Everything was great except for the following:

The parking deck in relation to hotel is a joke and the entrance to the parking deck is not the address of the hotel.

In a maze of big city skyscrapers and one way streets, the VERY small Aloft" sign and address of the hotel is like finding a needle in a haystack.

I am very familiar with uptown Charlotte. I can't imagine how difficult it would be for someone who is not familiar with the city.

The worst part is the hotel fire alarm is connected to the entire EpiCenter. So if the fire alarm goes off at the Epicentere or someone pulls the fire alarm as a joke anywhere in the hotel and/or the EpiCentre, it alarms everywhere.
And to add to the fury, the staff at the hotel didn't even know if there was really a fire at the hotel, somewhere else or no fire at all.

We stayed up pretty late, yet the fire alarm woke us up on three separate occasions between the hours of 2:30 a.m. and 4:30a.m.

Other than those things, my experience would have been perfect.

The problems listed above are not the fault of the hotel staff. With that being said, the staff was great.

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)