This weekend we made a quick trip to Milwaukee, MS needed one more Starwood stay to keep his Platinum Status for 2012 — and since I’ll be reaping the benefits while in Asia of the upgrades and comps, I didn’t really complain.  Plus, I’m a guy who traditionally does a mileage runs each year to keep my Premier Exec status with United (btw, I don’t need any more UAL miles this year, so I’m local until 2012.

We opted to stay at the Aloft in Milwaukee, which is right along the river.  I’ve never stayed at an Aloft before.  When I stay at a Starwood property, I usually stay at a W or a Westin.  We pulled into what looked like a relatively newly renovated hotel.  We opted not to valet, but just park in the self park next door.

We checked in and the guy working the front desk didn’t really seem to know what was going on.  He checked us in, confirmed the the SPG Number was properly coded and gave us a coupon for a free water. We asked if he had any recommendations for dinner or a nice little local bar — he said no. He really didn’t know what was going on in the area, but he thought there might be a magazine or something in our room that could help us out.  He was very young and probably just wasn’t informed about customer service — not a major issue.  We like to explore the City on our own and often find that hotel recommendations are truly tourist traps.

The room itself was a decent size and suited our needs pretty well.  It had a pretty firm and creaky king sized bed.  The bathroom was nice — it didn’t have a tub, which I’m OK with — who is really taking a bath in the hotel, right?  Both the water temperature and pressure were great.

The biggest issue with this hotel is the noise.  There appears to be so little insulation or noise proofing you can hear the people talking in neighboring rooms and when someone down the hall closes the door to their room your room shakes.  So many people were leaving the hotel at 07h00 — it was quite a way to wake up on a Sunday morning.

All in all, the hotel was a nice place to stay — and if I have to be in Milwaukee again, I would probably stay here again. It wasn’t high end, but the price was reasonable and if you know the area or have a guide to show you the ropes, this hotel would be a good fit for you.  I am looking forward to trying another Aloft in another City as well.

Do you regularly do mattress runs?  If so, do you stay local or make a little road trip out of it?  What do you think of the Aloft product?  Is it consistent across markets?