Classic Disaster: Aloft, Cheap Modern Knock-Off!

This is one “vision” of Starwood and David Rockwell and his group, not realized! Despite befuddled beginnings with Starwood’s customer service, you can check my fb status, I was very much excited to visit the new Denver property that was just seven days new when I arrived. Thrilled in fact, to be one of the first people to experience such a high-style brand of hotel’s first spaces to gear itself towards the 21st Century and its generational needs. Don’t take my word for it try it out, tell me what you think, but I think your better off staying at Hyatt Place, who also has built their hotel around the 21st Century, they pull it off with the grace of Jackie O!

The photos on-line are lovely and color filled, bright and happy, not to mention the kiosk check-in, and rainfall shower heads, oooh i was so excited.

Orrick Building in San Fran

As you can tell by the title of the post, it was a complete disaster and disgrace to modern design. Upon arrival I couldn’t help but notice that the that the exterior looked strikingly similar to Studio Architecture’s Orrick Building in San Fransisco, wonder if they know? Perhaps an oversight?

Aloft In Colorado

The service upon check-in was fine. I checked-in late, the lady put me on the second floor, despite the excess of empty rooms I’m absolutely certain they had with an empty parking lot, seven days old, and the current state of the economy. Not too friendly but it could be worse, I live in NYC so I’m used to worse.

This is their description of the rooms:

All guest floors have a large picture window that looks onto a backyard and provides natural light in the corridors. Typically, the two guest rooms options are a 275 square foot room with a king size bed and a 325 square foot room with two double beds. Both are loft-like spaces with 9-feet-high ceilings and over-sizedwindows. The rooms exhibit a calming palette with touches of blue and purple, an abundance of natural light, and a selection of custom furniture such as a multi-functional headboard which serves as a wall partition, built-in storage space, nightstand and a place for artwork. The bathrooms are simple, serene and cleanly designed, with over-sized walk-in showers with glass doors. Guests will be delighted to find that beds represent the style in many downtown lofts, featuring a custom platform bed and crisp, white cotton sheets and duvets on the beds—custom designed for aloft hotels. No polyester here!

There was something terribly offsetting about the place from the over exaggeratedly small lobby, the convenient store feel of their al-a-carte food space, the cold slab of cement floor that you tread to on your way to the elevator with the squishy cool floor (probably the most redeeming part of the experience, although I wonder how much wear and tear that will stand, do designers think? I wonder?). The lobby felt more like a brand new unfinished basement with bright colored trim. The design was a SLAP in the face to our generation judgment of good and bad design. The hallway had lamps that were hung crooked, and the striped pattern inside them looked like cheap tack paper from the dollar store. They were dark even with the lights on, the carpet not laid properly, wrinkled in parts, gave the whole place a completely creepy feeling.

The room was worse, it reeked of a sad IKEA knock-off and the use of color reminded me of someones grandmother’s 60’s striped couch. The shower head was NO “RAINFALL” shower head, or if it is, Radisson SAS in Dublin, Ireland, has given their shower heads the wrong name and someone should correct the definition in the dictionary. The shower was NOT over-sized after just being in two hotels that actually do have over-sized showers this was terribly off base.  Not to mention the terrible icky sea-foam green basin that felt like my junior high locker room’s floor with the bumps all over it, not pleasant to walk on. The lighting in the bathroom was florescent maybe that’s what added to the locker room feel and designers seeem to like the color grey, which works perfectly well in NYC (which is where the designers live) but not in Denver, perhaps the Rockwell Group forgot to use a context suitable for somewhere other than the LES?

Now for the part that really creeped me out, the cheap industrial carpet plastered to every wall made it feel like a San Fernando Valley industrial office nightmare (I’m NOT exaggerating! It is the cheapest carpet I have ever seen, “texture”? gag!). The cheap veneer wood head board/wall that looks so rad in the image above, was an insult to veneers, it must have been a Tawainese special (though that would be offensive to the country of Taiwain).  ”Custom” furniture it does not seem is at it highest quality here. Sure, they have crisp white cotton sheets, but don’t look for high thread count, just notice that they have sheets that are both between the bedsheet and the duvet and on top of the duvet, which makes it easy for them not to have to clean the comforter daily but just replace the sheets, ensures they went the extra mile to make their clients feel cheap. Neither Radisson SAS nor Hyatt had this “feel good” feature, thank God!

The only things I liked in the room was the mint-green alarm clock and the big windows to watch the amazing eastern plains of Colorado sunrise.

