We stayed here this past weekend for the BCS championship. When we were looking for hotels, this was the last place in NOLA available. We were lucky to find it. The house itself is pretty and has an old world charm to it. Of course the garden District itself is beautiful! The place is priced well too. I will say that overall, our stay was ok. We were asked upon arrival what time we would like to have breakfast delivered to us in the morning. We told them 830, but never saw any breakfast throughout the course of our stay. Apparently the entire main house had been rented and we were not allowed to go in there. The room was quant, decent size, cold air, and pretty comfortable bed.The housekeeper did a good job of straightening and re-stocking. However, it really could use a DEEP clean, a new coat of paint, and a serious update. Aslo, there is a night club direclty behind it. You could hear the thumping of the music all night. Take earrplugs. There are other really nice B&B's in Nola, and I would probably seek them out next time. At least I learned my lesson, don't wait until the last minute to book a hotel room!

A friend of ours rented the entire Henry Howard House (HHH) for about a week for a large party group. It's in a very convenient location, 1 1/2 blocks from the St Charles trolley line, which takes you downtown and to the French Quarter very easily. Also, it's close to Magazine St, which is a long, long street lined with all kinds of shops (the closer you get to Carrollton, the more chi-chi it becomes). If you wander around the streets around HHH, you'll see beautiful private antebellum homes (HHH being just one of them) - the Garden District is really ideal for folks who want to see beautiful old homes and old oak trees dripping with Spanish Moss. Can't say enough good things about the neighborhood. Oh, nice little grocery store across the street, too.
The house was lovely, and each room was different. The main house had antiques and gorgeous wood floors so was good for people who want a nicer room, the back section (former slave quarters, I believe) was better for people who wanted a little more peace and quiet - it was more private, comfortable, but the furniture wasn't as nice as the rooms in the main house. Each section of the house, however, had good aspects - most of the areas had doors leading to semi-private courtyards, decks, balconies, etc., so if you wanted a private place to sneak off to and do private things, you could probably find it near your room.
John, current owner, was a great host - if you're so inclined and have a large group, ask him to organize a crawfish boil. He and the staff interacted so wonderfully with the guests, very sweet, accommodating and laid-back. Breakfast was delicious every morning (fresh biscuits, people). It felt good to come back to HHH after a long day in New Orleans. I would definitely go back there, even if it was just for my husband and me.
CAVEAT - if you've never been to New Orleans, please don't negatively judge its decrepitness, that's part of its charm and you just have to get a little dirty. In a good way.

We stayed in the Henry Howard in early April for 3 nights just before and during the French Quarter Festival (which is a great time to come). Given all the good reviews on this site, our expectations were high but we must have hit it on a bad day as there were some management problems primarily on the first day of our stay.

On arrival, the B&B was locked and no one was around to check us in. I had e-mailed that we would be arriving early around 1PM and received a response that someone would be there to check us in. We waited awhile and then after a couple of calls, I was able to get hold of the housekeeper who came and let us in. She was very nice and took us to our room which was the Shangra La. She had no key to give us but said someone would be by later in the afternoon with a key. The toilet wasn't working and it appeared the room might be getting some updates as part of the rug in the foyer area was dirty with quite a few stains. However, the carpet around the bed looked new. After getting back from sightseeing, we ran into John (owner or manager - not sure which) who gave us a key and just had to turn the water on to start the toilet.

On the first morning, the cook didn't show up to cook breakfast. When we later ran into John, there was no mention or apology to us or the other guest about breakfast and during our whole stay he seemed preoccupied (he did have to find a new cook). Other reviews describe the management as being friendly and helpful but there must have been some major problem as we didn't experience any of this.

There are some great things about the Henry Howard. It's a grand house and is decorated with beautiful antique furniture. There is a lovely porch where you can sit and have a drink or snack. Also, there is a great grocery/deli across the street called Zara's and it has really good sandwiches. The breakfasts on our 2nd and 3rd days were very good. It turned out that the cook on the 3rd day was executive chef at one of the restaurants on St. Charles St. Finally, the Henry Howard's location is great. You can easily take a a self guided walking tour of the Garden District. It's very close to the Visitor Center on St. Charles (pick up a walking tour pamphlet) and to the Street Car (Catch it at Washington St. and St. Charles) and it takes you right to the French Quarter at the start of Bourbon St. Also, we went to this great little restaurant in the Garden District called Joey K's at 3001 Magazine St. where there are a lot of other shops and restaurants. It's a bit of a hike from the Henry Howard (maybe 10 blocks). I had the Trout and my husband had the Rice and Beans with the best sausage. Both dishes were exceptional. Better than the meals we had in the fancy restaurants in the French Quarter at a more reasonable price.



For the first 2 nights, there was only one other guest that we saw.

If you like generic, sterile or cheesy upscale hotels, the Henry Howard is not for you. If you want to experience a part of the lifestyle of New Orleans that is away from the tourists and the French Quarter, try it out. Ms Anna Marie will take good care of you the moment you walk in to her big kitchen. And you can open your windows to let the gentle breezes and bird song in to your room in this converted old home.