Aloft Gainesville University Area

I am sitting in the enlarged prison cell that seems to pass as a hotel room for some, and I am reflecting on this being a Marriott Bonvoy brand. This is attempting to pass, I guess, for industrial chic. It is bare bones, lacks any features...period...much less anything worth description. No color, no charm or interest, the cheapest Ikea-look furnishings I have ever seen and zero comfort. Very noisy ac, plastic shower (with one product to pass for both shampoo and conditioner), and very low table that is supposed to pass as a bathroom vanity (plain art sink mounted on it)...definitely not sized for an adult. Bottom line: I know this brand is widespread and we will never stay in one again. Oh, and no breakfast of available at all, even for Titanium members. There are no upgrades of any type to draw on. Glad we were only stopping for one night. This area is replete with other hotels. Choose one of those.

When the blankets were lifted to lay down for bed it was obvious that the sheets HAD NOT BEEN CHANGED. The sheets were wrinkled as if they had been slept on. There was also debris on the edge of the bed, on top of the fitted sheet therefore under the top blanket. It looked like dried up boogers. The front desk was called and the person told us that all beds are changed, I totally disagree. I have stayed in enough hotels and watched enough documentaries on this to know without a shadow of a doubt that those sheets hadn’t been changed. Won’t be staying there again especially in this COVID era. A supervisor needs to be checking on this constantly!

I almost felt like I was going into a college apartment building with the pool tables in the lobby. Causal and colorful chairs and tables. Young vibe. It could use a little cleaning. Rafael at the front desk was very helpful. Convenient location to campus & 34th Street.

At check-in, I asked for a quiet room at the back of the hotel. Although I am a Gold member which they failed to acknowledge, they refused to accommodate this simple request. So disapponting. They were completely inflexible. The hotel looks half-empty but they seem extremely short on staff so they probably cannot clean the rooms. Keep your expectations to a minimum.

It is a newer looking Aloft, but it still dog-friendly and free of charge. If this was one of the newest type of Alofts that charge a pet fee, my rating would ve been lower. Few cons....Titanium breakfast benefit is eliminated for the time being; I was informed that hotel just offers breakfast bags for sale. There are no packages of ice-supposedly due to Covid, but they send you to an ice machine, which is a lot less of a sanitary way to obtain ice. So, we purchased it at a supermarket. Covid seems to be a convinient excuse for mediocre-ish hotels to reduce service/benefits whether the reduction is the result of the pandemic or just the particular hotel's desire to nickel/dime guests by eliminating elite benefits and basic offerings. Other ways this Aloft has been "Bonvoyed" are: the signature Aloft (blue) soap bars have been replaced with some boring and generic product that smells like a Fairfield Inn. Bottled water also no longer provided, Alofts used to have water in rooms regardless of whether you booked hotel thru 3rd party or if you had any elite status with SPG/Marriott. The room-was mostly clean. Except refrigerator-it had hair inside of it (yuck!) Front desk offered to clean it, but a little too late-we just avoided fridge usage. One of the elevators had a disgusting smell for the duration of our stay. Overall, I could not detect Aloft's signature scent in any of the public areas.... Another Bonvoy-influenced "improvement"? Once again, my high-ish rating is based primarily on a very generous dog policy. If I travel again without the dog, I'd stay elsewhere.