Aloft Raleigh-Durham Airport Brier Creek — Attraction in Raleigh

The Experience: Was excited to bring my Boykin Spaniel on the trip with me (35#) and wanted to use the ARF (sm) program (treats, toys, etc...) When we arrived we were told the program was dismantled and they don't give out anything anymore, by chance they did have a dog food bowl that I could use. Was greeted originally by a very nice woman who smiled brightly at the sight of my dog, she got us checked in quickly with ease! Her energy was not matched in the morning, when we walked my dog and decided to have breakfast the lady at the desk began to loudly complain about being allergic to dogs (not talking to us of course, someone behind the desk) and "wished that some people did not feel the need to bring their dog with them everywhere they go" which resulted in my loud asking of "Why do you work at a dog friendly hotel?" in which eye contact was made and she made an abrupt leave. I finished my breakfast and we retired to the room until some more guests from out of state arrived, we were checked out by the lovely woman from the night prior. She took my breakfast order, and snatched my $10 meal voucher from my hand without me finishing, and turned away. I am uncertain what that was about but this was before the dog comments (same blonde lady)

The Bad: No exhaust fan in the bathroom (problem if you have multiple people with you) TV was unresponsive to remote Fridge does not sit on base well and was able to be pushed over, SUPER EASILY (easy to break) especially for it being in a dedicated dog room and sitting on the floor. The one set of sheets had a small hole in them, but not really an issue. No microwave in the room, but they did have one in the lobby, ended up avoiding it all together. The shower grout needs to be cleaned, if you looked up it was more white in appearance, if you looked down it was more brown/green in appearance, but did not hinder us taking a shower (its grout)

The Good: The room cooled down quickly! it was 92 outside and it went down to a lovely 68 for sleeping about 2 hours before we needed to go to bed. The two beds were nicely laid out, one had the AC blowing on it (my bed obviously who doesn't sleep with a fan on! haha) and one without it blowing directly on it, which was perfect for my guest who got too cold and would have been miserable! The beds were comfortable! The pillows were very nice! They did provide me a dog bowl and the lady who brought it down was super excited to see and wanted to pet the dog, (I don't allow strangers to touch my dog) but her enthusiasm made me smile, and she respected my wishes and without making me feel poorly about it. (10/10 for her!) We had multiple guests with multiple devices that required charging, between the beds sat 3 double outlets and an alarm clock that had 4 or 6 USB chargers on it! not counting the outlets that were on the exterior walls, and at the computer desk. super convenient! Black out curtains were super nice, and worked reasonably well! The rooms were quiet and separated from the main lobby by a very nice visually heavy, glass door. (not heavy at all) Had no problems with noise! The bar was packed as we walked by, but you could not hear them once you crossed into the room hallway. Pool table was clean and ready to use, no visible damage! The Breakfast sandwich was pretty darn good! I could not recreate that if I wished! Who ever cooked it can drop the mic or spatula.

The Rating: I took 2 stars off immediately because the ARF program is on the website, and I even called to verify if it was accurate and If there was anything I needed to do a head of time. Which was not the case upon arriving. (THE reason I had decided to go with Aloft), they said it was dismantled at the beginning of Covid-19, which had me asking why the website was not updated. I had to remove a star because of the employee who is clearly working in the wrong place.

(had these 2 things not...

