I stayed here recently for the BCS weekend. The hotel had no manager there on location the WHOLE weekend. Keep in mind this was one of the busiest weekends of the year for New Orleans, I paid almost $300 a night for my room and the whole hotel was completely booked.

I actually paid to have two beds in my room and got there only to find out they were oversold and could only put me in a king bed...this was not gonna work when I had 4 people with me : ( However, I will say the girl at the front desk (Rhonda?) was very aplogetic and offered to put us in a suite that had two rooms, one with a fold out futon and one with a king bed at no extra cost. My friend I was with was SUPER angry at first (blaim Harrah's for getting him drunk too early) but she didn't seem to get too overwhelmed by it. BUT I do think a manager should have been there because aside from me and my friends there was about 4 other angry people checking in.

I will say the carpet in the hotel needs a MAJOR upgrade, some of the employees (other front desk workers) need to be trained on customer service, or fired for talking on their cell phone while talking to guest, and if they would do some basic cleaning it will go a LONGGGGG way.

Oh and did I already mention that maybe they should hire a manager that will actually be at work?

I stayed at St. James for 5 nights with 2 friends. I requested a double bed room but received a single bed room. This was not going to work for 3 friends in one king bed! The room did NOT have a window. It was small but decent. Still overall not impressed. The hotel was able to give me a double bed the next day. This room was larger, had windows and just fine for our stay. The room was clean, the sheets were fine (not thin like some people have said) and the towels were not worn down any more than other hotel towels. The room did not have a refrigerator or microwave. The hotel adds $8 per night for internet and safe usage regardless if you do or do not use those resources. Keep that in mind when comparing prices. The staff was friendly but not overly friendly. They would not say "good morning", "how are you" or any of those greetings. The location was fantastic for a general NOLA trip. It was kinda centered between many attractions. You could walk to most attractions (bourbon st, aquarium, etc)
Bottom line: I would stay there again for the price and location ONLY if I did not receive a windowless room

I discovered this hotel while planning a last-minute business trip to New Orleans. It's a very convenient location to many points of interest in New Orleans, and was available at a great price. Additionally, the staff was incredibly helpful and friendly, willing to do whatever they could to assist, from recommending restaurants that deliver to accommodating my wish to be moved to a room nearer an external door (I smoke, and the hotel is nonsmoking).

That said, there's only so much the staff can do. The hotel needs a smattering of nickel-and-dime repairs (trick door handles, "iffy" air conditioning units, broken dresser drawer, ice makers not working), in order to be a truly great place to stay. I understand the challenges of maintaining an older property, but this would be a true gem of a hotel were it just "polished" a bit. Again, everyone from front desk to bell service to maintenance and housekeeping were incredibly polite and helpful, and my heart truly goes out to them for making the best of the situation, but a little support from management to get the hotel back into the shape it needs to be in would go a long way.

In short, don't hesitate to stay here; it's not five-star accommodations, but it's quite clean and comfortable. The rooms are decorated wonderfully, and are quite large. It's close to where you want to be, but away from the FQ noise (rooms on the street will still have traffic noise, but that'd be anywhere, and it does quiet down at night). I'm truly hoping the managers of the hotel will look at some of the little things that need to be repaired and that on my next stay there, I'll be much more impressed with the overall experience.

The location is great. You can walk to nearly everything in and around the French Quarter. The price was also great ... but watch out ... the hotel itself isn't what the pictures depict. I made reservations for three nights, thinking we would be getting a really nice looking room, from the pictures I saw on the Internet. I was looking for an out-of-the-way small boutique hotel. The room we got was very, very tiny ... but I did get the king-sized bed I requested. There is a closet to stow away your suitcases. Our one tiny window overlooked an ally and a brick wall. The linens on the bed were pretty at first glance, but after pulling back the comforter, we found cheap hotel linens that were actually put on the bed wrong-side outwards. The sheets were so thin you could see the mattress through them! AND there was no mattress pad. The bathroom was OK, but needed a good cleaning. The first day there maid service came while we were out and left our dirty towels, but gave us new ones. The second day we were there, they didn't bother to show up at all. I had to go and retrieve towels at 10 p.m. at the front desk, which was a building and three floors away. Half of the time we were there the elevator was running slow or not at all. I held my breath every time we made the trip to our third floor room. We also had problems with our key card and had to make several trips to the front desk before ONLY one of them would work. The carpets in the hotel hallways were extremely dirty, black in most places. This should have been our first clue to turn around and run! Some of the staff was really friendly, others looked like they were being forced to be there and were rude. On my next visit to New Orleans, I'll be staying at a different hotel. The price and locale were the only good things about the hotel. Its management seriously needs to give it a good look!