Aloft Stuttgart (Review)
The Aloft Hotels are positioned in the Marriott Group as a significantly cheaper and simpler spin-off of the W Hotels, which are also part of the group, and primarily appeal to a young, tech-savvy audience. In Germany, there are only two hotels of the brand, we had the opportunity to try out the Aloft Stuttgart for two nights.
LOCATION
The hotel is located one subway station away from Stuttgart's main train station (or rather its construction site). Therefore, it is of course also within quick walking distance from there and thus offers a central starting point for city explorations. The subway station is right outside the door, and the hotel is also located in the same building as Stuttgart's Milaneo shopping mall, offering extensive shopping opportunities in close proximity.
The building has a modern style, and the hotel is somewhat submerged by the size of the building. There is a small driveway in front of the hotel entrance, so arriving by cab or your own vehicle is no problem.
ARRIVAL, LOBBY & CHECK-IN
We entered the hotel on a hot summer day around 6pm and were pleased with the coolness of the well-functioning air conditioning system as soon as we entered. The reception of the hotel is on the second floor, so you first have to use the elevator or climb a rather long staircase.
Once on the second floor, you can immediately notice the young and modern style of the hotel. The counter is designed in a circular shape, a clear counter position is hardly recognizable. To the right of the counter is the snack store, which also serves as the breakfast area, followed by a multi-function room with tables and chairs, the bar, a DJ booth and various entertainment facilities, such as a pool table, table football and Playstation.
The colleague at check-in was friendly and quick, but spoke only English - unusual in Germany, but irrelevant for us. Our room keys were created quickly, we received two vouchers for free drinks, but no further explanation. Our booked rate included a shopping voucher for the Metzingen outlet, but we did not get it. When asked, we were told that the night shift unfortunately did not know about it, we should ask the next morning. Also the included breakfast was not mentioned, we asked for breakfast times ourselves. When asked if there was anything else we needed to know about the hotel, we did learn that there was a gym and a free laundry room. Later, however, we unfortunately discovered that our key was not coded for the Gym. Well, there is still some potential, but for an experienced traveler it was not a major problem.
ROOM
Our room was a Breezy Room on the top floor of the hotel, the only difference between the higher category and the standard category is the higher floor.
The room is very spacious for a basic hotel room - 24 square meters (258sqft). The furniture is well thought out, practical, functional and space-saving.
Immediately upon entering the room, the bathroom area opens to the right, there is a washing area with a closet on the opposite side, which also contains the coffee maker. Through a door you reach the toilet and then following the shower. Both are not huge but offer enough space even for bigger people. Unfortunately, there was a structural defect on the floor so that the sliding door to the toilet kept opening - unpleasant, especially if you are not alone in the room. We could hear later that the problem unfortunately exists in several rooms. With a cord, the door could be attached to a towel hook if necessary - but who has a cord with them?
The living area of the room contained, first of all, a large and really comfortable bed. It was equipped with a continuous mattress and blanket, and came standard with four pillows, two firm and two soft. The room had two windows, a small desk was mounted in front of both, in the middle between them was a luggage rack, which could also be used as a bench - above it was a modern TV. On the right side there was a small refrigerator. All in all, a very typical and familiar setup for an Aloft hotel.
There was also a Bluetooth speaker with integrated alarm clock by the bed, a handy feature.
Basically, all room types have the same floor space (24sqm/258sqft) and differ rather by floor and number of beds - with one exception: the highest room category "Sweet", a suite, is 31sqm (334sqft) and includes a small sofa.
WIFI SPEED
We could hardly believe it ourselves, we actually measured a download speed of 251 Mbps in the publicly accessible hotel WLAN, and 152 Mbps for the upload. An unusually fast connection, which we would like to see more of in other hotels.
ROOM TEMPERATURE
The room temperature was also excellent, despite outside temperatures of over 30 degrees Celsius (86 °F), we could measure 18.7 degrees Celsius (65.5 °F) as the lowest temperature in the room. The sleep was thus very pleasant and offered good relaxation from the hot days.
HOUSEKEEPING
The room was very clean, the intermediate cleaning was also very good and took place during the day without any problems. We asked at the reception for foam pillows, unfortunately they did not have them. However, we were offered to get some more pillows, which we thankfully declined.
