Opening day at aloft Hotel draws positive reviews
Posted on Friday, June 27, 2008
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/nwat/Business/66593/
ROGERS — “ Finally. Something hip and fun. ”
Those were the words of Kasie Yokley on Thursday as her eyes lit up while she walked into the new aloft Hotel, at 1103 S. 52 nd St., near the hustle and bustle of the Pinnacle Hills corridor. Thursday marked the opening of the hotel, the latest concept of Starwood Hotels, the company behind the internationally recognized W Hotels.
When the doors opened, plenty of area leaders, business members, media representatives and curious residents were eager to step inside.
“ This is really something, ” said Brig Caldwell, who spent about 20 minutes walking the main floor. “ I had a chance to stop by for a preview the hotel was doing (Wednesday ) night, and it was like I walked into a nightclub. The space. The lights. It’s so much different from what a hotel is. ”
That’s the kind of response the creators of the aloft Hotel concept were going for.
“ The idea is for this to be a place that’s not just for the out-of-towners, ” Jodi Lightner, aloft Hotel director of sales, told a group mingling during the opening.
With the modern colors, furniture, futuristic bar, sunken lounge and dance music pumping through the space, the main floor purposely provides a nightclub atmosphere. Area residents are invited to hang out, and those who are coming and going on business have a hip, built-in venue in which to let loose after a busy day. And at the end of the night, hotel guests are able to retire to one of the facility’s 130 loft-inspired rooms.
“ The first thing I thought was, ‘ This is hip, ’” said Kim Sharpe, who attended the Thursday opening. “ Very impressive. I agree, it’s time for something like this here. ”
While aloft Hotel Rogers is just the third of its kind to open in the world — Montreal and California were the first to unveil the concept — Starwood plans to open 500 aloft Hotels by 2012. Among the cities scheduled for openings in the coming months are Chicago; Philadelphia; Charlotte, N. C.; Minneapolis and Beijing.