Hotel Review: Dulles Aloft

My final stay for Starwood's 4,000 point bonus led me to the Dulles Aloft. I decided to make my final mattress run at the Dulles Aloft due to price $75 and my desire to try the Aloft brand.

The hotel is located in Ashburn and is about 5 miles or 10 minutes away from the airport. Be warned, there is nothing but a gas station near this hotel. To get from the airport, you will want to take the Courtyard Marriott shuttle, which is next door to the Aloft hotel. They share airport transportation.

The check-in desk is right in front of the front door:

Check-in took less than 3 minutes. I was thanked for being a Starwood member and given a certificate for a free soda, water or Poweraid. It was a nice touch and I see Starwood doing this more and more.

I was given a room on the fifth floor. The entire hotel has an upbeat energy to it. It can be seen in the hallways with the colors:

The hotel is in an L Shape. I was given a room on the small end.

The room was tiny. If I was staying here for a long time, it would be way to small for me. When you first enter the room, you are in the bathroom/closet area:

The back of the closet is actually the massive head board of the bed and separates the bedroom from the bathroom:

The room is made for a young person. Ipod dock, next to the bed:

Retro alarm clock for quirkiness:

And on a desk, a box to connect your laptop to stream things on the TV. A card on the box indicated the front desk had all the cables needed to make it work.

The bench was nice in the morning to get ready in the morning. The bathroom had modern fixtures:

The toilet and shower were separated by a mirrored sliding door:

                                     

The hotel advertises oversize showers and it keeps its promise:

Shampoo and shower gel are available in push bottles in the shower:

The hotel has a gym with a few treadmills, elliptical and a bikes:

Free weights (they were missing the 15 pounders), balance balls and a weigh resistance machine, that needed repair.

 Across from the gym was the pool, which was small, but sufficient.

Plenty of places to sit including an interesting canopy:

The rules were very interesting as well:

Outside of the pool was a very nice outdoor lounge area. No one was outside because it was very windy, but they had heat lamps. I could only imagine a 40 degree night, the place would be packed:

 The highlight of any Aloft hotel is the lounge/bar area:

Grab a drink and sit by the fire:

Meet your new friends by the pool table:

 When I arrived, the downstairs was full of energy with a DJ. People were relaxing by the bar, playing pool and surfing the internet (free for everyone).

Sorry for the bad picture

Next to the check-in area is a self-serve food area. It had candy, sandwiches various drinks and breakfast food. Pick what you want and pay the front desk. Prices were the same as gas station:

The Aloft website describes their brand as, "Aloft Hotels is a modern, fresh and fun destinations. Aloft is a hotel that celebrates the individual and gives you freedom to control and customize your travel adventures to fit your personal style. It is a place where walls have been knocked down to create a space that is open in design and open to possibilities. A place where energy flows, personalities mingle and opportunities abound."

I would describe the hotel has an upscale European hostel. Its great for young business travelers. You can come back from work to the hotel and hang by the bar and meet people your age. You can have your alone time, but have a social life. 

I would defiantly stay at Aloft again. It was fun, clean and upbeat. There was this positive energy screaming from the hotel. From the lights outside of the hotel to the music inside, you walk around with a bounce in your step.

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Anatomy of a Mattress Run

This post is dedicated to my grandfather: who does not understand why I participate in this hobby.

The other night, I did a mattress run at the Dulles Sheraton. This is the 2 of 3 mattress runs that I am completing before the end of February. Starwood offered me 4,000 points for each of the next three stays with them. 12,000 Starwood points could earn me 1 night at a W Hotel, 2 nights at a Westin, 3 nights at a Sheraton or 4 nights at Four Points. 12,000 points is way to many for me to leave them on the table by not participating in this offer. This was a targeted offer (expired now), others have reported being offered 1 free night after 1 stay, some have received nothing. 
 

Back to the reason for this post: educating my Grandfather. I mentioned the other day to my grandfather that I was spending the night at a hotel this weekend. He asked “why?” and I quickly responded that it was to earn extra points. “Isn’t it a waste of money,” he quickly responded. I tried a quick rebuttal, but nothing was getting through.

That got me to thinking. What is the purpose of a Mattress Run?

There are three positive outcomes that people expect from a mattress run.

