I just returned from my stay at the aLoft. Everything was perfect! The hotel is situated above the new Charlotte EpiCenter. There's a full movie theater, bowling alley w/ billards, nightclubs (Suite and Mez), shopping (clothing boutiques, jewelry, etc), restaurants (from bar/ grills to steak to Five Guys Burgers) and action! Everything except PJ's Coffee and Five Guys closes at 2AM. The rooms were nice and quiet. Some of the things mentioned in the previous reviews are true. However, I'm very discriminating and I LOVED IT! Thanks to the previous reviews, I had no trouble finding the EpiCenter parking entrance. Yes, parking was $10, but hotel guests have in and out privileges. There's also real security in the parking deck. As a woman, I felt safe. Yes, you do have to go up to the 5th floor to get to the lobby. With everything going on at the EpiCenter, I actually preferred to be situated above the action. Members of the staff were very personable and quite accommodating. The beds were also very comfortable. Oh, you can also play chess or pool/ billards in the lobby while sipping on a cocktail. There is no restaurant/ vending machines/ ice makers, but they do have an area (24 hours) with a variety of healthy snacks, fresh wraps, fruit, hot breakfast sandwiches ( made to order), sundries and even Cheesecake Factory cheesecake. This place was really funky and contemporary, yet comfortable. I'm glad I gave this place a chance. A friend of mine suggested a more traditional hotel on Trade, but this place best suited my needs. This is definitely my hotel of choice for all future visits to Charlotte.

My first Aloft experience was unfortunately a disaster and was very disappointed in being a big Starwood fan.

First problem -- they need to change the address of the hotel. The entrance to the hotel is near the corner of 4th and S. College St. The listed address is for the entire EpiCentre which is composed of shops and restaurants.

Second problem -- made the mistake of self-parking in the EpiCentre garage ($20/day) that was designed incorrectly according to the engineer on site. They forgot to install an elevator on the lower parking levels. And there's no direct elevator from the garage to the hotel lobby. My advice is to valet should you stay here.

Third problem -- once I found the elevators off of College St. they were broken and unable to take them to the 5th floor where the lobby of the hotel is located.

Fourth problem -- If your room faces down on the EpicCentre be prepared to hear loud music playing till 2 AM. If you want to sleep you'll need earplugs even if you're on the 15th floor.

There are a few positives amongst the wreckage: Good location, rooms are brand new, HD TV, free internet, and a comfortable bed.

I would only recommend this hotel to someone looking for a "dorm like" experience.

I just spent two nights at this hotel, and it is very nice in many ways, but there are things you need to know before staying here.

Parking: I personally don't mind paying extra for parking, but you need to know ahead of time that it is $20/night for valet and $10 if you park yourself. The valet is on College, not Trade, if you drive straight to 210 Trade you will need to loop around the Epicentre and find the valet on College, or route your trip so you come up College to avoid the ride around the block.

Room: We had a room with double beds and they were fine, we did have a third guest show up and instead of a cot or roll-away they have a twin size air mattress that they brought us (different, but it worked). I didn't find the a/c as bad as others, but I took the advice of someone else and turned the fan to on from the digital thermostat on the wall so that it would not be turning on an off during the night. A/C unit cannot be controlled on the unit itself, you have to use the thermostat. One complementary bottle of water in the room each day, and there is a small refrigerator under the sink which was a nice surprise. No drawers and very little "closet space", be prepared to live out of your suitcase.

Location/Nightlife: You could not ask for a much better location for going out in Uptown Charlotte. The Epicentre has many bars and restaurants and there are countless other options within a short walking distance. The hotel bar (which is in the lobby) was definitely a popular hangout for homosexual men on Friday night, that was not our scene so we moved on to the other bars quite promptly.

All in all it was a great trip and this hotel was quite a steal for $79/night (+Parking)

I will start off by saying that we found no basis for the negative comments posted about this hotel, with a few exceptions. We were looking for a reasonably priced hotel, centrally located so we could enjoy downtown Charlotte's bars and restaurants, and the Aloft is perfectly situated for that. The hotel does not have a large presence on the street, so it is a little difficult to find...you'll find it on College just up from Blackfinn's restaurant...there is a little valet sign on the street. The lobby is on the 5th floor of the building.

The lobby is very modern and colorful, fitting the image of a hip, youthful place to stay. It is definitely not stuffy. The receptionist, who was very polite and friendly, told us as we checked in that the entire lobby turned into a lounge at 5:00 p.m. We made a note to check it out and then went to our room. We had a king room, which we found to be compact but extremely well laid out...no space was wasted so we did not feel cramped. The bed was very comfortable, faced the windows and a large flat screen TV. The bathroom and the furnishings and textiles throughout the room were modern and appealing. I especially liked the shampoo and bodywash, which were provided in dispensers mounted on the shower wall, instead of in teeny little bottles on the sink. The bath products were quite nice. They also provide current magazines in the bathroom, including Spin, Wired and a couple of others. They were the latest editions.

We headed out in the late afternoon for some drinks, and the location of the hotel was very close to the places we wanted to go, including the two excellent Irish pubs, Connolly's and Ri Ra. After having a margarita and then a couple of pints, we headed back to the hotel to get ready for dinner. The lounge was starting to get busy, so we stopped in the lounge for mojitos before leaving the hotel again for dinner. The drinks were excellent and the lounge furniture was extremely comfortable, and of course the wait staff was friendly. We had another round of mojitos after returning from dinner.

We slept reasonably well, although there is a club in the Epicenter that was busy until after 2:00, and we could hear the music even on the hotel's 15th floor. Also, the plush, down duvet on the bed was a little too warm for me and I would have liked to have had another, thinner blanket to choose from.

We definitely would return to this hotel, and will stay there again the next time we are in Charlotte. Unlike most downtown hotels, the wi-fi at the Aloft was free, and they even gave us a free bottle of water in the room. Most places would charge an outrageous price for that.