A new hotel property near Walt Disney World is ready to welcome guests and it shared an inside look.
The 140-room Aloft Orlando Lake Buena Vista officially opened Feb. 4 at 7950 Palm Parkway, east of the theme park giant. Construction on the Mount Dora-based Southern Hospitality Management & Development property began in early 2019.
Aloft is a brand of Marriott International Inc. that advertises a modern, chic boutique hotels. There are 17 Aloft hotels in Florida with three, including this new property, in the Orlando area.
Check out a look inside the new Aloft Orlando Lake Buena Vista hotel in the gallery above.
"This is a new generation 4 prototype that Marriott redesigned after the Starwood/Marriott merger. The design and functionality in the lobby and bar have changed entirely and been redesigned for a great consumer experience," Southern Hospitality CEO Sandip Patel told Orlando Business Journal.
Here's what General Manager Rachid Alaoui shared about the hotel:
Aloft Orlando-Lake Buena Vista blends design, style and technology for the savvy traveler. Energy flows and personalities mingle in the vibrant social scene of WXYZ bar featuring live music, signature cocktails and tasty bites.
Future growth
The hotel is one of many other projects Southern Hospitality has in the works in Central Florida.
"We are finishing up construction on two new projects: One in St. Petersburg and the other a 164-room TownePlace Suites by the Orlando airport that will open May 2021," said Patel. "We continue to be opportunistic and are working on identifying new hospitality developments in the Central Florida market."
The company sees potential for other properties in the Celebration and Lake Nona areas.
Something that may help future hotel development is the return of more travel, which has been slow due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Experts have looked at the increase in coronavirus vaccinations to help reassure travelers.
Patel agreed: "As vaccinations increase, travel restrictions will be removed, which will give consumers more confidence to travel safely. We are anticipating a demand in travel to Central Florida in the summer."
The average national hotel occupancy rate was 40.4% as of Jan. 30, according to STR LLC, a Hendersonville, Tennessee-based hotel data firm. That's down from roughly 57% for the same period a year ago. The average local hotel occupancy rate was 33.3% for the week ending Jan. 30, down from 76% for the year-ago period.
Sign up here for our free morning and afternoon daily newsletters. And be sure to follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.