1)      Free Night Certificates

2)      Bonus Points

3)      Earning or Keeping Status

Free Night Certificates

Sometimes hotel chains have promotions that require you to stay X times to earn a free night to spend at a future time. For example, Starwood offered some members the ability to stay one night and earn a free night to spend at any category 1-6 hotels. More likely, hotel chains require you to spend 2 or 3 nights to earn a free night like the current Marriott MegaBonus. Under the MegaBonus promotion, those who register here, have the ability to earn a free night after spending 2 stays at any Marriott between February 1 and April 30^th. You can learn more about Mega Bonus here.

Would I go on a mattress run to complete this promotion? No and yes.

I would not complete two one night mattress runs in order to get the free night., but some might. For example, if you are taking a trip to Ankara, Turkey, a Friday night stay at the Marriott (Category 4) will cost $250. A stay at Courtyard by Marriott close to IAD, on the weekend, could cost you about $75 all-in. Therefore, by spending $150 and some of your time, you could earn a free night. However, there is a chance that the hotel might be out of free nights, when you want to go.

Let’s change the scenario. Say you have already planned a stay at a Marriott for a quick weekend trip or work. Would I book a mattress run? In this situation, I would. One stay is already booked and paid for; leaving only one left for the free night. A quick stay at a inexpensive Marriott could result in significant savings, when you  decide to use your free night.

Bonus Points

Sometimes hotel chains offer bonus points, on top of the normal points one earns, for staying at one of their hotels.  Chains have offered any where from 1,000 upward of 50,000 bonus points for staying one night. For example, at the end of 2012, Hilton offered 1,000 points for each weekend night spent. Would I complete a mattress run for 1,000 bonus points? No, I can’t think of a single hotel program where 1,000 points justifies the time and cost of a mattress run.

Noted above, I am completing mattress runs for 4,000 Starwood points for each stay. Would I do a mattress run for 4,000 Hilton, Club Carlson or Marriott points, probably not. Starwood points are very valuable. The cost of my night at the Four Points San Diego, in September was 4,000 Starwood points or $150. My latest mattress run cost me $71 all-in. If I decided to use those points to stay at the Four Points San Diego, I am getting my room for half –out: $71 mattress run cost vs. paying $150 out right. In addition, Starwood points can be transferred to many airlines at a 1:1 ratio. 4,000 American Airlines, US Airways, or Delta miles for $71, a bargain, if I say so myself.

However, there are some offers that are to good to sit on sideline. For the past two years, Club Carlson has offered 50,000 points for staying one night. 50,000 points, at Club Carlson, will get you one free night at their top tier hotels. Chris & his GF did mattress runs, during the most recent promotions, to stay at the Radisson Blu London and Amsterdam. Normally, the cost to stay at those two hotels is $225-$300 per night. Chris & GF earned their 50,000 points on $75 stays. Their $75 mattress runs bought them stays at hotels costs a minimum $225 per night.

Mattress running for hotel bonus points is sometimes justified. How many bonus points makes a mattress run worth it? That's a personal choice and really depends on your goals.

Earning or Keeping Status

By November or December of each year, we see an increase in mattress running for the sole purpose of keeping status. Hotel status can give you upgrades, free breakfast, and ability to earn more points. For some people, having status justifies the need to mattress run at the end of the year. I am one of these people. At the end of last year, I was given an opportunity to keep my Gold status at Hilton for staying 4 times in 90 days. I already had two stays planned, leaving me two shy. I went mattress running, which I detail here and here.

Gold status at Hilton gives me breakfast, the ability to get upgrades (sometimes) and 25% bonus on my base points. In Tokyo, I got upgraded to club level, which gave me breakfast, afternoon tea, and evening appetizers. Having a place to eat everyday, in a foreign city, is important. My experience in Tokyo justifies my need to keep my Gold status.

Mattress running for status can be the hardest to justify. One does not earn anything tangible after the mattress run(s). One could say "status" is tangible, but is it? With free nights and bonus points, the benefit is yours immediately after your stay. Status can only be used on future stays. What happens if work "grounds" you or forces you to stay at Hilton only on work trips, when you have top status at Starwood. Then the benefit of mattress running to keep your status is diluted. Yes, you have your personal trips, but many people mattress run to support both business and personal hotel stays especially those trying for higher status.

