I am in the process of looking for a hotel room in New Orleans. Any tips? I would like a room on Bourbon for under $200 a night. I have found a room at the Royal Sonesta for $164/night. By the way, two of us are going and we will arrive on the 18th and depart on 20th.
Ah...The Royal Sonesta. It is in a perfect location on Bourbon St. Let me tell you about my experience there last summer. I have a friend that went with us, and the company he works for gets a discount at Royal Sonesta. So we were going to be able to get a standard room for $99/night. Sounds like a great deal, right? Well, we got there and none of our rooms were ready. It wasn't a big deal, but we decided to complain just to see what would happen. Within 10 minutes they had given all of us (4 couples) new and better rooms. The room my wife and I got was by far the best. A suit located on Bourbon St with a balcony that stretched around the hotel. The balconey was probably at least 25 yards long. We were still able to stay there for 3 days at 99/night. I asked the people at the front desk how much that room normally cost a night, and they said it was $875!!! So, the moral of my story is....when you get there, complain about your room. Even if there is nothing wrong with it, make something up. You just might get lucky like we did.
don't forget bed & breakfasts... there are tons around and in the quarter. you can get one for around $99 on up! I've stayed here... it's like an old apartment complex, it had a full kitchen... it was clean and had a bed and a living room... http://www.frenchquarterannex.com/rates.htm I've stayed here as well... http://www.garlandsguesthouse.com/ but their prices went up recently, if you stay here, make sure you get a room that has it's own climate control. the room i stayed in had climate control, but it controlled two rooms, so the other people were always bugging to turn the air up or down... blah!
I've actually stayed there on business and it was ok...Great location and rooms are pretty decent...I did the same thing and got something in the courtyard upstairs and downstairs... Ah, the sweet smell of urine, vomit...The worst smells in the world come from Bourbon Street...I can't stand it...Great food though...
Pick your place based on if you want to party or enjoy the beauty of the city. The city has two sides to it.
love New Orleans! Royal Sonesta is the way to freaking go. No doubt about it. There are other nice hotels in the French Quarter..Bienville House is one. Otherwise, do a bed and breakfast in the Garden District. Really reasonable rates, even at high tourist times...and you can catch the trolley across Canal into the Quarter really easily.
My favorite city in the US. There is definitely life beyond the quarter though. My wife and I usually stay at Iberville Suites which are co-located with the Ritz Carlton. The Ritz faces Canal while Iberville faces......Iberville. The place has really nice rooms and a very accomodating staff. It's one block over to Bourban, so you can walk their in less than five minutes. When you finally do decide to go to sleep, you'll actually have a bit more quiet. Have a great time. It's a wonderful city.
Thanks for all your input. I have been several times to N.O., but I was never in charge of the hotel booking. I have stayed at Hotel Monteleone (sp?), Royal Sonesta, and Courtyard by Marriot on Canal. We plan to stay around the French Quarter area because of the shortness of the trip. I liked staying at Royal Sonesta the best because of its easy access to Bourbon, but I want to try out a different place. Has anyone stayed at the Ramada Inn on Bourbon?