I am a Professor at a large Midwestern university and I stayed at the Aloft 4 nights during a recent business/pleasure trip to Minneapolis. It turns out this was during a big NCAA basketball tournament in the Twin Cities, and the hotel was full. In addition to my very positive reviews of this hotel (above), I would like give special recognition to Aree, the front desk manger. She did an excellent job and went out of her way to help me out. During my first night at the hotel, the heater in my room broke down and Aree promptly facilitated my move to another (better) room; she also gave me a free breakfast coupon. While this seems like a simple set of transactions, it was not, and involved calls to an outside contractor (who fixes the heaters at the Aloft) as well as internal discussions with several hotel staff that came down to her educating them about the best course of action to follow, based on Marriott’s SOPs. During the rest of my visit, Aree was unfailingly pleasant and ready to help out with any needs. I should note that I sensed immediately upon my arrival that Aree was in command of the knowledge- and people- skills necessary to be an effective manager. In fact, hope that on my next visit to the Aloft she has been promoted to a position with wider influence in the Marriott organization!