Petr has changed very little from what Jess did to make Five Continents such a special place. He added a sweet dog, and has modified the breakfast offerings in terms of variety, but not quality. Each morning we were given a tasty and hearty breakfast. We have always stayed in the cottage before, but stayed in the Eurasian Suite this time. Immaculate, quiet, very comfortable bed and pillow. We wish Petr and Walter the very best in this new phase of their lives!

One should have a car to get around at night.

If only they could have done something about the Saints' loss...

We made reservations with Jess and were more than a little suprised to learn upon check in that Peter was the new owner. Nothing about a change of ownership was mentioned to us between the time we booked our accomodations and when we arrived. Like other couples we had made our choice based largely in part due to the great reviews and reputation of Jess. Nevertheless, Peter was a most hospitable host and Echo, his dog, is the most well mannered dog that I have been around in years. Through three nights we never heard him make a sound and he always greeted us in the dining room at breakfast.
We stayed in the Asia suite, which also has a nice sitting room. The only drawback was the very small bathroom.
We walked the entire neighborhood while there and never felt uneasy at any time, but if you do not like to walk I would recommend taking a taxi because it is a bit of a jaunt to get to most attractions and the streetcar lines. I would also recomment the Port of Call, which is only about ten blocks south on Esplanade, for a great steak in the evening with friendly local people. Overall we were very pleased with our stay and would like to thank Peter and Echo for their patience and hospitality as we will be calling on them again in the future.

As noted in a previous review, Jess has retired and Peter now owns Five Continents. We chose this B&B solely on the reviews on Tripadvisor. It did not disappoint. Peter is indeed "catching" on and he was an excellent host. The breakfast each morning was nothing short of great (I can't compare it to what I've read about Jess' cooking). Yes, the house is near an overpass, but far enough away from the busy areas to give you some peace. The secure, off-street parking is great and there is no additional charge. We stayed in the Asian room. The sleeping area is spacious, the sitting room nice. No major complaints. The carpets should be replaced and the TV is a bit small, but heck, I wasn't there to watch TV. I would and will stay there again if I return to NOLA and I would recommend Five Continents to my friends and family.

We selected this B&B based solely on the reviews seen here: TripAdvisor members were raving, especially about its fabulous owner Jess, and we figured we couldn't go wrong. So naturally we were disappointed to learn upon checking in that, well, Jess was no longer the owner; Peter was, as of a week ago.

Say what?!

We felt blindsided; the whole reason we booked a room at Five Continents was because of Jess' fabulous reputation. We didn't understand why neither he nor Peter would contact us and other guests to let us know about the change in management. My boyfriend reasoned that, "Well, they wouldn't tell you about a GM change at a restaurant or hotel, so why here?" but I think B&Bs are different. You go to them because you want a more personalized, intimate experience. It just would have been nice if someone had reached out to us beforehand and—you know, introduced themselves, told us what was going on, etc.

In any case, we wanted to offer Peter the benefit of the doubt and were pleased to see that the house itself was GORGEOUS—way prettier than the photos you see on its website. Amazingly tall ceilings, decadent chandeliers, a staircase to die for... a lovely slice of old-world Southern style. The location, however, kinda sucks: It's a few blocks from an underpass and 24-hour grocery/liquor store that draws a really sketchy crowd, especially at night. This was frustrating: We wanted to be able to walk to the French Quarter and its surrounding attractions, leaving the car parked safely at the B&B, but couldn't really do that because we felt so unsafe returning after dark. It made for a lot of time wasted trying to find parking.

But anyway, back to the B&B: Peter was very nice. He seemed a bit nervous, being new to the whole B&B thing. Our room was beautiful, but it was missing towels, basic toiletries like soap and shampoo, and had some trash strewn about it (including a dirty tissue stuffed in a washcloth under the footstool); it was as if the housekeeper had skipped it by accident. When we raised the issues to Peter, he would say "That's strange" but was quick to rectify it. And though the B&B advertises free WiFi, the signal in our room (located on the second floor at the front of the house) was VERY poor. We had to do a little work while on vacation and could hardly get anything done. The signal improved only if you worked downstairs in the living room.

Peter did a fine job cooking up Jess' old recipes at breakfast, even though he said it was his first time making some of the dishes. The only other eventful thing that happened: When we went to check out, Peter was having trouble with his credit card machine. He swiped and swiped and swiped by boyfriend's card but said it never went through. We were running late for a tour so decided to just pay in cash. Later, my boyfriend checked his bank account online and saw that he had indeed been charged. Argh. We tried calling but couldn't get through so had to drive all the way back to the B&B to tell Peter about the double charge and get a cash refund.

To summarize: Peter was very nice, and certainly gets an A for effort; with time, he should get the hang of this whole B&B thing. The bed was made for a king and the sheets were divinely soft. The claw-foot tub/shower leaked every time we used it (we wasted two towels a day mopping up the flood), but we had the most amazing front porch all to ourselves. The semi-shady location and poor WiFi connection were the biggest trouble spots, but if you can get over those and the fact that Jess is gone, Five Continents is a lovely place to stay.