Aloft Sarasota — Hotel in Sarasota

Overall the hotel is stylish, and provides a young hip vibe. My room was comfortable, clean, and provided some amenities I look for. The roof top pool, outdoor court yard, and lobby games were highlights.

The hotel’s reliance on technology makes for a more impersonal and less welcoming stay. My in room requests for additional towels and feather pillows, made prior and during my stay; were not provided until I called the front desk after checking in. Using Marriott Bonvoy’s app. failed in this respect.

The ALoft Front desk staff could provide more info at checkin about the hotel...such as breakfast options, pool hours, etc. I likely would have spent more of my money at the hotel had the hotel’s offerings been presented at checkin. The front desk staff member was polite but provided only the very basic. He answered questions, but made no attempt to engage in welcoming conversation. He provided no info about the hotel. I go on line/app and look info up, a general run down of what the hotel offers would have made me feel more welcomed. Other front desk staff were polite, but never engaged more than answering questions. There was no anticipation of guest needs.

I appreciated the Stylish Modern decor...very clean, mini fridge, shower stall(I very much appreciate having no tub to step over) and love the dispensers since they decrease the amount of plastic waste.

The amenities bag for dogs was very nice and appreciated. However, the Front desk staff did not appear to be aware of dog beds, and dog bowls listed on-line as amenities which the hotel offers. A hotel manager did address the issue as best possible. The problem was there were no more dog beds available for guest usage. While I understand, there should be more anticipation of the number of dog beds and bowls required to meet guest needs.

The hotel food was just the basics. The potato skins were good but standard. A Caesar salad I had at the pool was tasteless. A turkey wrap was very basic, and onion rings were cold and soggy for in-room dining(a poor choice unless eaten immediately). But the barbecue chicken flat bread was quite tasty.

The bartenders were friendly and engaging. They provided more information about the hotel and the surrounding area than the front desk staff.

The house keeping staff provided a clean room and were accommodating and friendly. I appreciated their polite professionalism.

DJ DaHeart was a welcome surprise for a chill...

The hotel location is convenient and suitable to explore downtown Sarasota but for the most part positive ratings are a misrepresentation. I made a reservation for a two-night stay at the Aloft in Sarasota from 12/2 thru 12/4 with my family. Before heading to the room, we were informed that since we were there for only two nights housekeeping is unavailable but if we have a request for more towels we can call and it would be supplied. Upon entering the room, we were greeted with a musty odor, so we used our air freshener with the hope that it would relieve the issue, but that did not work. Further, we discovered human hair on one of the beds along with other unidentifiable small objects of which we used Lysol wipes to wipe the bed sheet. Towels were stained (luckily, we brought our own towels) and dog treats were on the floor. Too tired to do anything else we complained to the front desk the following morning and was told the hotel is pet friendly, and not only that the floor we stayed on was one of the pet floors, but the room we stayed in is a pet friendly room. Keep in mind we did not have a pet with us when we arrived, and the disclosure was not made at the time of check; if we were allergic to dogs, it would be another issue. So, why were we intentionally placed in such a room without disclosure? This was an insensitive and reckless act with wanton disregard to our health. We were offered to change rooms, but at that point, we did not trust their judgement and refused as we were scheduled to be out most of that day and would be leaving the following morning - the damage was already done. We were offered $100.00 off the bill, but it was too little too late. It also confirms that this hotel does not care about their guest just their money, so potential hotel guests’ looking for a clean hotel room now have the task at doing a thorough research before making reservations at any hotel because they too can end up in our situation. The Aloft Sarasota was a total disappointment and for any hotel chain to align itself with the Aloft Sarasota in the belief they are worthy of high occupancy is scandalous. Unless you have a dog and seek a pet friendly hotel please stay away from the Aloft Sarasota or any other hotel with the dog concept; you will be wasting money. And with all this, please keep in mind that you have to pay valet to park your own vehicle although...

The room was not cleaned well, it had black mold in the shower we realized it the next day first time using it, the room smelt musty, the water smelt like sewage everytime you used it in the shower I used a water bottle to brush my teeth, the tv remote died after one day we barely watched tv, so it was dead before, the alarm went off the first night at 5 am, the sheets and the pillow cases were not properly cleaned had stains on them which we also saw that after the fact when we took our own stuff of the bed , otherwise we would not have stayed there. My husband and I are very clean people we clean the hotels before we put anything down with our own lysol wipes luckily we had lysol spray and we bring our own pillow cases sheet and blanket. We always clean up before we leave trying to make it easier for whoever cleans after us. Had we realized the state of the room we would have left, there was also a dog across the hall that constantly barked loud non stop sounded like separation anxiety, we complained twice the first time they said they're not supposed to leave a dog alone, someone came up and he was quiet for an hour we walked by the room to go to the pool he was viscously barking again non stop we heard him up the elevator, the second time my husband asked for towels when a worker brought them my husband pointed out the dog barking that you can clearly hear the guy said “ya we received complaints already” nothing was done. We purposely barely spent anytime in the hotel it says new fully renovated but that is a lie the shower and the room look and smell old, or like it wasnt cleaned properly at all. And we had no idea it was pet friendly we would not have stayed there very disappointing for my quick birthday getaway, we are very picky about hotels and the pictures are extremely deceiving. Although the rooms were horrendous some of the staff were amazing. That is why I gave any stars if it wasn't for them I would have left 1 .We loved the bartender Heidi she was spectacular very sweet, informative, and attentive. She made my birthday really special and she helped us find places to eat, the valet as well although we didn’t use them they offered great advice on places to eat very friendly. Another nighttime bartender as well was very sweet did not catch her name very friendly...