The kiosk check-in/out option wasn’t working upon departure, which to me was a cool feature especially at 7:00 am, when I am dead to the world and don’t really want to deal with any living soul (A predominate reason for chosing the hotel over the others in the area). The check-out at the “Aloha” desk was not reminiscent of Hawaii and relaxation but more like driving at LAX.  There was only one person working the desk , several of us waiting to check-out while he was ring-up purchases from the cafe and did not acknowledging us for 15 minutes.  The poor guy clearly had little training or inexperience with the computer system, which almost made us miss the shuttle to the airport. The end was very stressful. I was terribly disappointed to say the least.

Aloft is at this point a complete failure to realize any vision and ought to find out who worked with Hyatt Place in order to achieve their vision of a new generation of hotels.

Travel: All we have left behind!

Every day Americans go to work, so that we can make money, so that we can travel, so that we can experience what our everyday mundane life lacks.  We compensate drab realities of our every day existence for momentary and sometimes empty experiences. 

Yes, you can take a plane to Paris, but if you don’t believe open your heart for Paris, you will simply be another temporary statue attempting to take in the reality around you.  This echos the post on my other blog (www.aclassicdisposition.wordpress.com).  Since when do we need money to help us cope with our realities?  Since when did it work? 

Today, don’t go anywhere, go everywhere, travel to far off distant lands, close your eyes or talk a walk and see the world around you, the cool place you exist everyday that no doubt people dream of being. 

I’m sure you think its easy for me to say, but I can’t think of one person (who would be reading this), who doesn’t live in a place I want to vacation or dream about, one dear friend who doesn’t have a live a life that I think is amazing and full of adventure and excitement. 

Close your eyes and let good old, unconsumeristic imagination take you somewhere you never knew could go! And smile!

The difference between a dead soldier and a live soldier!

Every good soldier knows that at the end of the day its his socks that keeps him alive.  Well, its a tough world out there and between the pitfalls of travel, you wanna make sure to take care of yourself the best to can.

Socks are key, I don’t know about you but my feel swell like a bloated fish when I travel.  The first time I noticed this was one 8-hour delay because of winter storms.  Dressing cute, because you never know who one might meet on these trips, I had on my newest pair of Steve Madden calf-skin leopard print wedge heels that fit just right.  To say the least they had not been worn-in that by the end (and after a few glasses of wine) I could no longer wear them, I still wince when I look at them.

Most travel sites will tell you to get wool socks, for comfort, dryness and breath-ability.  I might go one step further, because I’m not a fan of something that requires un-tieing for ease of getting through that security line and thick socks necessitate tennis shoes to me.  There is a company called Nikken that makes a trouser sock, which has Far-Infrared fibers that not only do the same thing that the wool socks do but these socks will leave your feet feeling rejuvenated and feeling like a million bucks, not to mention warm!  They have a selection of trouser and athletic socks to suit your fancy.

So soldier, keep those socks dry and you might just make it through this war! Go, Fight, Win! [Salute! ]

Changes to the way we travel!

Yahoo Travel and Smart Travel report the FIVE changes soon coming to the way Americans experience travel!  These changes include, the disappearance of that stupid little plastic bag and 3oz liquids requirements, paper boarding passes, a new class of flying (not so exciting, a new definition to economy!!) and Internet service.  Take a look!

http://travel.yahoo.com/p-interests-25069997

Tray Tables and Seat Backs, Up!

Plane Etiquette 101: For those of us who enjoy peaceful flights between desired destination, there are a few good rules to follow to ensure a nice and pleasant journey for all.

1. When boarding, be sure to step into your seat as quickly as possible. If you have carry-on items to be stowed, let other passengers move past you BEFORE you store your items. In general, seating is sporatic, so holding up the entire line, just to put your two hard to fit and rather large luggage pieces is sure to start things off on the wrong foot!

2. Regarding carry-on pieces, if it is at the standard size, but is a wheeled suitcase, or something large and heavy, obtain a tag from the counter before boarding, this will allow for your pieces to go under the plane, but will not be put through luggage. When you get off your flight, there will be no tugging that piece out, possibly hitting someone, but rather ensures again not to hold up the line and make all transitions smoothly for all.

3. After you are properly seated, make sure to pay attention to all the announcements, as we just learned by the crash landing on the Hudson River, those moments you decided to keep your headphones on could be the one time you should have spent 5 minutes being a good passenger. So please, give the flight attendants the same courtesy you would like if it were your job. They are not your parents or your slave, even if they are mean, make sure to say please, thank you and excuse me. I can’t imagine being trapped on a plane all day. No matter how many cool place you go, your cooped up with hundreds of really angry and whiny people barking out commands.

