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Stowers Building To Become An Aloft Hotel At 820 Fannin St.


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^^^ very nice pool ambiance.  however, they REALLY need to include more trees / potted plants and foliage.  the place just look's so devoid of plant life.  very dry / hot desert looking.  also, PROPS to all of the generous HAIF photographers for your great work in keeping us in the loop on this wonderful downtown development. 

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Just about done!  After they arranged all the patio furniture for the photoshoot shown above, they moved everything aside again to wash the whole deck, and today they positioned all the furniture again!  Bar still isn't quite ready yet, but the rest appears done:

 

EN1zIXk.jpg

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 2 months later...

Wife and I stayed here over the weekend. It was okay. nothing special. But for the price, I can't complain too much. But compared to other aLoft's I've stayed at i'm not that impressed. There is no signage inside the property. As a guest you have no idea where anything is. Every SPG hotel I've stayed at, includes a booklet or binder inside the room about the property describing amenities, area attractions, etc, except this one. The elevators have not been updated either, so as a guest you wouldn't know which button to push for the gym for example (I heard it's on the second to top floor but I'm not sure). The interiors are typical aLoft design. The pool looked nice, but the pool bar was not open yet.

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102IAH:

 

thanks for the commentary.  All new properties have to work out some issues.  That said, I just had a business collegue who decided to stay somewhere else in downtown, did not book aloft, because the price point was too high for the perceived value at aloft.  That surprised me as he was staying at the embassy suites.  I would have assumed that ES was much more expensive given the extra space and "free" breakfast.  (Note, maybe it was and he just saw more value in the amenities of ES?)

 

 

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4 minutes ago, UtterlyUrban said:

102IAH:

 

thanks for the commentary.  All new properties have to work out some issues.  That said, I just had a business collegue who decided to stay somewhere else in downtown, did not book aloft, because the price point was too high for the perceived value at aloft.  That surprised me as he was staying at the embassy suites.  I would have assumed that ES was much more expensive given the extra space and "free" breakfast.  (Note, maybe it was and he just saw more value in the amenities of ES?)

 

 

Ok, I just checked a random date in April.

 

aloft with Breakfast is $221

embassy, a two room suite) with breakfast is $219

 

perhaps aloft has a market niche that it is exploiting to be successful.  Or, perhaps they need to re-consider their value prop.

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18 hours ago, Naviguessor said:

What's not up the standards?  The Pool Bar?  I wouldn't expect that that would be open very often at all...and, certainly not during the day, in winter. 

 

The signage is not up to standards. As a guest you should not have to call the front the desk to find out where the gym is for example.

 

The pool bar not being open was a disappointment, not sure why it maters for Houston whether it's winter or not?

I recently moved to Chicago (wife was a doctor at Methodist but got offered a job up at Northwestern) and i was surprised to meet someone up here who two weeks ago went on a vacation to Houston/Galveston then down to south padre. Surprised because i have always been told that Houston is not a tourist destination. Anyways, our "winter" in Houston is considered absolutely balmy by many up north and if they traveled down here and stayed at the aLoft and saw the pool bar closed they would also be disappointed and probably not come back.

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4 hours ago, 102IAHexpress said:

 

The signage is not up to standards. As a guest you should not have to call the front the desk to find out where the gym is for example.

 

The pool bar not being open was a disappointment, not sure why it maters for Houston whether it's winter or not?

I recently moved to Chicago (wife was a doctor at Methodist but got offered a job up at Northwestern) and i was surprised to meet someone up here who two weeks ago went on a vacation to Houston/Galveston then down to south padre. Surprised because i have always been told that Houston is not a tourist destination. Anyways, our "winter" in Houston is considered absolutely balmy by many up north and if they traveled down here and stayed at the aLoft and saw the pool bar closed they would also be disappointed and probably not come back.

 

^^^ were there any immediate complaints brought forth to ALOFT management, and if so, what on earth was their explanation?  although, i have been extremely positive regarding some of the HAIF illustrations presented throughout this thread regarding this new downtown property, i must admit at times that i thought this placed seemed awfully stark and empty.  (it just does not seem completed to me for some strange reason)  heck, even the outside signage does not seem enough for me.  hopefully, management may soon solve this burgeoning issue especially in lieu of the forthcoming SUPERBOWL.....  

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  • 2 weeks later...

Folks, help me out.....

 

i don't know how hotel brands stratify by price.  But, I would have expected the Aloft to be significantly less than an Embassy suites.  My test above (a bad test.... one datapoint) says it's not.  It's actually a few bucks more.  Are Alofts normally competing with Embassy suites?  Is that their normal price point?

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ES vs Aloft:. It's about what I'd expect.  It's very difficult to figure out hotel prices...impossible really. Often times you'll find properties like Hampton Inn priced on par or even greater than full service hotels like Hilton and Marriott. Embassy Suites usually seems to be priced pretty competivy. But, I don't find them very special. I'd pay a bit more to stay at Aloft...just because at least I know that they'll have a decent bar and they'll look better. 

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The ES (although horrible on the outside) is one of the best ES I've ever stayed in--quite, quite nice (or at least it was a couple years ago). The Aloft has the opposite problem--pretty on the outside, ugly on the inside.  Signage is atrocious in a building with confusing hallways as has been noted. Rooftop patio has a lot of potential but I can't imagine it ever being close to full--it's just way too big for a hotel that size, which actually makes the space look depressing.  Even on a 100% occupancy night I think it'll still look depressingly empty. 

 

As far as downtown hotels go, I just want someone to convince the Icon to replace its awnings. And I've wanted that for 5 years. Such a nice place.

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  • The title was changed to Stowers Building To Become An Aloft Hotel
  • The title was changed to Stowers Building To Become An Aloft Hotel At 820 Fannin St.

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