I am normally a fan of the Aloft brand. From my experience, the lobbies are a bit funky but welcoming with a well stocked bar and solid pantry/food option that are easy to access. Room wise I like the unique layout that lean minimalist but has all the tech and comforts I need. Unfortunately this particular Aloft fell short on the room side of things for me. ||First off, the staff at the front desk, bar and shuttle were friendly and courteous. Service is not lacking in these areas. The lobby was as buzzing and welcoming as all the other Alofts I've been to. ||The room was laid out in a similar fashion to other Alofts with a combined bathroom/closet area separated by a wall from the bedroom with the far wall of the room a mix of desk and seating with blackout blinds. However the attention to details was not there. There were 3 main things in my room that made my experience a bit lacking. ||1. Aloft is supposed to be appealing to tech forward brand. There is a large TV in the room, but it was not a Smart TV which was disappointing, but not a deal breaker. What was very frustrating for me is that while the TV had quite possibly the most channels I've seen in a hotel, there was no comprehensive guide or channel list. The guide for channels was on one of the channels however each guide only showed about 20 of the next channels. To see the next 20 channels, you had to jump ahead to that channel, but it was not consistent. For example, the first guide started on channel 10-1 and showed listings for 11-1 through 20.3. However 21-1 was not the channel for next guide of 20 or so channels. So if I wanted to find a particular channel, I had to essentially scroll through all 100 channels with odd numbering and basic remote. Very frustrating, especially as I was trying to find Monday Night Football or Game 7 of the AL/NLCS. ||2. Aloft has moved (or perhaps always has, I can't recall) to not provide individual shampoo, conditioner, etc. and simply has a large container of these in the shower itself. That is fine because I generally bring my own toiletries anyway. However in the shower, there was no shelf or any surface to place my toiletries. I had to place them on the floor. There was an individual lotion provided which apparently was not replaced from the last guest as it was half empty when I used it. ||3. Lastly, and leastly, as these were mild irritations but again a lack of attention to detail. There is a coffee maker in the room and in the AM, I like to have a cup in the room before leaving. I had 3 packets of coffee in my room but they were all decaf. So I needed to go downstairs, where there is free coffee, to get my morning cup. ||Also like most properties since Covid, Aloft does not do housekeeping for short stays (I was only there 2 nights). No major concern there but I was given 2 bath towels. I used the first one and thought the towel was small, a bit cheapy and rough. The next day I used the other towel and that was more to my expectation - large, soft and more plush. I was given two separate types of towels. Again not a huge deal but along with the other minor issues, it soured my experience. ||Overall, the vibe of the common areas and the service from the staff was up to my expectations for this brand, but the rooms seemed to lack refinement and did not meet my expectations. While I am open to staying here again, I probably would give one of the other hotels in the area a try before...

The beginning of my stay was very unpleasant. I was staying at this hotel for a work conference. I arrived at the hotel with the reservation information from my job in hand. I came in around 7:00 pm on Friday November 11th. The person who checked me in was awful. He pulled up my reservation and asked me for a card. I asked if this was incidental because I usually don't have to provide any card for work trips. He stated it was a card to pay for the entire weekend stay. I told him this was a work trip, booked by my company. He stated well there is no proof and that I must put down a card to pay for the entire room or he would not check me in. I let him know that I worked for a hotel in college, and I knew this was not true. And reminded him that the hotel would charge the card that was on file if I did not check in. He said that’s true if I did not provide him with the card that was used to book the reservation with or another card, he would not check me in. He this was Aloft policy, and he didn’t know about other hotels, being a smart Alek. I asked for a manager, and he stated there was not one in. I asked if there was anything else that could be done, and he said no, the only thing that could be done was to provide a card to pay for the entire stay. I then called the director of my company, and he was willing to provide card information. The front desk agent said unless the card is here in person that is not acceptable either. I kept explaining this reservation was a work trip and it should be in the reservation and told me multiple times without me providing a card, I would not be checked in, even though I would be marked as a no-show and the company card on file would be charged anyway. It was late and I came in from out of state, so I finally just handed over my personal card to pay for the room. I paid about $500 out of my own pocket to check in. When I gave the front desk clerk my debit card to check in, he verified that the name on my card was the same one on my reservation. At this point I felt like I was being discriminated against for being a Black woman trying to check in at the hotel. Once my debit card swiped and went through, he let out a measly I'm sorry and then handed me my room key. He didn't say what floor my room was on, anything about breakfast at the hotel or any information about the hotel and parking. This is very unusual, as customer service is a part of the hotel experience. When I checked out on Sunday there was still no manager on duty, but I let the front desk agent know what happened at check-in. She stated what he did was not company policy and there were ways to verify that this was indeed a work trip. When I got back to work on Monday, I let the finance department know what happened and she let me know she sent over the work trip authorization form and that the hotel verified they received it. I don’t know why my reservation wasn’t current on Aloft’s end, but the front desk agents need to be trained on how to book work trip reservations. Also, when I arrived at the hotel, it was already dark and there was one sign warning about the card thefts in the area. It was not mentation at check-in. If you arrive after sunset the sign isn’t noticeable. Here are some pictures of cars with windows smashed in when I...