotel and about a block north and south and three blocks west and a block east that we walked and rode public transit.
Last edited by Frenchie Flyer; Apr 26, 2011 at 8:36 pm
Apr 26, 2011, 8:38 pm
#4
Suspended
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: New York, NY
Programs: Delta - Gold; Starwood - Platinum; HHonors - Diamond & Avis Preferred
Posts: 10,869
The number 3 that I was mentioning is a bus and not the subway. We rode it several times down to Museum Mile on the east side of Central Park. Sorry for the confusion. Glad to know more about the neighborhood and sorry we didn't have time to explore more. We'll have to go back.
Any comment made about the neighborhood in my post is strictly our experience in the blocks comprising the hotel and about a block north and south and three blocks west and a block east that we walked and rode public transit.
Any comment made about the neighborhood in my post is strictly our experience in the blocks comprising the hotel and about a block north and south and three blocks west and a block east that we walked and rode public transit.
Come on back, we'll be here! Well I'll be here, don't know about the aloft! LOL
Apr 27, 2011, 5:27 am
#5
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: India
Programs: Bonvoy Lifetime Titanium, IHG Plat, HH Gold, Trident Plat, DL Diamond, AI Maharajah
Posts: 29,678
still a little undecided whether to stay here or at the new four points at the long island city/queensboro bridge....both are available for 7k points....
i have several trips to new york over the next few months but most of the time i'll just be spending the night & then moving on to other cities....
i have several trips to new york over the next few months but most of the time i'll just be spending the night & then moving on to other cities....
Apr 27, 2011, 6:20 am
#6
Suspended
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: New York, NY
Programs: Delta - Gold; Starwood - Platinum; HHonors - Diamond & Avis Preferred
Posts: 10,869
still a little undecided whether to stay here or at the new four points at the long island city/queensboro bridge....both are available for 7k points....
i have several trips to new york over the next few months but most of the time i'll just be spending the night & then moving on to other cities....
i have several trips to new york over the next few months but most of the time i'll just be spending the night & then moving on to other cities....
Apr 27, 2011, 6:25 am
#7
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: India
Programs: Bonvoy Lifetime Titanium, IHG Plat, HH Gold, Trident Plat, DL Diamond, AI Maharajah
Posts: 29,678
the first 2 times all i basically need to do is spend the night....my flight gets in sometime in the evening & i will be catching the train to dc the following morning....i just need a decent bed & maybe a choice of a few restaurants close by to grab a bite to eat....
the 3rd time i'll be staying for a couple of days so i've booked at my usual haunt, the w times square....
Apr 27, 2011, 8:35 am
#8
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Benicia, California, USA
Programs: AA PLT,AS,UA PP,J6,FB,EY,LH,SQ,HH Dmd,Hyatt Glbl,Marriott Plat,IHG Plat,Accor Gold
Posts: 10,820
Also, from the website it looks like there is no fitness/work-out facility in the hotel (which I guess is consistent with its moderate pricing). Is that correct? Any gyms nearby that guests have access to?
Beyond that, thanks for starting this thread, OP. As a native New Yorker transplanted to California, I'm very interested in checking out this property both to see the changes going on in the neighborhood and because it's a relatively moderately priced place to stay in Manhattan.
Apr 27, 2011, 9:16 am
#9
Moderator: American AAdvantage & Marriott Bonvoy
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: PHX
Programs: American ExPlat; Marriott/SPG Lifetime Plat; Hyatt Globalist
Posts: 8,116
Moderator Note
FYI, pre-opening discussion can be found at this now closed thread.
-AZ
Moderator
Apr 27, 2011, 1:14 pm
#10
Suspended
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: New York, NY
Programs: Delta - Gold; Starwood - Platinum; HHonors - Diamond & Avis Preferred
Posts: 10,869
i have 3 trips to ny in the next 6-8 weeks....
the first 2 times all i basically need to do is spend the night....my flight gets in sometime in the evening & i will be catching the train to dc the following morning....i just need a decent bed & maybe a choice of a few restaurants close by to grab a bite to eat....
the 3rd time i'll be staying for a couple of days so i've booked at my usual haunt, the w times square....
the first 2 times all i basically need to do is spend the night....my flight gets in sometime in the evening & i will be catching the train to dc the following morning....i just need a decent bed & maybe a choice of a few restaurants close by to grab a bite to eat....
the 3rd time i'll be staying for a couple of days so i've booked at my usual haunt, the w times square....
Any particular restaurants folks would recommend in the area, closer than 116th St.?
Also, from the website it looks like there is no fitness/work-out facility in the hotel (which I guess is consistent with its moderate pricing). Is that correct? Any gyms nearby that guests have access to?
Beyond that, thanks for starting this thread, OP. As a native New Yorker transplanted to California, I'm very interested in checking out this property both to see the changes going on in the neighborhood and because it's a relatively moderately priced place to stay in Manhattan.
Also, from the website it looks like there is no fitness/work-out facility in the hotel (which I guess is consistent with its moderate pricing). Is that correct? Any gyms nearby that guests have access to?
Beyond that, thanks for starting this thread, OP. As a native New Yorker transplanted to California, I'm very interested in checking out this property both to see the changes going on in the neighborhood and because it's a relatively moderately priced place to stay in Manhattan.
The hotel is on 123 so 116 isn't that far away.
- Chocolat
- Moca
- Billie's Black
- Melba's
- Red Rooster
- Chez Lucienne
- Tonnie's Mini's (Deserts)
- Make My Cake (Deserts)
- Native
- Amy Ruth's
Also If you walk through Morningside Park, there are more restaurants on Amsterdamn.
Apr 27, 2011, 2:06 pm
#11
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: India
Programs: Bonvoy Lifetime Titanium, IHG Plat, HH Gold, Trident Plat, DL Diamond, AI Maharajah
Posts: 29,678
flying into lga....i have a couple of friends who live near jefferson park....my plan is to probably catch up with them over dinner before heading out the next morning....
Apr 27, 2011, 3:00 pm
#12
Suspended
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: New York, NY
Programs: Delta - Gold; Starwood - Platinum; HHonors - Diamond & Avis Preferred
Posts: 10,869
Apr 27, 2011, 3:04 pm
#13
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Benicia, California, USA
Programs: AA PLT,AS,UA PP,J6,FB,EY,LH,SQ,HH Dmd,Hyatt Glbl,Marriott Plat,IHG Plat,Accor Gold
Posts: 10,820
There is a gym and it's shared with the Condo residents.
The hotel is on 123 so 116 isn't that far away.
Also If you walk through Morningside Park, there are more restaurants on Amsterdamn.
The hotel is on 123 so 116 isn't that far away.
- Chocolat
- Moca
- Billie's Black
- Melba's
- Red Rooster
- Chez Lucienne
- Tonnie's Mini's (Deserts)
- Make My Cake (Deserts)
- Native
- Amy Ruth's
Also If you walk through Morningside Park, there are more restaurants on Amsterdamn.
