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ONLINE EXCLUSIVE! Aloft Opens Wide

Feb 4, 2009

By Michael Adams

After three years of gestation, and with exquisite timing, Starwood has begun its rollout of aloft, the hotel company's move to bring a fresh look to the select-service segment. "We're building off the success of W," says Brian McGuinness, senior vice president, aloft hotels, referring to the Starwood brand that made its dazzling debut 10 years ago, and is still going strong. The intention, according to McGuinness, is to compete with brands such as Courtyard by Marriott, but with a nod to W's noted "edge." Says McGuinness, "We want a sense of style, but with accessibility and affordability."

To achieve those goals, Starwood naturally turned to Rockwell Group, which had been responsible for the first-ever W, in midtown New York City, as well as, a few years later, W Union Square further downtown.

According to Ed Bakos, principal, Rockwell Group, "W was conceived as an urban oasis, and aloft takes that concept to different markets." 2008 saw 18 alofts open in cities as diverse as Rogers-Bentonville, Arkansas, and Beijing. This year will double the count as the brand moves into New York City, Las Vegas, and Toronto, among others. (The pictures accompanying this article are from the property in Lexington, Massachusetts.) All exteriors have an iconic design to define them as a brand, says Bakos, with linear light sources that evoke travel and motion, an element recreated at key interior spots as well. And according to McGuinness, there will be no re-branding of existing hotels for aloft: new builds of adaptive reuses only.

As befits its name, the aloft design features open guestrooms of two sizes—a 275-square-foot version with a king bed, and one of 325 square feet with two doubles. "We wanted to get away from the shoebox model," says Bakos, "and were challenged to create a square room with the same windows as competitive brands." The bathtubs were eliminated for oversize walk-in showers, and the beds made into "signature moments," adds Bakos.

While all aloft properties follow a design template, he says that individual hotels can tweak their look or seek site specificity with their art programs, using the spaces to feature local painters and sculptures. And like the W brand, aloft hotels emphasize vibrant public areas: a circular "aloha" desk is placed in the center of the lobby to encourage guests to feel more a part of the experience; "re:mix" is the lobby replete with a fireplace, pool table, and bar area; and "re:fuel" is a grab-and-go food space that is industrial by day, sexy by night. There's even a signature scent that wafts through the spaces. "These hotels really celebrate the road warrior culture," says Bakos, "and we don’t think of the brand as a little brother to W. It has its own identity."

www.rockwellgroup.com; www.starwoodhotels.com/alofthotels

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