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
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…
The hotel is clean, which is priority #1 in my book, priced competitively, and convenient. I’d return to the Aloft Ballantyne.