Aloft Hotel– Doral

A Boutique Hotel in Doral, Florida – Not Your Grandpa’s Hotel

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ME: “Am I too old to stay here?

HUSBAND: “I think it’s supposed to be fun.”

ME: “Oh. It feels like a dorm room.”

HUSBAND: “Well, dorms were fun.”

And so began our first stay at an Aloft Hotel. While I’ve heard of them over the last couple of years, I had never stayed at one. The Aloft Doral in Miami was our first experience as guests with this hotel brand. The saying goes that “you never get a second chance to make a first impression.” At this point, you are probably thinking that this article will be about the unpleasant experience that we had staying at the Aloft Doral. Surprise! You would be wrong. This is an article, in part, about service recovery.

First Impressions

We arrived at the Aloft Doral at 2:00pm and informed the front desk that we were there. We understood when they said our room wasn’t ready yet because, of course, check-in for most hotels is 3:00pm or later. We went down the street and ate lunch/dinner (Linner?) at La Coriana, an amazing Venezuelan place that I will tell you all about in another post.

Over the next two hours a not-funny-at-all comedy of errors occurred in which the hotel contacted us multiple times to tell us our room was ready when it was NOT ready. This included us receiving keys, hauling a loaded luggage cart up to the room, and being turned away by housekeeping. While we waited in the lobby there were multiple exchanges between the front desk and housekeeping in which the room was certified ready. . .and then not-ready. . . and then ready again. 

At 4:00pm, when we truly did access the room, it turned out to be a large one-bedroom suite. This was the reason that Mr. HomeFree had been so patient in the lobby while I shot steam out of my ears. He knew we were waiting for a suite, and I had not.

Anyway, I said this would be an article about service recovery, so here it is. The next day when I spoke to Luis, the front desk manager, he apologized profusely and explained the reason for the confusion. I won’t go into that here, but I will tell you that he said he would call me back later that day. He did call me back. A promise kept can be rare sometimes, so that was nice. Then, he said he was giving us additional Marriott Bonvoy points to compensate us for the poor check-in experience. On behalf of the management team, he apologized again.

Service Recovery:

1. Make the customer feel heard
2. Apologize and offer an explanation (not an excuse)
3. When practical, offer a small gesture to acknowledge brand loyalty and customer inconvenience

Décor & Facilities

So, now back to that décor. Marriott properties fall into one of four categories. Longer stays (such as Residence Inns are a different animal). The other three categories are Select, Premium and Luxury. Aloft hotels are in the Select category and appear to be a more budget-minded style of hotel. They are also going for a bright, funky, eclectic interior design.

To achieve these two goals, they utilize mid-century modern furniture. Our room did NOT have: wall art, knick-knacks or extras (such as an alarm clock), a microwave, a closet, table lamps, or an area rug in the living room. Between the molded plastic chairs (in a mustard color), the modular gray sofa, and the exposed hooks for clothing, I felt like I was in a college dorm room on move-in day. Everything was scaled down and minimalist, but yet didn’t feel “European” or high-end. It was so stark, in fact, that our living room had an echo. In an example of “first world problems” I realized that the mattress was not a pillowtop, which has become fairly standard these days. The mattress pad wasn’t even quilted. It was just plain felt. After the first day, I thought, “I don’t think I would stay at this brand again.”

I suspect the pandemic has taken its toll on their maintenance crew too, because the bedside light switch was broken, one peg in the closet was dangling loosely, and they tried twice to fix our bedroom A/C without success.

HOWEVER, over the twelve or so nights that we stayed there, I formed a second impression.  Other than the elevators, the hotel common areas and rooms were clean, the breakfast was unique and yummy, it was conveniently located within a 10-minute drive of grocery stores & inexpensive restaurants, and it was quiet.

The gym is a nice size for a six-story property and there is a reasonably-priced guest laundry on the sixth floor. However, at the time of this writing, even though the washing machines are coin operated, there is no change machine in the building. Staff says they are attempting to acquire one.

Food

There is a funky neon lobby bar that I did not visit in the evening. I’m sure it was a fun place to hang out, but I am in bed by 8:45 p.m. most nights because of my early morning work schedule. At breakfast, they specialize in grab & go food which works well for business travelers and guests like me who prefer to eat in my room. You can purchase a croissant for $3.50 and I highly recommend that you do. These were an excellent version and brightened my mornings.

You can also buy a “pot.” Yes, they call them “pots.” For $9.00, you can select from one of five types (The Classic, The Original, The Ranchero, The Sweet or The Brunch). If you order The Original, you will receive in a cardboard cup, French fries with cheese sauce and an egg on top. If you order the Brunch, you will receive cubes of French Toast with syrup and mixed berries. You get the idea. They are unusual and pretty darn good for the price.

Parking

One of the major reasons that we stay in the Doral area, and why we selected this hotel, was because of the free parking. In Miami it is not uncommon for hotels to gouge their guests by charging $40/night for parking. This is obscene. I refuse. The Aloft Doral has ample parking right outside the front door and it is FREE.

Doing Business

There isn’t a business center here, but then those are getting less common all the time. There is one computer off the lobby, which I used once, and I saw other guests using as well. I was able to connect overseas for work using their wi-fi with no issues at all, which is how it should be in a major American city.

I would be lying if I pretended that the massive size of our suite’s living room didn’t influence my enjoyment of the Aloft Doral. The extra space mattered to me because we were there for nearly two weeks. When I arrived, I felt out of place, as if the hotel was intended for 20-somethings only, but I saw business travelers and families there too. By the time I checked out I had gotten more comfortable. I will never love mid-century modern furniture, but I got used to the neon and retro color-blocking décor in the lobby and appreciated the helpfulness of the staff.

When I decided to live on the road full-time, I was forcing myself out of my comfort zone to experience new things. Staying at the Aloft Doral wasn’t like any other hotel experience I’ve had, but maybe that’s the point.