4. After the plane is in the air, feel free to recline, however, most chairs cannot recline if the tray table is down.

Scenario 1: You want to recline your seat, but the person behind you has their tray down. I had this happen on my red-eye to Ireland, and after 20 minutes of suggestively trying to recline and not being able to, I politely turned around and said, “Excuse me miss, could you please put up your tray table?” She was not to happy, showing me her 1 cup in her hand and suggesting she needed a place to put it, so I said “Oh no, could you just put it up for a moment while I recline?” She was not too happy, which may have been her point in the first place, but she kindly acquiesced and put it up momentarily.

Scenario 2: Your tray table is down and you see someone struggling, kindly reach around (if you can) and tap them gently asking if they are trying to recline, if you can’t try putting it up momentarily anyway, just to in case. Also, remember to GENTLY put your table up, and not to aggitate the situation further by being passive agressive.

5. Don’t talk too much, especially on Red-eye flights, or long flights be careful to be friendly and chat with those you’d like. However, be careful to keep noise levels down, what information you are sharing with a perfect stranger, or a friend and to clue in on non-verbal clues. Non-verbal clues include the the person not making eye-contact, looking away, giving “yeah” and “uh-huh” comments, putting on head-phones, reading a book, etc. Often people are tired, have been traveling for sometime, or would like down time before that big business meeting on the other side.

6. Reading lights: When not using them, turn them out! Not only do they waste energy (small amount sure) but if its dark on the plane, you could be annoying your neighbor who is trying to get some shut eye (even on a day flight)!

7. I’d like to give advice on getting up to use the restroom, but I always book the aisle because of my tiny bladder, so I generally just say to tap them gently, smile, and ask them if you could get past them. Those sitting in the middle or aisle seat, please be courteous and actually get out of your seat. Not only will it give you a chance to stretch those aching legs but it completely nullifies the “butt-in-face” awkwardness for both you and the other passenger. I’ve never found a rude person in this regard, so I think we all generally understand.

8. Using the restroom, always knock, sometimes those little locks are confusing, so in order to avoid and embarrassing situation for everyone, dont’ hesitate to check first!

9. Please use all appropriate toiletries and take as short amount of time as possible. Don’t worry about brushing your teeth, washing your face or refreshing your makeup, as long as its timely.

10. Clean up after yourself both in the restroom and on the plane! NO ONE wants to sit in a dirty trashy plane or restroom, so be courteous and caring of those around you. I once saw a woman on the plane who took the floor as her own personal dumping ground, as soon as she got a subscription postcard in a magazine she would let it fall, by the end the place was literally covered, making it messy and slippery! Sometimes we think its just littering and pay little attention to the fact that we could be creating a hazardous situation for ourselves and others!

11. When deplaning, just like at home pick up after yourself as much as possible, don’t assume its the attendants job to clean up after grown human beings beyond vacuming crumbs and picking up pillows and blankets.

Most of all, try (and i know, believe me, how hard it is sometimes with delays and mishaps) to SMILE, keep the communication lines open with staff and passengers and think of others. Conduct yourself the way you would at a guests house. By doing these things, you will ensure to arrive happier and safer as well as giving the gift of pleasant travel to everyone else on the plane!

What happens when you loose your I.D.?

So… You’ve just chased a crazy acrobatic man through the city, jumping around a construction site like a monkey, nearly falling do your death, dueled him on a crane dangling several stories above the worksite, many men have fallen to their death, but you make it.  The chase eventually ends in his demise and now his  cronies are after your blood. You arrive to your hotel room, three large men are standing outside and several scattered on various street corners.  You must vacate the premises without your travel documents.  What do you do next?

Well, in my case there was no large chase, but there was a crime, in the mid-west while at a wedding reception, a truck window was bashed in and my purse was stolen, including all of my i.d., credit cards, cash, etc.  Paniced, alone and leaving the next day.  I phoned the airline first.  They advised me to see if I could obtain copies of my passport which, luckily for me, was at home and any other photo i.d. i could come up with and have someone send it to me and to bring the police report number with me.  So my awesome roommate, scanned it, emailed and faxed it to me at the hotel. 

When I checked in to get my boarding pass I again let them know what happened, showed them the faxes and scanned images on my laptop.  Surprisingly both the airline and the security found the scanned images far more convincing than the paper versions and were going to let me through with out special attention.  However, United was super cool, and stamped me for special security measures… awesome!   So I was padded down and had to go through all the extra measures, thank you United! Bah! 

