Friday the 13th, a great day for travel? Well, it didn’t start that way for me, but it ended okay. Glad I didn’t get checked into room 13! The Aloft Ballantyne is located in Charlotte, North Carolina, in a corporate park/golf club/suburban neighborhood. There are probably two restaurants, bars and fast food outlets for every 1 person.
The hotel is bright and modern, what you’d expect from an Aloft, and the staff has that traditional southern flare & hospitality I know and love.
What I loved: Free parking, free wifi and the huge selection of magazines in the room (Wired, National Geographic, Food & Wine), the hotel participates in the Starwood Make A Green Choice program (250 points if you skip housekeeping), plenty of outlets in the room!
What I didn’t love: like all other Alofts, the hotel only provides 1 pillow per person (two pillows on a king sized bed) and, like all other Alofts, they hotel only offers a 2-in-1 shampoo/conditioner. It’s Bliss, which is a great product, but for those with long hair, you know why conditioner is a must.
The Aloft Ballantyne is one of the Alofts that offers a hot, made-to-order breakfast. The lobby features the WXYZ bar, which to my surprise, was hopping on a Friday night. They offer great happy hour deals (that seems to be a theme with the Aloft hotels.)
The hotel offers some great views, surprising for a corporate park hotel. From my room I could see the Ballantyne hotel (I’ll be there next) and a golf course. The sunset was amazing
Aloft Ballantyne View
The rooms are standard, you know what you get when you visit an aloft. The layout is well designed, the bed is – mostly – comfortable, the bathroom is sufficient and there are a lot of little extras – wireless printing, an audio/visual center that allows you to connect your computer/device to the TV in the room, a magazine rack, ironing board/iron, etc…
Aloft room
The hotel is clean, which is priority #1 in my book, priced competitively, and convenient. I’d return to the Aloft Ballantyne.
Did the room also come with a mini-fridge? I’ve found myself wanting one more often recently. Stocking with stuff from CVS / grocery store when on a 2-3 day trip.
@Howie – It did come with a mini fridge, empty though
Hello and thank you for your review! We take all feedback seriously and appreciate your comments regarding the number of pillows per bed. We will actually be adding 2 additional pillows per bed beginning in 2014 which will enhance the overall sleeping experience.
We are pleased to hear that you had an enjoyable stay and hope to see you again in the future!
@Rebecca, thank you for reading the review and it’s great to hear you’ll be adding more pillows! I will be back again, I’m sure!