BREAKFAST
Due to the simplicity of the hotel, we didn't have high expectations for breakfast, but were rather pleasantly surprised. Apart from the fact that every guest receives a tray and is asked to deliver their used dishes to a cart at the end, a fairly diverse breakfast awaited us. There was a wide selection of cold cuts, vegetables, breads and buns, as well as a cereal selection, and hot foods were also served: Scrambled eggs, sausages, bacon, beans and also warm pankcakes were available for self-service. Also offered were, of course, juices, water and hot beverages.
RESTAURANTS & BARS
Unfortunately, there is no restaurant in the Aloft Stuttgart, but there is a snack store called Re:fuel Grab & Go. This is located right next to the reception desk and offers a rich selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, as well as a few snacks and fruit. Outside of breakfast hours, this area is open around the clock.
However, the hotel does have the W XYZ Bar, which, according to the in-room description, features a mix of good music and cocktails. It is also said to offer local beers, wines, other drinks and small snacks.
Unfortunately, the bar was completely closed during our visit due to lack of staff, so we could not get an impression.
ROOM SERVICE
Room service is not offered in the hotel, but the snack bar next to the reception is open 24/7, as already mentioned. So no one has to suffer from starvation. We also received a bucket of ice cubes at the reception without any problems.
GYM
The Aloft Stuttgart has a gym on the top floor, due to the level there is at least a bit of a view. There is mostly cardio equipment, as well as a dumbbell collection and another machine. On the plus side, there is free bottled water in addition to fresh towels.
POOL & SPA
Unfortunately, there is no pool or spa area at the Aloft Stuttgart.
LAUNDRY
An absolute highlight, especially for frequent travelers, is definitely the possibility to use the washing machine and dryer for free. We were surprised that this is not advertised much more, there is no indication on the website. Since we travel frequently for several weeks, washing clothes is a necessity. Few hotels offer affordable dry cleaning for a larger quantity, so for better or worse this often brings us to unloved laundromats. The option to wash in the hotel itself would therefore definitely be a reason for us to visit an adequate hotel for two nights every few weeks.
At the Aloft Stuttgart, two premium Siemens machines were available for free use. Detergent could be purchased at the reception or, of course, brought along yourself. Alternatively, there was of course the additional option of chargeable dry cleaning.
OVERALL SERVICE
Even though the severe lack of staff was very noticeable, especially at the reception desk, the entire team of the hotel was really very eager, helpful and friendly. Even if the staff did not always know everything immediately, they were always anxious to get all the information and in doubt decided in the best interest of the customer. The friendliness was also noticeable and made for a pleasant atmosphere.
STAY DETAILS
We stayed in mid-August 2023 for two nights, we had booked two standard rooms in single occupancy. Price-wise, the hotel starts at about 90€, but usual rates are rather between 120 and 140€.
STATUS RECOGNITION
Being part of the Marriott Group, the hotel participates in the Marriott Bonvoy bonus program and also offers certain benefits to status customers. It is important to know that the Aloft Brand does not offer free upgrades according to the conditions. However, when we asked very cautiously in advance whether there might be possibilities, we were immediately booked a higher category for both booked rooms - however, it must be said that the rooms differed only in the location, they were located on the top floor. Still, this was a nice addon.
As Platinum guests, we were also given a voucher for one free drink per person, alcoholic beverages were also included. According to the front desk clerk, this welcome gift was available starting at Platinum status; for Silver and Gold members, this was limited to non-alcoholic beverages. The vouchers looked as if a two-year-old child had cut them out and the conditions did not quite match the offer, for example, wine should only be given by the glass (0.1l) according to the conditions, but there were only 0.2 l bottles. However, this was solved easily and accommodating and we were allowed to help ourselves to the small bottles.
We were also granted a late check-out at 4 pm without any hassle.
Our rate already included breakfast, so we received 500 points as a welcome gift, alternatively we could have chosen free breakfast as a status benefit.
Also, a noteworthy fact was that we received all the benefits for two rooms, according to the terms and conditions, this is not provided.
For the simplicity of the hotel, we were therefore very satisfied with the status benefits.
SUMMARY
As a simple hotel, the Aloft Stuttgart offers exactly what it should. A solid and clean room with a good bed. The air conditioning also works perfectly, so you can enjoy your sleep even in summer without any problems. The relatively extensive and qualitatively appropriate breakfast round off the offer well. If you are looking for a solid city hotel without a lot of extras but at a fair price, the Aloft Stuttgart is the place to be. A highlight for frequent travelers is the offer to use a washing machine for free.
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