The extra measures include, this delightful little bureau called Homeland Security that has all the information you didn’t know anyone had and maybe wished they hadn’t.  The chief of security viewed the scanned photo, then called the bureau, they asked me my closest relatives names and the address where I last lived, frightening how much info is out there!  Which I said to the chief and she replied, yeah you’d be surprised how many people are weeded out, I was actually shocked that people try these things in Ohio for crying out loud! I guess that’s why they have this department after all.

1. Don’t Panic! It’s really going to be ok.

2. Phone the airline, let them know what happened.

3. Get police report number or incident number and if possible the police officer’s name and business card, so the airline may call them. 

4.  Have as much back-up data as possible sent to the hotel’s fax machine or your email account for proof, but destroy it immediately after for further security precautions.

5. Don’t worry if you get there and have none of the above, because Homeland Security has all your data anyway! 

I sincerely hope nothing like this happens to you.  However, if it does its nice to know what to expect, cause they know who you are, Bond, James Bond.

Go West Young Man — Frontier Airlines 1-day Sale!

I had the pleasure of flying Frontier last weekend from Denver to Grand Junction and back, short 1-hour flights.  The staff was pleasant, the planes were clean, overall flying with Leonard the Lynx (All their planes have names and pictures of the animals on their tail, a very great touch!) was a great experience!  And today they are having a sale.  They service most larger national hubs, which I had not known before, so give ‘em a shot!

Meet Classic T5

The jewel of JFK’s eye is JetBlue’s new terminal, T5.  Although a bit of a trek from the AirTran, the journey is certainly worth the effort.  JetBlue has changed the airline industry significantly by upping the standards of consumer comforts like t.v. in every chair, more legroom, leather seats, new planes and guilt-free service. 

However, the downside to traveling with them has always been the terminals with cracker-jack food stands and minimal options.  T5 has “jetted” the old Jetblue terminal into the 21st Century and recieves my standing ovation. There is not one thing the JetBlue design team of T5 didn’t get right.  It’s like the Apple I-pod of travel and certain to make people rearrange their schedules to frequent (I certainly will). 

Last Thursday night, I got to take a quick glance and have a meal on my way to Denver.  Upon clearance of security you find yourself in the most enchanting brightly lit and colourful place making all other terminals look like pits of hell.  The dining and convenient travel-friendly shopping is literally at your fingertips.  To your right is a long list of fast-food restaurants, with a delightful dining area right in the middle of all the people watching.  To your left are four delightful restaurants.  

The features, include free Wi-fi throughout the terminal, a variety of shopping and dining selections, computers by each gate that include Internet service and optional food service, able to be ordered right there, paid for by credit card swipe and delivered, right to your seat.  That’s right folks no more juggling your bags and that meal that could possibly spill everywhere, all the while getting cold, they deliver it right to you!  Imagine a world where service is key and your flight attendant is the next best thing to mother’s care, and you’ll get a picture of the lengths JetBlue has gone to exceed themselves.  They really get it, and that’s a company I can go out of my way to support. 

Dining offers several fast food and sit down restaurant options, I chose Aero Nuovo, closest to the entrance, it provides a fabulous ambiance, view perfect for people watching and excellent position to all gates.  The service was impecable, better than most places in the city, they welcome you, ask if you have any questions about any of their restaurants, how much time you have (I had 1/2 an hour, which was just fine for them) and get you in and out as quickly as possible without any fuss.  I ordered linguini with clams and bacon, along with a sweet glass of pinot noir, that settled the blood and the hunger pangs after rush, rush, rushing around the city just in time for me to enjoy a 4-hour hiatus from life.   

The restaurants next door is a steak house called 5Steak, across the way is lovely french bistro La Vie, and a swanky sushi bar Deep Blue, and a variety of retail spaces, including Border’s Bookstore, Ron Jon Surf Shop, LaCoste, etc.  The space is delightfully cheery and bright, modern done right!  In a city and a country where modern has gone dreadfully wrong, where drab minimalism and gray depression was once cheered, colors that delight eyes and soul have been given a great platform in a rather drab outdated airport! 

So I encourage you to go out of your way to share in the delight of this wonderful place, on wherever your drifting takes you!

Welcome to My New Site!

So happy you could join me, I’m delighted to provide travel tips, provided personal reviews, articles, websites, etiquette and any other helpful and enjoyable tid-bits to make your and my travel more “stress-free.” Lord knows, my last few trips have not spared one ounce of drama!  Feel free to send me comments and questions and I will be happy to cover them!  I look forward to making you look like  “classic” “drifters… off to see the world!”