Safe Overnight Parking in FQ or Garden District

I am wondering about parking my car overnight in the French Quarter area or even in the Garden District. We may be staying in the FQ or GD on the way home from Gulf Shores and will have a fully loaded SUV, including some things attached to the roof rack.

If we stay at a hotel that charges for parking, does that mean that our things are safe and we won%26#39;t need to unload the whole SUV? I certainly don%26#39;t want to have to take everything into the hotel for one night, but I also don%26#39;t want to take a chance on having things stolen. Are we safe with valet parking?

We haven%26#39;t booked a hotel yet, although I%26#39;m thinking of the Iberville Suites. I%26#39;d appreciate any thoughts or suggestions on this--would hate to wake up to a nasty surprise. We%26#39;ve been to NO many times in the past but we used to travel in a car with a limited amount of luggage. The beach trip and our baby are adding to our load this time! Thanks!!

Safe Overnight Parking in FQ or Garden District

One would think that for $30 per day for hotel valet parking that a vehicle would be stored in a secure or guarded area. To be sure, I would call the hotels you are interested in and ask if parking is secure enough to leave your stuff in your vehicle or external storage. I believe the cheaper lots for parking may not be as secure. To be on the safe side, I would not leave anything of a high value in the vehicle. If it can be replaced at Wal-Mart, so be it.

Safe Overnight Parking in FQ or Garden District

My thoughts exactly--if I%26#39;m paying, I do want some guarantee of security. I will call the hotels I am looking into about that. Thanks!

If anyone else has any comments, please share.

Regardless of where you park your car, my advice is to take everything with you when you check into wherever you stay. It is a huge pain to unload a car, just to pack it back up again, but when a potential thief sees even small items in a car, my guess is that they would be tempted to break in and see if there%26#39;s more stashed out of sight.

If you choose to take a chance leaving some items in the car, I definitely would not take a chance self-parking the car. Even if you use a valet, the fine print on the ticket clearly states that you should remove your personal items and that the valet is not responsible for the items in the event of theft or even damage.

Our family usually takes a long road trip every summer...and when we check into a hotel (even for an overnight stay en route to our ultimate destination) the rule is that everything goes inside with us...even little pieces of trash! It is a huge pain, but I guess if there is an upside to this, it%26#39;s that your car doesn%26#39;t accumulate that ';funk'; from a long road trip (you know...the dirty clothing/slightly wet swimsuit/fast food ';aroma';.)

I remember as a little kid, we drove all the way to British Columbia. We walked around sightseeing, and we waited for dad to go get the car and pick us up. It took him way too long, and when he finally showed up...sure enough...someone had thrown a big brick through the side window and stolen a couple of well-hidden cameras (including all the pictures inside!)

We spent a few more (and definitely less enjoyable) hours in the city while we waited to get the window fixed!

I don%26#39;t care how much you pay, YOU are the one responsible for your belongings. I can%26#39;t imagine any place that would accept that responsibility.

My advice - if something is that important to you, don%26#39;t ever take any chances by leaving it in the car. No matter what.

Thanks for all the replies and suggestions. I%26#39;m well aware that we are responsible for our possessions. Our biggest issue on this trip will be that we%26#39;re coming back from a beach trip and will have beach chairs, umbrella, etc. on top of the SUV. I am sure it%26#39;s going to take some time for my husband to get it all up there, and I%26#39;d hate for him to have to do it again the same day. I know the back of the SUV will be loaded down with luggage, ice chests, etc. and it would be quite an undertaking to unpack it all for one night in a hotel room. I guess that%26#39;s what we get for no longer having a regular car trunk that could hide a few things. We%26#39;re still debating if we%26#39;ll stop for the night in NO or go a little further to Baton Rogue or Lafayette (the pull of NO is SO strong, however!). I%26#39;m sure this is a problem we%26#39;ll have to deal with no matter which city we go with. Thanks again!

Sorry Lee I didn%26#39;t mean to come off sounding harsh. I was just being general, nothing towards you. I can certainly understand the predicament you%26#39;re in under the circumstances. Hope it all works out ok.

No offense taken. I see your point--really. I am having one of those ';I want it all moments.'; I want my beach trip, I want a NO trip on the side, I want it all to be nice and easy for us, and obviously, there are a few issues to consider now that we have a different vehicle, a toddler, etc. We need an overnight stay in LA b/c we%26#39;ll be working in a family visit but I want to go to NO since it%26#39;s been a while since we%26#39;ve been that way. I may just need to re-think that a bit. Thanks again.

Lee4...after several years of travelling with kids to the beach, I%26#39;ve finally given up bringing along my own chairs and umbrella. Now I just bite the bullet and rent them from wherever we happen to be staying. I%26#39;ve been doing it that way for a number of years, and now I%26#39;m spoiled! (and now that the kids are older, I have to fight them for one of the two chairs ;-)

Good luck!

Caseyno: That%26#39;s not a bad idea and it certainly cuts down on packing! My husband and I bought 2 chairs and an umbrella down in GS several years ago--pretty cheap at Walmart down there. Now, we%26#39;ve got a baby, but I feel like we need to use the things we already have--so they are going with us. We may have to do it your way, though, if we decide to keep going to the beach with our son in the future. I%26#39;m amazed at how much stuff I am now bringing along every time we travel with our son. It%26#39;s crazy!

If you go to GS, where do you rent beach chairs, etc. from? We%26#39;re renting a house this year, so I don%26#39; expect chairs and umbrellas to be readily available as they are around hotels. Thanks!

I hear ya about ALL THAT STUFF! Been there, done that! It%26#39;s amazing that humans evolved to the point that we did, you know, without all the baby paraphenalia that we can%26#39;t seem to do without these days ;-)

If you%26#39;re renting a house, then you should probably bring your own. We usually rent a unit in one of the high-rise condos, and they always have the umbrellas and chairs lined up in a row. It%26#39;s too easy to just go and charge the extra $40-50 that it costs to have them ready and waiting!

Hope your trip is great!

Casey