We're still pretty excited about yesterday's news that the David Whitney building will become a boutique hotel in the Aloft brand (part of the Starwood Hotel corporation which also runs the W Brand hotels). As there are no renderings yet, we took a little trip through the online Aloft (uh-lawft) portfolio to pick through interiors from their hotel holdings. Flip through the visuals and our two-cents to see what might lie ahead for downtown Detroit's upcoming boutique hotel.
1. First off, the top images from a Chicago Aloft Hotel both delight and repel us. That signage atop the building best not try and make a landing on the David Whitney. We're also not fans of the color scheme in the lobby which seems a bit too neon. But we think we spot Bertoia chairs on that patio so obviously someone with a bit more taste in decor is on staff.
2. Once again, what is up with the lobby? Here in Brooklyn, New York at Aloft, it looks like Hello Kitty picked the banner there below the check-in counter. On the positive side, we dig the bathrooms and the outdoor space wins us over once again.
3. By now we see that Aloft hotels stick pretty close to their design themes no matter the location. These images from the Tulsa, Oklahoma hotel aren't that different except for that overdone disaster that is the lobby. Here is hoping the Detroit version is a bit toned down for that wonderful atrium this brand is getting their hands on.
Bottom line: Meh. They're all pretty much the same but then again we could be getting a wild card for such a historic building. In general the brand seems like a poor man's less-modern, more-colorful version of the Standard Hotels, which would have been our top pick. Not that anyone asked.
· David Whitney Building Books a Partnership For Boutique Hotel [Curbed Detroit]
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