Hello All,

I thought I would share this information about my recent stay at the aLoft Ballantyne, NC. I don’t believe there is an existing thread so please merge this one if there is.

Location:
This hotel is located in a somewhat sleepy corporate park. If you have business here, or are looking for a quiet place to stay for the night, this might be the perfect place for you. It is not terribly far off the interstate, but you don’t hear any of the interstate traffic.

Check In:
The check in process was smooth and easy, despite the woman in front of me in line peppering the agent with twenty five requests and questions. I was assigned my room type, though with a connecting door. Upon arrival in the room, it was quite smoky - something I noticed in another recent stay at a Marriott property. I think they are cutting corners with ensuring the rooms are cleaned properly, as I have never had that problem as consistently as I have recently. I was reassigned to a room that did not smell like smoke, but still had a connecting door room because no rooms that were King were allegedly clean and available without a connecting door. My status was mentioned, only in passing when selecting the amenity. In this instance, I chose the points. The room is a standard aLoft room - seen one, seen them all. There really is no point in commenting on the design, other than to say it was clean, freshly remodeled apparently, and functioned just fine.

Pool and Fitness:
The hotel really shined with the pool and fitness facilities. The pool is indoors and is the perfect pool to splash in and swim some laps. The area is quite small. I was the only person using it, so it was perfect. The gym area was quite spacious for a select service hotel. Perhaps due to Covid, towels had to be picked up at the front desk.

Food and Beverage:
Sadly this was a major disappointment. Marriott brand expectations are not being fulfilled, perhaps due to a staffing shortage or the hotel being unwilling to properly staff the hotel.

The only breakfast offered was a sandwich wrap. The a la carte aLoft offerings in the pantry were quite limited. At dinner, the wxyz bar and lounge were closed. The woman working at the front desk could vend you a bottle of beer or wine, and could warm up in a toaster oven a small flatbread sandwich. These were the only options available. I opted instead to go to the Luxury Collection Ballantyne Hotel restaurant nearby and order an actual meal. That meal was overall very good, though a tad overpriced and over salted.

Other thoughts:
parking is free
no charge for dogs under 40 pounds (so there were several pet parents staying)
there is a shuttle which was operating which would drive you to and from areas nearby. I did not use it, but it is currently staffed and operating.
I would gladly return if I had occasion to do so. I hope soon the bar reopens. It is odd to me that the trendy aLoft brand is in such a sleepy location.