Conclusion 

Mattress running can result in free night certificates, bonus points and earning or keeping status. All of these outcomes are very valuable in being successful in the game. However, mattress running comes at a cost in the form of money and time. It is important to remember to deduct the cost of every mattress run from your travel budget. When you mattress run, you are in essence prepaying for future stays. Do I mattress run every offer? Of course not! As with any aspect of the game, if the result of the offer does not support my goals, I don't participate.

I can't tell you when mattress running is right. The decision when to mattress run is a personal one.
The cost of hotel stay and time can be great, but the result can be very beneficial.

Hotel Review: Le Meridien Arlington

Le Meridien Arlington is looked a short walk from the Rosslyn Metro system (located on the Blue and Orange Lines). I have walked by this building for years and never knew it was a hotel until about six months ago.

A combination of promotions (described here) led me to do a last minute hotel stay.

You enter the front door and you are greeted by a dog food bowl/food. I don't know if the hotel is pet friendly, but this is a positive sign.

Entering on the ground level, you are asked to go to the fourth floor to check-in. At 8pm, no one was at the ground floor to greet you, but when I checked out their was an employee who asked if I needed a cab.

The building is half a hotel and half condominium. Therefore, there are signs on some elevators indicating they are only for condominium residents.

The lobby of the hotel is small with the check-in desk directly in front of the elevators.

Check-in was a breeze with nothing more than a few questions:

Are you staying for one night? Yes

Do you need one or two room keys? Two

Do you need the mini bar key? No.

After those questions, I was sent to my room on the sixth floor.

I was given room 602, at the end of the hallway.

The hotel is curved on one side. Therefore, room 602 is the smallest on the floor. I check on other floors and the xx2 room is the smallest throughout the hotel. Therefore, I would avoid this room for its size and noise (to be discussed later).

When you enter the room, you have a small hallway and the bathroom is directly to the right.

The bathroom was a little cramped, but had very modern fixures.

The shower had a rain shower head and was very roomy.

If you are a bath type person, the tub was extra wide and angled deep on one side and shallow on the other.

The hotel provided squirt bottles with shampoo, conditioner and body wash. I only hope that they get cleaned between guests; otherwise, eww...

The bathroom door was rolling, but easier to move than at other Starwood hotels.

The room was very small. It was ok for one person, but two people would feel crowded.

The closet was a great size. I would recommend keeping your suitcase in there; otherwise, space would be tight.

It took me some time to find the dresser and finally found it to be "end table," to the left of the bed. It was very narrow to get to it, so don't expect to bring your suitcase to the dresser.

The right "end table" held the mini bar and snack cabinet. It was suppose to be locked (the front desk asked if I needed the key), but it wasn't. I forgot to take a picture. The desk had multiple electric outlets and places to plug into the network.

When I went to bed, the noise from the heating units outside my window was very loud. At first, I thought it was landing planes, as the hotel is in the path of the airport. However, flights end at midnight and the noise did not. The next morning I found the culprit:

Due to the shape of the building, any room numbered 2 will have this noise all night long.

The hotel had a great gym on the third floor of the hotel. It is shared with the condominium owners.

I worked out twice. Once when I arrived and the next morning.

The hotel has many sitting areas to the left and right of the check-in desk.

I decided to eat breakfast at their restaurant, Amuse.There is little to eat in Rosslyn, on the weekends. All the fast food restaurants are open, but if you want real food expect to go to Georgetown over the bridge.

Amuse is a nicely decorated restaurant with a bar area in the front.

The dining area is in the back. The dining area is filled with natural light with floor to ceiling windows that over look the Potomac and Georgetown. The restaurant has outdoor seating, but it was foggy  rainy and cold, when I ate there.

The breakfast offers were two buffets: cold and hot. The cold buffet was $8 and included fruit, pastries, cereal and yogurt:

The hot buffet was $15 included everything on the cold buffet, eggs, pancakes, french toast, sausage, bacon etc.

I choose the hot buffet and it was terrible. The food was luke warm and rubbery. I should have gone with my gut and stuck with the cold buffet. Juice, coffee and tea were included with either buffet.

The stay was ok. The location of the hotel is amazing. Rosslyn is located on two metro lines that get you into Washington, DC downtown or the monuments within 10 minutes. If you are driving, the hotel is within 3 minutes of multiple major highways. However, the hotel does not offer much. It is not a great hotel for families as there is no pool or places for the kids to run around. For business people, this hotel is great. Easy access to DC, Reagan National Airport or other places in Northern Virginia.