Last month I had the chance to stay at an Aloft hotel. Aloft is Starwood’s boutique hotel chain. These hotels are actually pretty cool and offer a unique atmosphere. I actually first heard of them when they made a custom playlist for Spotify a year or so ago. Since then I’ve always wanted to check them out. I attended a press event for ThinkComputers and the company put us up at the Aloft Silicon Valley so I was pretty excited.
The first thing that I’ve always liked about Aloft hotels is how they have a more modern design. This not only includes the rooms, but also the bar and lounge areas. The biggest thing I’m sure you want to know about are the rooms so let’s get to that.
From what I know all of the rooms are pretty much the same at this Aloft location. When you walk in your room there is a desk for getting work done followed by a large couch a coffee table. Separating the room is a sort of shelf unit that has the flatscreen TV on it. The TV can actually pivot so you can watch it from the couch or bed. On the opposite side of the room is your sort of mini-kitchen. You have a fridge, sink, microwave and coffee maker. Aloft does provide free coffee and two bottles of water each day for free.
As I said the bed is separated from the best of the room by the shelving unit. The bed in my room was a king-size bed and was extremely comfortable. On each side of the bed you have reading lamps and shelves to put your phone etc. There are outlets on the wall behind the bed, but they were a little hard to get to. The bathroom was pretty impressive as you got both a normal bath tub and a standing shower. Besides that the sink area was pretty awesome as well. I shot my ALS ice bucket challenge in this bathroom!
The hotel also has a outdoor pool area. I hung out here for a little bit each day. There were your typical lounge chairs, but there were also these massive circlular chairs that were extremely comfortable. Both times I was relaxing outside I was in one of those big chairs!
I did have a chance to eat at the hotel too. Aloft calls their restaurant +Plus. I ate there for breakfast on my birthday and got the Eggs Benedict, it was extremely good! I also was a fat kid one day and ordered room service. I got the wings and seasoned fries, both were good!
If you are heading to Silicon Valley Aloft is a great place to stay, not only to relax, but to get work done as well. Great atmosphere and very friendly people, I hope to be back soon!