I thought I would add my 2 cents about the new Aloft hotels since I just stayed in one. Aloft is like a mini-W hotel ...part of the Starwood chain and specifically a spin-off of W. I'm more of a Westin/Sheraton type of girl. I checked out Aloft since I just needed a quick overnight for getting an early morning flight. So I didn't need amenities like a restaurant etc. My mom stayed with me as well.

I'd say "IKEA meets W". The lobby is a little juvenile. Cute friendly girl in a t-shirt at the reception desk - like going to the local ice cream shop with an open area with snacks, coffee etc - their "marketplace" - somewhat nicer than the stop n shop. The space is open, very modern museum, in fact. We didn't really care about the lobby. Just wanted to go to sleep since we had to get up early. We loved the room. Big comfy beds with fluffy duvets, free Internet, smart plug-in bar to hook your iPod/Zune, laptop, whatever to their 40" flat panel t.v. and sound system. Great layout for the open bathroom. I wanted to take a shower just because it was so cool, but I didn't feel like getting up that much earlier. Everything was simple, but beautiful and comfortable.  In fact, the room was just as comfortable and stylish as one of the big brother hotels.  I think the only place where it was noticeably "lower end" was the lobby experience. But that's actually the concept. When you are just doing a fly in/fly out...why bother with all of that stuff? But you don't have to give up the comfort of an elegant room just to save a few bucks. We paid about $100+tax for the room. I might not stay at an Aloft on business travel, when  I have to camp out for a few days, but for anything else, it's perfect.