By Donna M. Airoldi
Special to DNAinfo
HARLEM — Aloft Harlem, the neighborhood's much-anticipated new hotel that's been delayed for months, is expected to open Thursday — sort of.
The 124-room property at Frederick Douglas Boulevard and West 124th Street will have its "soft opening" Thursday, but don't bother calling for a reservation right away. They won't be accepted until Dec. 9. Online reservations have been pushed back to Dec. 17.
This isn't the first time the hotel’s opening has been delayed. Aloft Harlem was initially scheduled to welcome guests on June 1. Then it was July 1, followed by Aug. 19, which was pushed back to Oct. 15. Then Oct. 21, Nov. 11, and Dec. 2.
"That’s construction in New York City. Delays," said Austin Jacobson, a spokeswoman for the hotel. "It's nothing serious, things just always tend to move a little slower than expected."
The term "soft opening" in the hotel industry means when a new property takes in guests even though construction might not be completed, or all services fully operational. It's not clear whether there will be guests staying at the Aloft between Dec. 2 and 9. One front desk staffer said there would be people staying there, but Jacobson wasn’t so sure.
Even so, Aloft won’t be celebrating its grand opening — meaning that everything is up and running and any kinks in service have been worked out — until mid-January, according to Jennifer Cust, the hotel’s desk supervisor, who gave DNAinfo a sneak peek of the property earlier this week.
Aloft is the more affordable, little-sister chain to the luxury boutique W Hotels brand, both of which are part of Starwood Hotels & Resorts. The entire Harlem hotel is smoke-free. Rooms are contemporary and spare but feel fairly spacious, especially those with a view, and include shower-only bathrooms with Bliss amenities, hair dryers, coffee/tea makers, safes large enough for most laptops, high-speed and wireless Internet access, and audio-visual components that allow guests to connect their computers to in-room flat-screen TVs.
There’s a 24-hour access fitness room with free weights on the basement level, open only to hotel guests and owners of the condos connected to the property.
Public areas — equipped with free Wi-Fi — include: the lobby, with a news ticker near the ceiling, a shopping area, and a computer where guests can print boarding passes; a seating area with books, games and a pool table; a café for light bites and beverages for under $10; and the W XYZ bar.
W XYZ, which will be open from 5 p.m. to midnight and offer $9-$13 specialty drinks, and bar snacks, also will begin hosting special events in January with live music, DJs and art exhibits, Cust said.
Construction was still going on Monday outside the main entrance and in the lobby area near the front desk, and the bar and café hadn’t yet been stocked, but Jacobson insisted that all would be in place by Thursday.
"They were putting in the final touches, ensuring everything is perfect and ready to go," she said.
Aloft Harlem is offering an opening rate of $239 per night.
