I had high expectations for the Aloft in Chapel Hill based on a great stay at the Aloft in Asheville just a few months ago. Unfortunately, I was served a deep dish of disappointment.
I got a prompt from the interweb to check into my room...
Read MoreI had high expectations for the Aloft in Chapel Hill based on a great stay at the Aloft in Asheville just a few months ago. Unfortunately, I was served a deep dish of disappointment.
I got a prompt from the interweb to check into my room on Friday morning. I did. I requested a 4:00 arrival. I got confirmation it was all set. But when I presented myself at the desk at 3:59, I was told there were no rooms ready for me and I'd have to wait on a list behind 4 others. I was also told that the room might not be ready for another 1 to 2 hours. I didn't express the full extent of my displeasure to Jaylin (not sure spelled right), because it was not her fault that the cleaning staff couldn't keep up with demand. And she was very polite. So with no other option, I put my name on a list (literally a paper list! Hello, 19th century).
I got a text from the hotel within about 20 minutes, but by that time was already half-way across town heading to a great food/drink spot to kill the one or two hours we were expecting to need to wait.
Check-in at 6:00 went OK, but there was a parking hiccup, since apparently I was supposed to have registered to park - something not communicated at all until that moment. Fortunately it was quickly resolved and I was given the hanger tag needed to park at the hotel.
The room was clean, the water pressure and temp in the shower was great. One star.
Jaylin (still not sure of spelling) was very nice so that's the 2nd star.
So only two stars because:
1) The room design was terrible: you can't use any part of the bathroom without flooding light into the sleeping part of the room. Even Motel 6 has a door so you can shave or brush your teeth without waking your partner.
2) The abysmal job of management to adequately staff the reception desk (Jaylin was alone and there was a line) and cleaning staff. And if my room isn't ready when I said I planned to arrive, I shouldn't have to find out at the desk. There is plenty of automation and digital connectivity to make it easy to alert me ahead of time.
3) The only place to get water in the lobby when we got there was from the massive leak near the pool table. The two carafes of iced water had ice, but no water.
This was a truly disappointing visit to what should have been a top-notch property. We will definitely never be coming back, or for that matter, never stay at an Aloft again.
Pool 
Restaurants
Hotels
Services
Stores
Lawyers
Health
Things To Do
Churches
Transportation
Walmart