Aloft Dallas Arlington South — Hotel in Arlington

POSITIVE: My friend and I stayed at the hotel because we were in town for an all-weekend concert event at ATT stadium. The location was ideal. Very easy drive to stadium, and close to a lot of dining spots. Plenty of parking, the lobby was great (made good use of the hotel bar, which was excellent!) and the pool table in evenings. Didn’t use pool but it looked ok (was too hot outside). Used the gym every day and for a hotel gym, it was actually very very good! Plenty of cardio equipment, several machines, and dumbbells up to 50 lbs. immaculately clean, and had fresh towels to use. The room itself was super clean, great large TV, mini fridge, and the beds were super comfortable. One of the best hotel beds I’ve ever slept on, honestly. It felt like laying in my bed at home. Good price for the value. Overall I highly recommend the hotel to anyone in the area. Aloft is usually a very good value, and this was no exception. I did not use their breakfast option so I cannot comment on that. Also did not utilize room service/cleaning (I never usually do, I grab extra towels and supplies as needed, and put out trash bags for pickup outside the door). Front desk staff was very nice, as was the male bartender we had two nights.

NEGATIVE: My main gripe about the hotel and my stay was the bathroom in the room. The setup is awkward. Not sure if all the rooms are the same. Normally the bathroom in most hotel rooms is a separate small room with toilet and shower together. This room had a bathroom “area” when you first walk in (shower with glass door, sink and vanity area, and then the toilet individually in a tiny room by itself). This area is separated from the sleeping area by a thin wall (one of those walls that you sometimes see in conference rooms to separate meeting areas, thin and blocks no sound). This setup affords minimal privacy. If you are staying in the room with your significant other, there is no problem because privacy doesn’t matter. However this was a guys’ trip with my friend and the setup was annoying. The shower has absolutely nothing on which you can hang clothes, no hooks no rack at all, and immediately outside the shower door there is only one small hook to hang a towel. That’s it. As a matter of fact there is no closet in the room either, just a stand alone rack sitting there outside the door with exactly two clothes hangers. Nowhere to hang shirts to keep them neat. We had all our clothes folded and laid out on the small couch. Obviously since privacy matters here between two friends, it was annoying to not have a large enclosed bathroom where you can shower and change inside. My friend and I had to take turns and one wait in the sleeping area until shower and changing done and we give each other a verbal “all clear” to take turns and switch. Kind of obnoxious. No fan in the bathroom area either so if you want to drown out any “noise” from the bathroom, your friend had better blast the TV to drown it out…if you know what I mean. Not a huge annoyance, but this is why I would give the hotel a 4/5 and not a perfect score. However everything else being excellent, I would stay again and still recommend it. It seemed like the best overall value in town and proximity...

Tracy, Rob, and the front desk team were courteous. The hotel was modern and seemed to have a large group of young people staying.

The lobby had a billiards table, which was frequently busy, so we didn't get to play, but many seemed to enjoy. It also had the WXYZ Bar, a little grocery type store with various food items, a gym, and several tables, sofas, and chairs for congregating.

Although it was too cold to swim since the pool was outside, it did look inviting.

The room had a little table with seating, mini fridge, coffee maker, tea, complimentary water bottle, hairdryer, etc. Basically all the normal amenities that most hotels have these days so it was disappointing that a microwave was not in the room nor was breakfast included, but there are several restaurants and fast food places within walking distance so it was not necessary. The location was great! Easy access off the main roads, many restaurants, gas stations, and other event type venues close by.

For us, we missed the calming decor of other Marriott Bonvoy hotels as well as the amenities and perks such as a microwave in the room and free breakfast.  We also did not see a luggage cart upon entering and for vacation or a family with kids or much luggage, that would be a definite need.

The door separating the toilet from the sink and shower part of the bathroom did not close leaving at least a 2.5-3 inch gap which would be quite embarrassing in mixed company, especially where a huge, tall mirror is right across from it and where someone from the bedroom can see directly in. The bathroom was not set up with soap so I had to ask for some which made me wonder what else was not handled.  There were no plastic bags in the trash can, and for ladies (especially at certain times), this is a problem.  Thankfully, we had brought some trash bags in.

The soundproofing in this particular hotel was not good as we could hear the people below us quite loudly. Thankfully, they quieted down by 11 p.m.

Overall, the price was good, the staff pleasant, but the hotel lacked the usual warmth, reception, amenities, and decor that I have come to appreciate from other Marriott Bonvoy properties.  Rob said it was similar but a scaled down version of The W Hotel; However, I stayed at The W Hotel in Dallas for my Honeymoon years ago, and Aloft does NOT compare in any sense of the word.

We did not like the decor: the blinds, the bathroom wallpaper or the extremely bright florescent lights, the strange designs on the walls, etc.; However, this might be right in line with someone else's desired tastes.

For the event we attended it was a good option because it was close, the staff was pleasant and the cost was appropriate. If you like the more MODERN flair then Aloft might be just...

A few things about our stay here in Mar 2023...

One, the shower had some type of metal plate on one side of it, to allow water to drain. But when water hits that meta plate (as you shower), it sounds like a bell. It is very loud. The 1st night we were there, the shower kept dripping on it's own. That loud metallic ringing at least 1x an hour for a few drops kept waking us up all night long. Terrible.

Second - The first night we were there, we could smell marijuana inside of our room. I could not tell what room it was coming from (the neighboring rooms), and it almost smelled like it was coming from the ventilation system. The front desk woman admitted she didn't know how the ventilation worked. Thankfully, we did not have this the 2nd night. This started just a few minutes before we were going to bed, and I was not prepared to move EVERYTHING to another room that late. However, I have asthma, and I did not appreciate this.

Also - the toilet area is in a separate room by itself, with 2 little sliding doors that is supposed to give privacy. My wife was very unhappy that the 2 doors do not meet together. There was about a 4 or 5 inch gap between the two doors. And, with the open room plan, she was very upset that there was no privacy.

Finally - on the second night, 1 neighbor was playing the tv extremely loud. At 10:51pm, I finally went and knocked on their door. They did turn it down. But when the woman opened the door (after I knocked), it was unbelievably loud in her room. Then, on the other sides of us was a man arguing on his cell phone with a woman for several hours. He had her on speaker phone, and they were extremely loud. If you stood in the hallway, you could hear everything he was saying, as well as the woman on the phone. It was very loud thru our wall. So, the sound really carried through the rooms.

To be honest - I would pick another location t stay at. I would not stay here again. Between that, and no real restaurant to eat breakfast at, I plan to pick another hotel the next time I am in the...