Dallas, TX—

When we were looking for something that wasn't your traditional downtown hotel but offered all of the ammenities of the big time hotels and then some, we recommend trying the new Aloft Hotel Downtown Dallas, as this is slowly transforming from a hidden gem, to one of the premier places to stay in Dallas.

For those who are unfamiliar with the Aloft Hotel brand, created as a boutique style hotel by the W Hotel group, the Aloft offers a reasonable priced room with all of those Versace style extras you will not find at too many other properties. From the lobby to each room, you will see why the Aloft Downtown Dallas is even a bit different from some of their other properties.

Built inside of an 84-year-old former railroad freight depot, for the first time Aloft, one of the Starwood Hotels   and Resort  brands, has opened in a historic building.  The Aloft  Downtown Dallas has a lobby that is a little bit of NYC and Miami and not your traditional Dallas. The brick walls of the building exude traditional railroad buildings of turn of the century with tons of brick and mortar.   The high ceilings make this reminiscent of a 1930's warehouse; only those didn't come with a fireplace and some of the most chic furniture and pool table in the middle of the lobby.

The Aloft lobbies are different from property, but this along with the XYZ Bar make this the place to be afterhours. It has already become the favorite of touring bands and other celebrities in the short time it has been open and has hosted performances with the likes of Jamie Foxx in their downstairs meeting space and will have several parties for the NBA All Star Weekend coming to town in February. Perhaps the plasma televisions, bar and pool table in the open lobby make it seem more warm and friendly than most hotels , making it the reason it is renaming place to stay.

For those who demand the best in room amenities, these certainly have all of the bells and whistles.   The suite that we reviewed is poppin with colors that will really keep you alive an upbeat on whatever you reason for travel to Dallas. We liked the original high windows that bring in tons of natural light and guess what they even open enough to let in fresh air, which in today's hotels it is rarity that the windows even open at all.

One thing we know for sure is that the beds are very conducive to easily falling asleep.   Upon laying down, I wasn't even that tired but these comfortable king size beds had me dozing off with Sports Center blaring on the 42 inch plasma that is raised about the foot of the bed in the front of the room.

In the bathroom, you will find Bliss Spa ammenities and tons of those super chic things that you will want in your own bathroom. About the only thing basic in this room is the toilet. Pretty American Standard as we could tell—¦

You will want to check out one or many of their 193 rooms on 9 floors. Each one has a different industrial feeling and some of the larger suites rival the top properties in the city.   The suites are huge, even the regular king rooms with the high ceilings offer the traveler a less of a crowded feeling.

The Aloft Dallas offers 10,000 square feet of meeting space, which is good enough for large scale parties and even concert and performances.

If you are looking to relax and unwind and keep up with  a daily workout, perhaps their modern gym area overlooking the outdoor heated pool will keep you as much of a city slicker as possible. This is certainly not your typical hotel lobby gym.

So if you are looking for a Downtown property that is certainly not going to break the wallet, but will make you feel like it did with all it has to offer, the give the Aloft Downtown Dallas a try, you will be glad you did.

The Aloft Downtown Dallas is located at

1033 Young Street

Dallas, TX 75202

(214) 761-0000

http://www.starwoodhotels.com/alofthotels/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=3146