aloft Austin at the Domain, Austin, TX [Master Thread]
Apr 24, 2012, 6:12 pm
#1
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aloft Austin at the Domain, Austin, TX [Master Thread]
(MODS: surprised there is no master thread for this property already - don't see one, but please merge if you feel I missed it.)
I only have a few other alofts to compare this to, but I was very happy.
Website
http://www.aloftaustinatthedomain.com/
Location:
This suburban property was built as part of The Domain retail/residential complex which also has a Westin on the other side of the Domain access road. I believe it opened in late 2009 and it still feels new. There are 6 floors.
Platinum Recognition:
- Choice of 250 points or
- $14/day credit at the grab & go, which I found reasonably priced and hard to spend $14 on breakfast.
wxyz bar:
This seemed to be more like a regular hotel bar, with some happy hour and daily specials. (I note this because aloft Rancho Cucamonga seems to be an almost nightclub for locals at times.)
The patio extends from the bar/living room and seemed to be the place for smokers to hang out.
There is also a pool table and a few computer kiosks around the corner from the bar.
fitness center:
typical for a basic hotel; 5 pieces of cardio, free weights and one cross-training weight machine. Yoga mats and towels are provided. The room overlooks the pool and patio, so there is good sunlight.
rooms:
typical aloft set-up of platform bed and the wall with windows contains a desk in front of one window and another counter space over the a/c unit at the other window. Between the windows is a bench with wall mounted 42" LCD TV over it. This seemed to be the exact set-up as the other alofts. For those staying more than 1 night, you can decline housekeeping and get 250 SPG points or a $5 credit towards Grab & Go.
Grab & Go:
This was more substantial than the other alofts I've been in terms of selection and quality. Lots of soda, water, juice options but also some good baked items in the morning. Fruit, candy/energy bars, chips, were all fairly reasonably priced. They also had a few prepared sandwiches, salads, fruit cups. There was also the ability to order custom breakfast sandwiches by filling out a sheet and giving that to someone behind a sliding door in the mornings. Those egg type sandwiches were something like $3.75.
The Park:
On the corner of the building, but with it's own entrance is a bar called The Park. I had read some concerns about noise as The Park seems to be very popular and a good portion of the space is on a wrap-around patio with rooms just above. Thankfully I was on a top floor room facing the opposite side of the building so noise was not a problem for me.
wifi:
Free for everyone as with the aloft brand. Mac users on Safari may need to call iBahn to have them set you up due to a known problem with Safari as of 4/2012.
Staff:
Everyone I spoke with was helpful, friendly, seemed to enjoy what they do and it made a big impact on my stay.
This hotel was host to the 2012 Austin Mega Do
I only have a few other alofts to compare this to, but I was very happy.
Website
http://www.aloftaustinatthedomain.com/
Location:
This suburban property was built as part of The Domain retail/residential complex which also has a Westin on the other side of the Domain access road. I believe it opened in late 2009 and it still feels new. There are 6 floors.
Platinum Recognition:
- Choice of 250 points or
- $14/day credit at the grab & go, which I found reasonably priced and hard to spend $14 on breakfast.
wxyz bar:
This seemed to be more like a regular hotel bar, with some happy hour and daily specials. (I note this because aloft Rancho Cucamonga seems to be an almost nightclub for locals at times.)
The patio extends from the bar/living room and seemed to be the place for smokers to hang out.
There is also a pool table and a few computer kiosks around the corner from the bar.
fitness center:
typical for a basic hotel; 5 pieces of cardio, free weights and one cross-training weight machine. Yoga mats and towels are provided. The room overlooks the pool and patio, so there is good sunlight.
rooms:
typical aloft set-up of platform bed and the wall with windows contains a desk in front of one window and another counter space over the a/c unit at the other window. Between the windows is a bench with wall mounted 42" LCD TV over it. This seemed to be the exact set-up as the other alofts. For those staying more than 1 night, you can decline housekeeping and get 250 SPG points or a $5 credit towards Grab & Go.
Grab & Go:
This was more substantial than the other alofts I've been in terms of selection and quality. Lots of soda, water, juice options but also some good baked items in the morning. Fruit, candy/energy bars, chips, were all fairly reasonably priced. They also had a few prepared sandwiches, salads, fruit cups. There was also the ability to order custom breakfast sandwiches by filling out a sheet and giving that to someone behind a sliding door in the mornings. Those egg type sandwiches were something like $3.75.
The Park:
On the corner of the building, but with it's own entrance is a bar called The Park. I had read some concerns about noise as The Park seems to be very popular and a good portion of the space is on a wrap-around patio with rooms just above. Thankfully I was on a top floor room facing the opposite side of the building so noise was not a problem for me.
wifi:
Free for everyone as with the aloft brand. Mac users on Safari may need to call iBahn to have them set you up due to a known problem with Safari as of 4/2012.
Staff:
Everyone I spoke with was helpful, friendly, seemed to enjoy what they do and it made a big impact on my stay.
This hotel was host to the 2012 Austin Mega Do
Apr 24, 2012, 9:37 pm
#2
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1. I'm surprised that the green housekeeping offer at aloft is a $5 food credit or 250 points when it's either the $5 food credit or 500 points at Westin and Sheraton. I would have expected the same ratio of credit to points across the brands, although I can believe that aloft housekeeping costs the hotel less in aloft than at other brands due to the design of rooms and the amenities offered, such as the big bottles of shampoo mounted in showers rather than providing individual small plastic bottles of the same stuff.
2. So far, my iPad with safari hasn't experienced difficulty in aloft properties and I think I last stayed in early April.
2. So far, my iPad with safari hasn't experienced difficulty in aloft properties and I think I last stayed in early April.
Apr 25, 2012, 9:56 am
#4
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This was my first stay with the aLoft brand. For whatever reason, I had low expectations. They were significantly exceeded. I was quite happy with the room and property.
I don't recommend the local amenity. There were two bars meant to be granola/sweet types and a bag of some kind of seeds/crunch. Everything sounded far more interesting than it tasted.
I don't recommend the local amenity. There were two bars meant to be granola/sweet types and a bag of some kind of seeds/crunch. Everything sounded far more interesting than it tasted.
Nov 20, 2012, 11:34 am
#5
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Posts: 2,998
Spent 5 nights here over the past weekend while in town for the F1 race. Staff was exceedingly helpful in making suggestions for dining, proving tips for getting around town, getting little things like extra coffee, etc. Happened to speak with the Mgr and the head of guest relations and both seemed quite interested in making sure everyone was having a good stay.
Property was clean and in great shape. The area it’s in is a shopping district and street signs are awful, so bring a map if you’re not familiar with the area. Once you finally find it, it’s very easy to get to, but that first attempt can be frustrating.
Property was clean and in great shape. The area it’s in is a shopping district and street signs are awful, so bring a map if you’re not familiar with the area. Once you finally find it, it’s very easy to get to, but that first attempt can be frustrating.
Nov 20, 2012, 4:07 pm
#6
Join Date: Jul 2005
Posts: 11
I'm curious - what was the Nico Rosberg event like? I had friends stay at the Aloft on my points, and we got invited to the event but we had other plans.
Last edited by gerod; Nov 20, 2012 at 4:07 pm Reason: corrected Nico's name
Nov 20, 2012, 5:01 pm
#7
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Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 2,998
I didn't pay points for it - we (and all other SPG gold/plat members at the hotel) were invited. Had I paid, I'd be upset - very upset.
They had a nice reception set up - some snacks (could have used more given the crowd #'s) and free drinks (which didn't run out!). It started @ 6:00 and Nico was supposed to show at 6:30. Around 7:15 or so, he appeared, spoke for 15 min and left. That was it.
Ok, I get it - he's a damn busy guy this past weekend and by -no- means do I think this is an important thing for him to do. But this is what pissed me off - I later found out that he was down the hall in a mtg room, signing items, and chatting with people. It turns out you simply had to happen upon it, or maybe some people were told beforehand - I don't know, but we didn't and it seemed like a huge waste of our time. Yes, it was nice to get the complimentary drinks but had we known how it would play out, we'd have gone downtown instead.
Now, for all I know, those who paid the 5,000 points were the ones who got to meet him and us mere members were left out - if that's the case, so be it, but in the end, it was still a blown evening in a great town and one I'd have rather spent down on 6th street.
If they do a similar event next year, I will not be wasting my time with it.
Jul 14, 2019, 7:48 pm
#9
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Stayed here last week. Property is in good shape -- it's part of The Domain which means a ton of shopping and restaurants within walking distance of the hotel (including a Whole Foods).
Breakfast is a $10 voucher that you can use in their "market pantry" -- actually didn't mind it, the pantry included a hot station (where they appeared to make fresh-to-order eggs) in addition to the usual stuff (yogurt, canned espresso, fruit, etc.). They didn't really seem to be counting -- my colleague noted that they waved him through despite being closer to $15 in total items, in my case I was probably around $8-10 but they never rang my up. Plus they had free bottles of Dasani water out virtually all day and evening that guests could just grab on the way in and out of the lobby which was quite convenient.
Room is standard Aloft, both sides basically overlook parking decks so no view to speak of but again location makes up for -- definitely one of the better non-downtown/suburb hotels I've stayed at in recent years.
Only negative -- the $5 voucher for declining housekeeping wasn't applicable for alcohol at the bar (??) so ended up just swapping it for 250 points. Seems strange since it's all funny money but whatever -- as a result just bought my alcohol at Whole Foods (with a lower per drink price) instead of buying at the hotel bar. That and the parking garage is free but not completely connected and covered all the way to the hotel -- which we found out the first day when our team got caught in a big afternoon thunderstorm when arriving back at the hotel
Would stay again and wouldn't hesitate to recommend if work takes you up in the Domain area.
Standard King -- no upgrade (don't know if they even have anything other than standard King and 2 double rooms):
Breakfast is a $10 voucher that you can use in their "market pantry" -- actually didn't mind it, the pantry included a hot station (where they appeared to make fresh-to-order eggs) in addition to the usual stuff (yogurt, canned espresso, fruit, etc.). They didn't really seem to be counting -- my colleague noted that they waved him through despite being closer to $15 in total items, in my case I was probably around $8-10 but they never rang my up. Plus they had free bottles of Dasani water out virtually all day and evening that guests could just grab on the way in and out of the lobby which was quite convenient.
Room is standard Aloft, both sides basically overlook parking decks so no view to speak of but again location makes up for -- definitely one of the better non-downtown/suburb hotels I've stayed at in recent years.
Only negative -- the $5 voucher for declining housekeeping wasn't applicable for alcohol at the bar (??) so ended up just swapping it for 250 points. Seems strange since it's all funny money but whatever -- as a result just bought my alcohol at Whole Foods (with a lower per drink price) instead of buying at the hotel bar. That and the parking garage is free but not completely connected and covered all the way to the hotel -- which we found out the first day when our team got caught in a big afternoon thunderstorm when arriving back at the hotel
Would stay again and wouldn't hesitate to recommend if work takes you up in the Domain area.
Standard King -- no upgrade (don't know if they even have anything other than standard King and 2 double rooms):