River in Sight

I agree with donotblink's assessment - I had a one-night stay here the night before Thanksgiving. I was between the aloft and the Royal Palm at similar rates, but finally decided on the aloft when I realized I was 1 night short on the $50 aloft/element/4pts promotion.

Check-in took quite a while - there were two agents working the front desk and two gentlemen who seemed to have some sort of trouble either with their flight or their room, and both the agents were talking with those fellows. I tried to catch one of their eyes as I had a baby that was getting increasingly hungry and fussy but they told me they were busy with the first guests. After 10 or 15 minutes, someone appeared from the back but she told me she worked in HR, and ultimately was not able to check me in (a nice effort, tho). Finally, another employee showed up and checked me in. Funnily enough, the two gentlemen were still at the front desk the next morning, right where I left them, though who knows what happened in the meantime.

I tried to use a SNA but it never cleared. I asked again at the front desk if there were any suites available and they told me no. I mentally noted that there were suites available on SPG.com but, going back to the hungry, fussy baby, did not have any time to discuss this further. The room we were assigned was typical aloft - nothing else to say about it. It was clean and I did not have any noise issues, unlike donotblink. The guy who checked me in made a big deal that it was an upgrade that they wouldn't normally give, but it sure looked like a regular aloft room to me.

The breakfast employees were rather surly the next morning and as donotblink noted, there is nothing hot included. At other aloft properties, I had simply been given a $10 chit but this was not the case here. Simple requests seemed to be an inconvenience for the breakfast staff. As was noted, fruit is limited to apples and oranges - not realizing this, I tried to get a banana but was declined.

The nicest employees I encountered were the valets, but I parked at the convention center garage down the street for around half price. Walking around the next day, we did pass through the Royal Palm and I regretted not staying there since the price was in the same ballpark. I would stay here again if there were a very large price difference, but in general I would try another property next time.

MSPeconomist

IIRC there isn't a published Plat upgrade policy at alofts, although apparently a few alofts have some suites and permit use of SNAs.

River in Sight

Yes, this one does permit SNAs (which surprised me). I didn't want to push the upgrade thing (I never do anyway) since I wasn't sure what the aloft policy was, but I was disappointed the SNA never cleared despite apparent availability.

donotblink

You could ask one of the lurkers to check the inventory on the back end and look into it for you.

Starwood Lurker

Sorry, but that would be a meaningless exercise other than to confirm what type of suite they have on the rate plan that supports SNA's and if one was attached, I'm fairly certain River in Sight probably has this information already.

Best regards,

William R. Sanders
Social Media Specialist
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide

[email protected]

davidw70

This didn't last long - becomes the Gates Hotel South Beach - a Doubletree by Hilton on October 20th

svo242

Well that's unfortunate, although reviews didn't seem too great.

christianj

Maybe a Mod can change the title of the tread to reflect the SPG departure.

3rdworldresident

maybe the owner dont want to be under marriott umbrella, just my guess.

davidw70

Probably something to do with it - when the Aloft started construction there was only the Four Points and W nearby in SPG. The Royal Palm then opened, and now with Marriott, there is the AC, Edition, Ritz Carlton, Residence Inn, 2x Courtyard, 2x Autograph, Vacation Club and the Marriott Stanton; certainly a lot more competition from within the same group.

EnvoyBoy

*******MODERATOR*******

Please change this thread title to note it's closed.

This is particularly important since Starwood is not advising guests with future reservations.

I showed up with the reservation still showing up on my SPG app with a confirmation number and it was no longer a Starwood.

Once you've updated the title of the thread, feel free to delete this post.

People need to be warned since Starwood can't be bothered to advise people.

bobbybrown

I did received an email from spg yesterday:

Dear Mr. K,

As a valued Starwood Preferred Guest member, we are writing you to inform you of a change in the status of the Aloft South Beach. Effective today, September 22, 2016, the property will no longer be part of Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide or Aloft and will no longer participate in the Starwood Preferred Guest (SPG) program.

We see you are currently holding a reservation, confirmation number ** arriving on Saturday 10 December 2016 and departing on Tuesday 13 December 2016. We are pleased to advise you that the hotel will honor your reservation and room rate as it was originally confirmed. However, since the hotel will no longer be affiliated with the Starwood system, you will not earn Starpoints for any eligible charges incurred, nor will you receive any of your Starwood Preferred Guest membership amenities or benefits. We realize this may be disappointing but hope we can count on your understanding.

The new General Manager Beres Wall and his team look forward to welcoming you to their property, the Gate South Beach. If you have any questions for the new hotel team please direct your inquiries to [email protected], where a member of their team will respond as soon as possible.

Should you wish to connect with a member of our Customer Service Team, you may email us at [email protected].

Though this change is sudden and unforeseen we appreciate your continued patronage of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide and we apologize for any inconvenience it may cause for you. We look forward to welcoming you to a Starwood Preferred Guest participating property in the near future.

Sincerely,

[NAME REDACTED PER FT RULES]

Starwood Preferred Guest

TravelinSperry

Hopefully they refund pre-paid reservations for those that want it. I don't think it's a big loss to the portfolio. The reviews on this property were terrible and there are plenty of other Starwood properties around. And of course the Marriott properties now too.

kauppias

How does a hotel "reflag" so quickly? Certainly its not that quick of a process?

Seems rather shady to not inform people before check in for sure! 👎

EnvoyBoy

Maybe my three irate calls and two emails prompted some action. So glad they're taking care of future guests.

Have to say, this situation--and, more importantly, how it was poorly handled--have really tested my loyalty. I don't think it was too much to ask for SPG points and stay credit for the one night I was there (realizing it wasn't a Starwood, I cut my stay to one night).

I didn't even get any kind of apology. Just an offer to re-book me into a Starwood property. (Booked into the Four Seasons instead--sure as heck wasn't giving Starwood my money this weekend.)