Aloft

Sometimes when you’re traveling you just want a cool place to crash – no need for luxury resort amenities that you won’t use but will still impact your room rate. You don’t want to share a swimming pool, restaurant, bar, gift shop or lobby with a bunch of rambunctious kids, uptight corporate automatons or honeymooners who can’t keep their hands off each other. Aloft is your spot: A hotel near the Galleria from the folks behind W Hotels that keeps everything geared for the single, trendy traveler. Each of the 153 rooms feature nine-foot, loft-like ceilings, oversized windows, stylish bathrooms with walk-in showers and multiple high-tech features. In short, the rooms rock. But instead of several in-house dining and recreational options, a one-stop food and beverage lounge offers healthy dishes, snacks and drinks to grab and go, 24 hours a day, plus a colorful, casual bar/lounge called wxyz and a small but functional re:mix lobby with computers and a pool table to hook up with fellow travelers. Here, it’s all about the crib.
Great news for frequent travelers: Aloft is from Starwood, which also owns the Westin, Sheraton, The Luxury Collection, St. Regis, Meredian and W chains, so pile up those points.