The most ';New Orleansy'; New Orleans Hotel

Hello from London (the UK one that is)- new member and first post here.

Firstly I%26#39;d just like to say how glad I am your great city is back on its feet and, hopefully, thriving. Have visited twice before and had the most fantastic time. The last time we were due to visit was about 2 weeks after Katrina hit.

So now we%26#39;re planning on coming back in early 2008 as part of a 5 week tour around the US - LA, Miami, Vegas etc. I%26#39;m looking for what hotel/BB you think says ';New Orleans'; the most - not a generic hotel or room. On out last vistis we stayed at the Olivier House on Toulouse - which was great - but thought we%26#39;d have a change. Cost not really a problem - and would like to stay in the French Quarter.

Many thanks for your help.

The most ';New Orleansy'; New Orleans Hotel

If you enjoy character over slickness, and money reallllllly isn%26#39;t a problem, try Soniat House. Ask for room #64 (The Grand Suite), which has a separate living room, and a balcony overlooking Chartres Street in the quieter Lower Quarter. Weekday rates are sometimes less expensive than weekend rates.

The first picture you see here looks from the bedroom towards the living room:

http://www.soniathouse.com/rates.html

Click on the ';Grand Suite'; link at the bottom of the page, and you%26#39;ll have a shot of the living room.

The hotel occupies two buildings. The Grand Suite is in the annex, directly across the street from the main building. The building has a beautiful private patio, which you%26#39;ll likely have all to yourselves.

Drawbacks: The limited breakfast of biscuits, homemade jam, juice and coffee/tea is ten dollars. (Why???)

The most ';New Orleansy'; New Orleans Hotel

You might look into room 228 or 229 both have a balcony overlooking St. Ann street at the Place D%26#39;armes. They have a large courtyard and european cafe for their continental breakfast which is a part of the room rate. You can view some of Jackson Square from the balcony. Its an excellent location and not noisy. Also rooms 208 and 308 overlook the courtyard and have some nice extras such as a couch and table. But check the website and you could email any questions.

I feel like I always say this, but the Monteleone is very historic, close to the action but away from the noise, extremely beautiful - the Carousel Bar is one of my FQ faves, and you can get a very plush suite if you like. The location is unbeatable and it%26#39;s a distinctly New Orleans hotel.

Your U.S. tour sounds fun! In Miami, don%26#39;t miss the Holocaust memorial - it is chilling, but excellent - one of the most moving memorials I have ever seen. It%26#39;s all outside (and free). It was a little difficult to find, maybe get directions from a local rather than going by your map.

Hello AtomicGuy,

I%26#39;m glad to hear that you are including New Orelans in your plans. I%26#39;m a fellow Brit by birth (Surrey) but have lived in the States for a long time.

I would concur that Soniat House is a good choice, very NewOrleansy (wonderful word by the way) and I love the courtyards. Should you choose to stay there, or anyplace else nearby with overpriced underwhelming breakfasts, you can pop around the corner on Ursuline to ';Croissant d%26#39;Or Patisserie';. Good luck with your plans.

Cheers

Thanks for the suggestions guys.

Monteleone was on my check out list - and so now will be the Soniat House - looks great.

Supreme: Meant to visit the Holocoust memorial last time we were in Miami - but couldn%26#39;t seem to get away from the bars and restaurants! Will definitely chech it out this time.

Cheers again - i may be back with more questions as my plans take shape.

Hey A-G,

Check out Maison de Ville;

www.maisondeville.com

It is where Tennesse Williams wrote ';A Street Car Named Desire';.

K-D

I agree that the Montleone is a good way to go. Even if you don%26#39;t stay there go in and take a look at the revolving bar.

We stayed at the Monteleone and the Place D%26#39;Armes during our stay in New Orleans in May of this year because we couldn';t make up our minds as to which hotel best suited our wishes.

My pick for a ';New Orleansy';hotel between the two is easily the Place D%26#39;Armes.The Monteleone was a very nice large hotel but it just didn%26#39;t have the character,charm or central location thet we loved thePlace D%26#39;Armes for.

I absolutely loved getting up early in the morning and having a fresh croissant and enjoying it in the beautiful courtyard by the fountain.

Alternatively,we walked a block to have Beignetts and cafe au lait at the cafe du monde and listened to the trombone player .

The room overlooking the courtyard was huge(#217 I think) in comparison to the deluxe room we had at the Monteleone.

Do your homework and ask for a room # which has reccomended by others (see Cajunyank%26#39;s earlier posting and others on this board and you will be thrilled!

canuck - I respect that you liked the Place D%26#39;Armes over the Monteleone, but I disagree that the Monteleone isn%26#39;t centrally located! Not as close to Jackson Square as Place, but still, for being in a nice and relatively quiet, I think it%26#39;s perfectly centrally located!

AtomicGuy - Glad you are going to fit in the Holocaust memorial this trip. You will be so glad that you did.

Hi Supremecourt. Of course you are right; the Monteleone is centrally located within the F.Q....It is a pretty short walk to even the other side of the F.Q. from the Monteleone and there are so many things to see in the F.Q. that the walk goes too quickly!

By the way,thanks again for all the posts you';ve contributed...you and several others have made it possible for us visitors to ensure that our trips to N.O. are as rewarding and memorable as possible.By viewing all the different opinions posted on this board it makes it so much easier for us to decide what we want to get out of our trip and how we can best achieve it.

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