A First Look at The New Aloft Philadelphia Downtown Hotel

The Arch Street elevation of the Aloft Hotel shows how the building is designed to transition from the Convention Center's modernist entrance to its own Italianate design.

This fuller view of the check-in desk and re:mix shows the high coffered ceiling and ornamentation.

The check-in desk looked more like a construction staging area, but Evans assured us that it would be in ship shape for Thursday.

The desk against the far wall is what this hotel calls its "business center." Evans explained that the re:mix space is designed with the younger crowd in mind: "Millennials want to engage with each other even if they're just sitting next to each other texting on their cell phones."

One of the original design elements adapted to new use in the hotel is this brass-plated cage. It originally housed the elevator to the vault and now houses the wheelchair lift from the street.

The Liberty Title & Trust Company seal shows up as a design element in all the hotel rooms as well.

A news ticker is a standard design element of Aloft hotel lobbies. Evans said, "We decided to have a little fun with ours" - it's installed in the archway leading from the lobby to the elevators.

The seating area at w xyz, the Aloft's bar. Look carefully - you should spot a crack in the lamp over the table, another homage to Liberty Title.

The sheets against the far window are cocktail cheat sheets used to familiarize the bar staff during a practice run the preceding day.

w xyz's soaring bar backdrop.

Another nod to the digital age: power and data ports at every bar seat.

Three smaller buildings were demolished to create the hole that this deck fills. Attached to the bar, it extends the space outdoors, with a fire pit...

...and an excellent view of the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts across the street.

Hotel staff were being trained in the hotel's conference room.

In place of a restaurant and room service, Aloft hotels feature a grab 'n' go convenience store called re:Fuel. (The restaurant fridge at the rear will be replaced by one with glass doors.)

In addition to snacks and beverages, re:Fuel stocks a menu of foods prepared fresh in-house.

Each of the rooms has a distinctive layout, but all have the same furniture, which staff unpack from a box for quick setup.

This 19th-floor room has the bed, bench, desk and large-screen TV in the main sleeping area. Every room's closet includes a safe, a coffee station, and an iron and ironing board.

Like the layouts, the views vary depending on location. This room has a view of the Ben Franklin Bridge.

Another room on the 19th floor has a C-shaped layout that separates bed, desk and bathroom.

The bathroom in the C-shaped unit.

Evans pointed out the shampoo and body wash dispensers, which eliminate waste from individual bottles. Guests have responded favorably to these, he said.

The headboards in each room feature a print incorporating the Liberty Title logo.

The bench and desk share the corridor of the C-shaped 19th-floor room. There's a mini-fridge beneath the desk as well.

The hotel's fitness center occupies the old bank vault.

It's outfitted with top-of-the-line Life Fitness equipment.

The safe deposit counting booth doors were salvaged and reused as part of the fitness center decor.

The vault itself will contain a stretching room and storage space.

This interior corridor connects the hotel's street floor with the Broad Street lobby of the Convention Center; a local artist painted the mural that enlivens the passage.