Both my fiance' and myself had not been in New Orleans for several decades.
After an extensive search online I settled on staying at the Hampton Inn Downtown, 226 Carondelet Street, New Orleans. Keep in mind that I researched about 15 different hotels.
Originally we planned on staying from 12-28-11 to 1-1-12. That changed, however, to 12-28-11 to 1-2-12. With the help of Melissa A. Anderson at Hilton Worldwide, 2050 Chenault Drive, Carrollton, TX 75006 we were able to get a very nice price for our "KING STUDY WITH SOFABED". Although the room we received, No. 1212, didn't have the chair and ottoman pictured online we thought the location of the room was excellent. About 12 steps around the corner from the elevators and a corner room. We had windows galore. Not much to look at from them but better than no view, which I had read was the case for some who stayed here.
Carondelet becomes Bourbon Street about 2 blocks from the hotel, after crossing Canal. Great location that keeps you out of the craziness of Bourbon Street but just minutes away.
And believe me it was crazy everywhere in NOLA.
The Saints were playing the Panthers at the Superdome on 1-1-12. You could walk to it by the way! The Sugar Bowl was at the Superdome on 1-3-12 so Michigan & Virginia Tech. players as well as family and fans were abundant. The BCS game was played there on 1-9-12 between LSU and Alabama. And add to that that the Saints played a playoff game on Saturday 1-7-12. Four games at the Superdome within 9 days! REALLY CRAZY!
Back to the Hampton Inn-Downtown. Check in was a breeze. Bryan was our bellman and was terrific. We saw him every day we were there and he always had a pleasant moment of conversation with us.
The Continental Breakfast was very good. Seating could be a problem depending on when you got there. But, overall, my fiance' enjoyed it each day. Unfortunately for myself, I became ill for 3 of the 5 days! We were not in Mexico, I know, but my body thought otherwise. Perhaps it wasn't ready for the "Creole" foods I insisted on putting in it! She inquired at the front desk about walk in clinics and received information if I decided I needed one. I never went to one but should have probably. The nice thing about that? She was asked at the desk the next time she was near it; "How is he feeling today?".
The room was spacious and clean. Bathroom was a bit small but adequate. We did need to go to the front desk for soap one day but otherwise the toiletries were replaced daily. You never were in need of a clean towel! They were folded and on the bathroom towel rack every day.
Free WiFi was nice since I got to spend more time in the room than I wanted to! The TV was not working correctly but a maintenance guy came and tightened the cable connection within minutes after we called the front desk. It kept having problems but at least I knew what to do each time. Tighten the cable connection! The location of the TV and the bed made for a humorous time trying to see all of the show we were watching or changing channels. Because the TV was turned on a 45 degree angle toward the bed the sensor was behind part of the wardrobe doors. You had to get up from bed to turn off the TV! No big deal!
I had thought that there was a self service laundry in the hotel. Turns out I was wrong on that issue! We had flown from Las Vegas to NOLA after spending Christmas in NV. I had packed enought clothes for 6 days of the 11 day trip. I do these things much to her chagrin! So I used the hotel laundry valet service. Pricey! About $61.00 for eight items! But my own fault!
Bearing in mind that I was still having medical issues the morning we left I went to the lobby and made sure that our check out was completed and that we would have a taxi back to the airport when we came down at noon. We had received a "late check ou" just by asking for one. Assured we would have a taxi waiting, my anxiety level dropped! Of course there was no taxi available and the bellman actually went about a half a block and got one to come back to the Hampton Inn to pick us up.
Would we stay here again? Yes!
In spite of a few "hiccups" it was as good a stay as any we have had in the past few years. We go somewhere at least twice each year so we have seen many hotels in the past 24 years we are together.
Room Tip: Our Corner Room, 1212, was great. Only one floor above us and a view from any of the many windows.
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This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC
