bpoe19

Just had a stay from the opening weekend of the new Aloft Dallas Downtown. For the 2nd night they were open, everything seemed to run very smoothly. This is a huge Aloft property--I was told by management that it was the largest one to date. The staff was on the ball and very receptive--even walked us outside to show us where to go for dinner.

Parking is $6/night, and they have about 20+ spots next to the main entrance, and a huge parking lot behind the property. There was street meter parking, free on weekends and between 6pm-7am on weekdays.

Check-in was pretty quick, and did learn that the rooms ending in x30 are the largest with the best bathrooms/shower set-ups. If anyone stays in these rooms, you can confirm or deny this.

The rooms were normal set-ups for Alofts--sorry, forgot my camera or would have taken pics. Two bottles of comp water as a plat.

The fitness center was very nice with a good amount of cardio and nautilus machines. The fitness center overlooks the pool, which is small, but set-up pretty nicely--a great place to relax.

The WXYZ bar and lounge area was big with a great pool table and tvs to watch the opening weekend football games.

We had a little dog with us, and were given the dog bed, toy, etc, which was very nice. There's a nice park across the street to take your pet, which is nice since when you're at the Joule, for instance, you only have a very little stretch by the Iron Catcus restaurant.

It's only a 3-4 min walk up to Main St and the restaurants around the Joule. I only had complimentary coffee, so no reports on the food from the little cafe by the check-in counter.

If I think of anything else, I'll add it to the post. Overall, I'd definitely stay again, especially with parking much cheaper than other downtown properties and the vibe was very good. The staff was very nice and receptive and on the ball!

ayg

I used a Q2 Free Weekend night and stayed here a few weekends ago... Really slick Aloft property. To those of you who are weary of the same old same old when it comes to Aloft as far as no upgrades this one definitely breaks the mold.

I asked for an upgrade at check-in and they happily gave me one and called it something like the "Savvy Traveler Suite." Much like you see the W properties doing with their room types. It was gigantic! upon walking in you are in a work area room with a large table and chairs with a 42 in flat panel on the wall. Then the bathroom shower/toilet/sink divides you from the next area where the bed is against the bathroom wall with another 42in tv at the foot of the bed on a turn table that is essentially the divider to the NEXT living area where there is a sofa and chairs that look out over the park across Young St. Easily 500 to 650 sq ft.

To the person who posted that the room types are the same, I respectfully disagree. Just from looking at the room diagram on the walls and the fact that the building is a old Santa Fe railroad warehouse that has HUGE floor plates it seemed to show that most rooms were of the larger variety. The floors are so big that most have a meeting room in the center of the floors just to have some sort of revenue generating space in the middle of the giant floors. The 9th floor was built onto the building during the remodel and while snooping around it (it was still under construction with all doors open), it had the normal sized Aloft rooms since they built the floor smaller than the normal floor size.

Great bar space, and overpriced drinks. 10 bucks for the signature cocktails, 7 for call liquor and 5 for beers. They also seem to have what they told me to be 12,000 sq ft of meeting spaces they were finishing out in the basement. The pool is small but its manageable, but the workout room is great and is quite the asset for the hotel.

They're having their official grand opening party on Oct 2nd and judging from the fact its sold out on SPG.com it supposed to be a blast (3000 invitations sent out). Hopefully the construction is finished by then!

alanslegal

Hi,

I checked the master threads but none were available for the aLoft Dallas

Now, I'm just wondering if anyone has been there? and what the reviews are like?

I am deciding whether to switch my reservation from the W Victory to this aLoft (and save $90 per night - C&P vs. P)

Thanks,

craz

Ive stayed at a few aLofts and cant tell you had I been blindfolded which 1 I was at

So simply read any review on any aLoft and youd be reviewing most likely the 1 in Dallas as well

NDDomer86

Actually, the aLoft Dallas is a bit out of the norm in that I believe it was a conversion from an older building, not a new build, and they have a different layout from most aLoft's including multiple types of suites. I have a stay coming up here in July, so looking forward to checking it out.

swise

Haven't stayed there but attended a meeting there...

I believe it's the closest hotel to the Dallas Convention Center, so if you are in town for an event at the Convention Center, it's a great choice, as it's just a block or two away.

mrredskin

Hotel is literally across the street from convention center and its little park with the longhorn statues and waterfall.

just completed a one night (thursday) stay here. Had room 728 and loved it. very open, with sofa under tv (why, aloft... why?), two rocker kinda chairs on other side with two plastic see-through side tables and large table between chairs and sofa, and bed behind all of those. i was on a rewards stay (4k points). very convenient to Dealey Plaza, also, if you plan on doing some sightseeing. I highly recommend going there. For breakfast before 11am, try Cindi's about halfway between the aLoft and Dealey. Everything was good.

Only mark against the hotel was the a/c. It's VERY quiet, which is uncommon for aLofts, it seems, but condensation forms very easily, and drips down onto the carpet from overhead. I got popped on the back with one and it was cold for sure!!! haha. Otherwise, very pleased.

Upon checkout at 3:45pm, I asked if they had any gum or mints at re:fuel or whatever the little shop place is. they did not, but an employee went to the back and brought me a brand new pack of eclipes cool mint gum. great customer service all-around, here. will definitely stay again if i'm in downtown Dallas.

johnzavala

Any idea why this would be $200 /night in Jan. compared to last years $114 during same time. Are any Alofts that high in price. A Sheraton a couple of blocks away in higher Cat. comes in at $145/night. Any thoughts?

mrredskin

see the first sentence in the post immediately before yours

Pedesky

PLEASE READ!!! DO NOT STAY AT THIS HOTEL!!

I stayed at this hotel with another couple on New Years and it was the absolute worst experience of our lives. To start the front desk rep. asked us for our social security number after copying down every other scrap of information we own. When we asked why he needed it he only said that he suddenly didn't. He then gave us the wrong room 3 different times! We ordered one of the "Deluxe Ultra Savvy Suites" and 3 different times he tried to put us in a different room. It took the assistant GM to finally get the room right. Then they refused to let us pay in cash.

Later that night a fight broke out in the hallway outside our door. Someone began wildly knocking and when we open the door some woman rushed into our room assaulting people. It was madness. We had NEVER seen anything quite like it. The police and security conveniently never found the perpetrators and we then asked to leave the hotel because we didn't want to stay in that dump another minute. At checkout the front desk rep. named Carly informed me there would be no charges placed on the room and that because there were no charges there was therefore "nothing to sign". I asked her to check and double check and the answer remained the same. Three days later our card was charged for the account. I called the hotel and the assistant GM April then told me shed get it resolved and that she'd call back within an hour. Three hours pass and I go up to the hotel only to be greeted by a rude and inconsiderate man named Scooter who is supposed to be the GM and owner. This awful man proceeded to accuse us of never leaving the hotel and refused to refund the charges.

DO NOT STAY HERE!! THEY WILL ROB YOU AND LIE TO YOUR FACE!

In addition, the two bedroom rooms have completely transparent showers, there are cards in the room advertising that the hotel provides amenities that they don't! When we asked the front desk they had no idea what we were talking about. When we brought them down the card saying that the hotel would provide these things, they simply stood there took the card and claimed that they were just out.

IF YOU'RE LOOKING FOR TERRIBLE CUSTOMER SERVICE AND RUDE AND AWFUL ATMOSPHERE THEN THIS IS CERTAINLY THE PLACE YOU SHOULD GO.

KENNECTED

Welcome to FT. Sounds like an "experience". First, remove the hotel associates names from your post. It's a violation of FT TOS.

• Why in the world would you open the door for a stranger?
• Normally, there isn't anything for you to sign when checking out, you only need to initial/verify rate when checking in. Call your credit card company and dispute the charges. Is it possible you were charged and early departure fee?
• They who will Rob? The hotel? I'm hoping that's a metaphor.
• It's an Aloft, the showers/bathrooms are design features, which may not be to everyone's liking or comfort, didn't you know that before booking?

You should also call CCS and lodge a complaint. That information can be found in the sticky on the first page of this forum.

aussiechris

Sound advise.

Also when you are told by a Hotel that there will be no charges or a reduced charge...always get it in writing before you leave the premises.

platbrownguy

I also stayed here on New Years. 3000 points seemed like good value considering the asking price was $194+, and it sold out several days before NYE anyhow.

It was New Year's Eve in Dallas. Of course there were people drinking. I went down to the bar to get a couple of champagne glasses for the room, and it took 20 minutes because the bar was packed. But it was an aloft, and it was New Year's, so I kept my expectations low.

Fighting is no good. Apparently there were some hooligans outside of my room as well, but I'm a sound sleeper so I didn't really notice it (I was on floor 6). I did notice the crowd of folks trying to get into whatever party was going on in the basement (looked like literally 1000+ people, packing the lobby and huddled out the door down the block).

The real downer was the parking. Ample street parking and paid parking was available before dinner. After dinner, we returned to find literally zero parking anywhere. Called the hotel, they said sorry, park on the street somewhere. I did (many blocks away), but at the risk of getting a ticket because the meters start running at 7am even on weekends and holidays. Thankfully, I got no ticket when I got to the car at 11am.

If I had to guess, I'd say Pedesky has never stayed at an aloft before, and so things like the transparent shower caught him off guard. Read the hype before you stay.

In support of Pedesky's rant, however, I've never heard of a desk agent asking for a SSN. That seems worthy of a note to CCS.

A few positive notes since this is the master thread:

• -This property is a good location, a few blocks off the beaten path, near city hall, in downtown. The rates seem to have skyrocketed recently (from $74/$94 to $154/$174), but 3000 points seems consistently available. It is a little more spacious feeling than other alofts because of the building it is in.
  
• -The front desk staff was very nice to me. At check in, the guy said (unprompted), "we're full up tonight, or I would have upgraded you" and gave us a room away from the elevators. Later, when I needed to print something, I asked. They said the business center computer was down, but they let me get behind the desk, find my file, and print it ^

sandiegofun

I stayed for one night this week and really enjoyed the hotel and ambiance. It is indeed in an old building that was only partially restored, with many open concrete pillars complete with peeling paint and totally unfinished ceilings. It is really a nice look. I stayed in *27 room, which is the large style described earlier, with an office/large table and 42" LCD in the entry room, bathroom separating the bed and lounge space. Quite large and very typical aloft sparse furnishings. Lighting could be better, but other than that it was great.

My room looked out on the park and the building retains it's original windows which really look great.

Service was typical for aloft, and the wxyz bar was a pretty good scene. I will definitely stay again if in Dallas.

alanslegal

Definitely agree. I know my stay (07/2010) was a while ago but I had a good stay. Might check out the W the next time in Dallas but if the price is right, the aLoft will do especially in a Savvy Suite ^