Aloft Cleveland Beachwood — Attraction in Beachwood

Although we were upgraded to a suite, that was already talked about prior to our stay due to it being our honeymoon. I called that morning and was told I may not be able to do early check in(even though it came with the play and stay package), however normal check in is at 3. Arrived a few minutes before 3 and to my suprise NO room was ready, was told by Alexis it would be another 20 minutes due to staff shortages. Came back after 20 minutes, Alexis called the supervisor again and the room was STILL NOT READY, this time there was no estimated time. We did not get to check in until after 40 minutes after 3PM. We were pissed. Nevertheless it was our honeymoon and we tried to stay positive. Along with the stay and play package came a $25 voucher to eat at the Racino and $25 to play at the Racino. We head to the Racino after the issues with the check in just to encounter MORE issues with vouchers. For one, when given the vouchers, we were not told where to go to redeem them. So when we arrived, the food voucher was self explanatory since it had the name of the restaurant. We head right over to that restaurant and it was closed!! They close at 3 on Sundays, mind you we didn't even get to check in until 3:40! Which means we never had a chance to use the voucher, not to mention the vouchers expire after 2 days, and they restaurant is closed on Mondays and Tuesdays. So we tried our luck with the other voucher, which led us down a rabbit hole because NO ONE could tell us where to go to with the voucher. After bouncing from 3 or 4 lines, with no luck, we gave up! What a waste of time and energy! We get back to the hotel and explain the issues with Bob who was also there to witness the check in issue. Although apologies were given out from Bob and Alexis, the explain just was not the best. It was like 1 big issue after the other. Not once were we contacted after to even hear from a supervisor about the major screw ups! Only resolution offered were apologies and for the vouchers to be refunded. Terrible first impression.

EDIT: So I was contacted on 6/24 by Andrew Frey who identified himself as the GM. He explained to me the issue at check in, and how it was a Diamond guest and one of the perks is late check out, which caused an inconvenience to me. He then proceeded to apologize for my experience and stated it was below their standards and offered a free night on them, which would be good for a year. I accepted, as I believe in 2nd chances. He informed me that because he was not in the office that day, that he would contact me the NEXT day to send me the details on the comp. The next day came and went, and no word. I then contacted him on the same email thread on 6/27, to follow up on this, and still no response. On 7/03, I initiated a new email thread, hoping I would hear back. I gave it time, just to give him grace, as I know nothing about what he has on his plate. Here we are 2 weeks later and still NOTHING. I'm no longer interested in the comp stay, as he did not stand on his word to begin with. I just urge anyone who plans on staying here to be mindful of the obstacles they may have to face, and if you have a special reason to stay here(couples evening, birthday party, etc.), to maybe try...

I absolutely detest the concept of the hotel: strange carts at check-in, faux brick work at the entrance shaking the luggage cart, and weird open-concept check-in desk. Speaking of carts...I had to hunt them down and finally asked for their location. Why are the luggage carts not next to the door?! Why place them at the other end of the lobby lounge area?

The hallways are bizare with giant upside-down radar-shaped lights hanging over your head, ridiculously zig-zaggy wallpaper distracting you while you walk, and clown-esque super-colorful carpeting running all they way down what seemed like an infinite hall. The room doors are big and black, somewhat industrial, somewhat dorm-like.

When I walk into my room, it had see-through screens instead of light-blocking curtains. I went back to the strange round front desk and asked why I had screens instead of curtains. The front desk worker asked to come up to the room to see what I mean. She was puzzled too. Well, 45 minutes later I was moved to a room that actually had room-darkening window shades. What is going on here?!

Then there's breakfast. One person stands behind a window and takes sushi-like pencil-marked tickets to "make" your breakfast. Since she is just microwaving a sandwich, why don't they have three microwaves and just hand you a sandwich? What happens when you have to get somewhere is that you stand around waiting for one person to microwave everyone's breakfasts. Who thought of this form of inefficiency?! Buffet breakfasts work at Fairfield, Residence Inn, Hampton Inn, Holiday Inn, Super 8, you name it. Why complicate the morning meal?

Further, while the staff was genearlly helpful, the breakfast server apparently would not or could not tell me the ingredients of the sandwhich to avoid a food allergy. Why doesn't the breakfast server have a book with ingredients? She could have handed it to me in 15 seconds. Instead, I threw my sandwich away because, once I starte eating it, I had no idea what was in it.

I will say that the shower was the one delight. For once the Marriott-imposed soap dispensers were not in the way. They were placed conveniently below the shower control, not next to your elbows, where it seems every other Marriott property has been instructed to afix them. In addition, the shower was spacious, and the dotted rubber floor was pleasant and safe to stand on. The shower head delivered enough water to make the shower experience relaxing.

When I asked for some compensation for the ridiculous 45-minute check-in and for the lack of ingredients for the breakfast that I threw away, I was give what seem like token points.

This was my one and only time at an Aloft. Marriott, you struck out on this one. Frankly I'd rather stay at any number of cheaper, lower-star hotels than go through another...

I have stayed at this location on at least three occasions due to its proximity to my office and what I thought would be a great experience due to the hotel being newer. In addition, I have stayed at Aloft hotels in other cities and had positive experiences. However, at the Beachwood OH location, I have experienced a number of issues ranging from poor customer service to neglectful housekeeping. More specifically:

On two separate occasions, I have found hairs in my bed and the sheets seem to be unclean (very wrinkly and sometimes smell bad). The first time the staff moved my room and the second room was sufficient enough (I was basically too tired to complain again although the second room smelled bad, like a dog). The second time I had hairs in the bed, I was met with backlash from the front desk - very rude, unapologetic behavior and was told she would bring me sheets (housekeeping was gone) and I could change the bed. Once I told her that was unacceptable, she moved my room, albeit begrudgingly and with a whole lot of attitude! Each time, I needed to repack all my things and go to the front desk to get my new key, which shows no sign of customer service or caring for their guests.

The rugs in my room (each stay) do not seem to be vacuumed or cleaned (stains, debris, hair etc.). I feel like I need shoes on at all times, which is unacceptable.

On two occasions, there were no towels in the room and no housekeeping to bring any up. How can this be?!

Front desk staff: they seem to hold multiple jobs and are bouncing around to where the front desk is left empty sometimes. I have been met with very friendly staff members, which I enjoy, but also a lot of attitude for no apparent reason. This is a customer service based job, which seems like a no brainer on how you should treat your guests.

Food: the pantry area is convenient, however, the hot breakfast is lackluster. Again, the front desk worker had to run to the kitchen to make me a veggie egg wrap for breakfast. What I got was a burnt, stale wheat tortilla wrap with what looked like to be about half a scrambled egg, burnt bacon and cheese that was nowhere to be found. Seems to be a training and quality standards issue. For my other stays, I stuck with the pre-packaged options.

Overall, I am extremely disappointed with the continued lack of cleanliness and service at this location and will not stay here again. Given the number of other bad reviews, one would think these issues would be addressed, but it seems they have not. I would NOT recommend this location to anyone. Three strikes and you're out...which is probably one or two...