166 rooms on North Laurens Street, a 2018 build, the only downtown Greenville hotel with a true rooftop pool, plus the W XYZ bar, complimentary bicycles, and a design vocabulary that reads younger than every direct competitor in the city.
"The downtown booking for a guest under forty who wants the rooftop pool, the urban room product, and a bar that runs past midnight on weekends. The W XYZ lobby is the most reliable late-night drink in downtown Greenville, and the price band is the most defensible in the design segment."
Aloft Greenville Downtown opened in 2018 inside a six story new build on North Laurens Street, half a block off Main, on the block where downtown Greenville's contemporary hotel stock has been concentrated over the past decade. Aloft is Marriott's loft-inspired design sub-brand, descended from the W Hotels research programme and built around an open lobby, exposed-ceiling rooms, a single signature bar (the W XYZ), and a rooftop pool wherever the local code allows. The Greenville property is the brand's South Carolina flagship and the loudest design-leaning room product in downtown at a true mid-market rate.
The 166 rooms occupy floors two through six, with the rooftop pool deck and the W XYZ bar overflow on the top floor. Rooms are arranged around a central corridor at roughly 28 square metres for the standard king and the urban double queen. The room product is the brand's house style: exposed concrete or plank ceilings, open closet with a hanging rail, a platform bed in a colour-block headboard, a desk that doubles as a coffee table, and a walk-in rain shower in lieu of the brand's previous tub-and-shower combination. Savvy Kings on the corner add a city view; the small number of Aloft Suites on the top floor have small private terraces onto the pool deck.
Food and beverage runs through the W XYZ bar on the ground floor, an open-plan lounge with a small bites menu, a strong cocktail programme, and a weekend DJ programme that consistently makes the room one of the louder late-night drink spots in downtown. The Re:fuel grab-and-go market handles the morning; there is no formal restaurant on site, but South Main is two minutes on foot and the W XYZ kitchen handles a serviceable bar dinner past 10 PM. The rooftop pool deck is the property's headline amenity, the only true rooftop pool in downtown Greenville, with a downtown skyline view and a small bar that runs the summer.
Service is the brand's slightly weaker note; the front desk team turns over more than the older downtown hotels, and the housekeeping team is reliable but operates at brand standard rather than above. Complimentary bicycles run from the lobby and the Swamp Rabbit Trail is three minutes on foot; pets are welcome at a flat fee. Aloft is the editorial booking for a younger downtown traveller, a small bachelor or bachelorette group that wants the rooftop pool at the centre of the calendar, or a solo business stay that prefers the W XYZ bar to the lobby lounges at the larger corporate hotels.
For a small bachelor or bachelorette weekend in downtown Greenville that wants the rooftop pool at the centre of Saturday and the W XYZ bar at the centre of Saturday night, Aloft is, on its own, the right booking. Block five to ten rooms on the same floor, reserve a pool cabana for the afternoon, and book a private W XYZ section for the evening. The Camperdown block and South Main are two minutes out the door for dinner.
For a solo business stay in downtown Greenville that wants the contemporary room product without the AC's rate, Aloft is the right call. The room is clean, the bar handles a one drink client meeting, and the rooftop pool runs as a cleaner Friday afternoon decompression than the gyms at the corporate hotels. Book a Savvy King on the corner for the city view.
For a solo traveller who wants a contemporary downtown room with a quiet rooftop pool, a calm lobby coffee, and a strong bar one floor below the bed, Aloft is the editorial first pick. The property reads younger than the chain hotels in downtown, the room product is fully self-contained, and the bicycle programme makes the Swamp Rabbit Trail a 30 second commitment from the front desk.
5 North Laurens Street
Greenville, SC 29601
United States
5 North Laurens Street, half a block off Main, two minutes on foot to Main Street, three minutes to the Peace Center; GSP airport 25 minutes
166 rooms and suites
Doubles from USD 160/night
Savvy King rooms from USD 200/night
Aloft Suites from USD 320/night
Top suite category to USD 450/night
Check-in: 3:00 PM
Check-out: 12:00 PM
Opened 2018; Marriott Aloft brand; rooftop pool deck
Rooftop pool deck, downtown skyline view
W XYZ bar with weekend DJ programme
Re:fuel grab-and-go market
Complimentary bicycles
24-hour fitness centre
Pet-friendly
Complimentary high speed WiFi
From USD 160/night. Downtown Greenville hotel rates climb across the BMW Performance Center events, Furman commencement, Fall for Greenville, and Euphoria food festival weekends; book six weeks out for those calendar peaks.
See Current Rates →Kessler's 2024 opening directly over the Reedy River and Falls Park, the most architecturally serious hotel built in the upstate in a generation.
Marriott's 197 room AC on South Main, the contemporary alternative to Aloft at a higher rate.
Hyatt's 130 room property two blocks from Main, the other reliable downtown chain.
A ranked shortlist, a special offer worth booking, and the overpriced stay to skip. Straight from the editors.