virtual hotel stay

W's younger budget-conscious (but still hip) spin off hotel, aloft, opened it's first location in the virtual online world, Second Life. It was a way for W's design team to study how people live, travel, and socialize, and react to design elements of the aloft concept. Even the design production was done in virtuality, with team meetings conducted online in a SimCity-esque video game format.

Rooms in aloft resembles a modern studio loft, with higher ceilings, sexy open bathrooms, modern environmentally-sustainable materials, and wide rooms to allow the bed to be positioned towards the window wall. Amenities are few (who needs amenities when you are young, active and mobile?), but includes innovative concepts like a take-away counter (in lieu of a restaurant) stocked with gourmet box meals and snacks, a environmentally friendly "backyard" lounge with a plunge pool, a nightclub-like bar/lounge, and small yet efficient state of the art workout room. While aloft has been open in the virtual world for almost a year now, about 20 has broken ground this year (opening in 2008) with a goal of 500 properties worldwide by 2012.