Aloft hotel opens in Henrico

For the first time yesterday, guests woke up in the new 135-room Aloft Richmond West hotel in West Broad Village.

It was a welcome milestone for the hotelier, which has been embroiled in a court battle with the center's developer.

"It is good to be going, considering all the challenges," said Samantha Bean, a sales manger at the boutique hotel.

Aloft opened Thursday. It was among more than a dozen hotels planned or under construction this year.

It is geared primarily toward business customers, but yesterday it counted members of the reggae band the Wailers as guests.

Aloft is in a five-story building in the development along West Broad Street in the Short Pump area of western Henrico County. The hotel occupies the upper four floors; most of the first floor is for retail. A federal judge granted a temporary injunction last week that allows the owners of the hotel to maintain ownership of the building and to market retail space in the building to prospective tenants.

A hearing for a permanent injunction scheduled for yesterday was rescheduled for Sept. 2.

Aloft is a higher-end brand of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. and its W Hotels division.

The hotel's open lobby is decorated with modern couches and chairs and is stocked with board games and a pool table.

"We wanted this [lobby] to be the kind of place where people come down and network instead of sitting up in their rooms," said Allyson Green, also a sales manager on the property.

The lobby also has a bar and a lounge with a gas fireplace. Dead center in the lobby is a round check-in desk.

"This allows us to break down the barriers and put ourselves in the middle of what's happening," Bean said.

The hotel caters to travelers who are used to upscale urban designs.

"Today's savvy, design-conscious consumers understand that great style can be both accessible and affordable," said Brian McGuinness, Starwood's a senior vice president and global brand leader.

Room amenities include 9-foot ceilings, 42-inch TVs and platform beds. Aloft said it expects rooms to cost about $125 per night, but some were available for $89 last night.

The hotel also features a full-size conference room and gym.

About 40 Aloft properties will open globally by the end of 2009.

Aloft is the latest upscale hotel to open up in western Henrico County.

In May, a Hotel Sierra opened at the rear of the Short Pump Town Center. Sierra is an extended-stay hotel geared mostly for business travelers.

The Westin Richmond Hotel opened at West Broad Street and Forest Avenue just off Interstate 64, in December.

Jack Berry, president and CEO of the Richmond Metropolitan Convention & Visitors Bureau, said there has been a drop off in corporate travel, but the hotels shouldn't suffer too much because of the mix of visitors who travel to the Richmond area.

"We don't depend on one particular market," he said.

Contact Louis Llovio at (804) 649-6348 or .