St. Louis Hotel - New Orleans, USA     

The hotel is about 12 steps to Bourbon Street, so if you are wanting a place close by stay here. Check in took awhile, for some reason they were having a shift change and we had to wait about 20 minutes. The room was beautiful and clean although there was not a remote for TV. The bathroom floor was very nasty, so make sure you wear your flip flops in there. We asked for more towels from housekeeping and she had none on the cart and would bring some but never did. In the mornings, they have breakfast in the courtyard and music is played early, it felt like it was 7:00 am or so. All in all, it was very convenient and affordable, the courtyard was gorgeous, I spent a couple of hours reading out there one day.

My law firm held a conference in New Orleans for the first time and we decided, after some scouting, to settle on the St. Louis to host our conference and lodge our attendees. To be completely frank, when we read some of the old reviews on TripAdvisor (didn't know the site existed before this) we literally almost broke our contract, but I'm glad we did not. After speaking directly to the Sales Manager, "Bonnie", to address our concerns over what we read I was guaranteed a great stay and that's exactly what we got. I do not regret a thing. The Hotel: I had visited New Orleans before and also previously stayed in the French Quarter, but never at the St. Louis. While doing research on the hotels in the area, I liked the St. Louis because it is located right off of Bourbon street, but not directly on the street itself . . . so you are steps from the fun but not in the 'midst of the madness' like some of the other properties that line the strip. However, to echo some of the other comments I've read, I will say that if you are looking for a 'quiet and relaxing' vacation I would not recommend staying in most of the hotels that line Bourbon St. The French Quarter (even post-Katrina) is literally loud and bustling 24 hours a day; if you've been to Vegas or Brazil/Trinidad during their Carnivals then you know what I am talking about. If you are looking for a nice/clean hotel to crash in that is centrally located with an some 'old world N.O.' charm (the property could use a spot of paint and a little TLC in certain areas), then I would definitely recommend staying there. This is not a slick-5 star boutique hotel (I have stayed at my share in NYC), but it most certainly has an N.O. charm and presence all it's own. Check-in: I had a huge group and the Front desk did everything possible to make sure the bulk of our attendees were lodged with a smile by their 4 p.m. check-in time, but the staff is small staff and can get easily overwhelmed. If it gets crazy, the front desk will check your luggage and tell you to come back a bit later as they get your room ready (I highly suggest grabbing a bite to eat or cocktail while you wait). The Rooms: We had a huge booking and, having done conferences before, I always expect the sh*t to hit the fan on the first day when Guests start to arrive. However, with the exception of one attendee who asked to be switched to a room with a balcony (she is claustrophobic), complaints about the rooms were virtually non-existent. The rooms were comfortable, clean and plush. I will say that as a guy I am not a fan of the bidets (is it a 'French' thing?) and would recommend that the hotel invest in bath mats for the bathroom (I layed down hand towels so the floor wouldn't get wet). During my initial scout of local properties, I found that many of the local hotels (even the extremely big ones) were still renovating/upgrading/repairing their properties almost three years after Katrina (which surprised me but then again many of the properties were old to begin with), so please keep this in mind and always remember to ask detailed questions when booking. When my group stayed there, the St. Louis was still upgrading the bedding to some of it's rooms. The regular bedding was comfortable enough, but the new more-plush bedding definitely made a difference in my opinion. I recommend room 320 (loved the location and balcony). - Food/Room Service: The food from the Louis XVI is impeccable! The staff is extremely gracious. One waitress in particular (I can't remember if her name as "Angel" or "Angie") was truly outstanding. I was told that the restaurant has not re-opened for full service since Katrina and now only serves breakfast to guests as well as caters private functions at the hotel. This was the one real drawback for me since i would have loved to just ring-up for lunch (the food truly is that good). Louis XVI catered our function impeccably ("Eugene" is a godsend), but individual service can be slow especially when it's busy. But, truly, the restaurant/catering staff was extremely polite and welcoming (I had read as much in past reviews before I stayed there and was glad that my experience was similar). I would recommend eating or having catered events in their courtyard. It really did look like the pictures online when I was there. I would definitely stay at this hotel again. They earned my business. One thing I learned through this whole experience is to always ask detailed questions! Patience coupled with persistence and an even-tone can provide you with a positive outcome in most situations. However, I also observed while vacationing in the French Quarter that being a belligerent, drunk, 20-yr-old+ 'spring breaker' will get you no-where fast.