This hotel was inexpensive and a good location for walking distance to the French Quarter (15 min) and the cruise pier (20 min). Breakfast was included, but it was nothing special. Our room vent emitted cigarette smoke from some other room. That was kinda gross. But for a one night stay it was manageable.

Downtown NOLA for $95 a night - what's wrong with that picture? I assumed it would be horrible but I needed to save a few bucks since I couldn't afford the Waldorf at $265/night. This hotel turned out to be exactly what I needed: quiet, free breakfast, clean, comfortable suite, friendly staff who were willing to laugh, safe, secure, free WiFi, and close to the French Quarter (about 3 blocks away). There was even a safe in the room so I had no issue leaving valuables in the room.

I'm not a night owl so I can't comment on the safety/security issue at late night but during the day, certainly before 8 pm, I walked outside without any concerns.

If I need to do downtown NOLA again, I would gladly stay there.

As the Communications Director of a major marketing firm, I travel all the time for business--and when I do, I like to stay at hotels with which I have a personal relationship. I have several Choice Hotel International clients, and so without hesitation, I booked a room at this Comfort Inn at 346 Baronne Street. I've never been more angered and disgusted by a corporate affiliate. If I hadn't already booked the 4-night stay several weeks in advance, I would have cancelled it on the spot. Five things you need to know:

1) When I arrived, the sheets on my bed had not been changed from the previous guest. When I pulled back the top-cover, there was a copious amount of hair, various disgustingly colored stains, and even pieces of food sitting in the sheets.

2) The second day I was there, I arrived back at the room to find the dirty towels from that morning had been refolded...and put back on the rack like new. I could not help but wonder how this extrapolates--for instance, were other people's towels being recirculated into new rooms without being washed? Anything is possible given what happend next.

3) The third night, I discovered that my iPhone charger and USB cable for my Mac had been stolen. When I told the desk attendant, she did not even seem phased--and she calmly explained to me that this Comfort Inn outsources their maids. When I talked to the General Manager and Assistant General Manager, both of them confirmed this. Translation: There is zero accountability if a maid steals something--because they are not directly employed by the hotel. They are simply temp workers, so to speak, that are individually contracted to clean rooms. This is beyond problematic, especially given the desultory and inexcusable qualities of the General Manager, Nasir Ali.

4) The General Manager, Nasir Ali, needs to take some basic lessons in customer service. As someone who has worked in this realm his entire life, and as someone who teaches public speaking courses as a side-job, I have perhaps never encountered a more rude and ambivalent person of power in my career than Nasir Ali. When I explained to him that $60 of my belongings had been stolen, he did not apologize or offer recompense. Instead, he argued with me that the value of my stolen property was not $60, and that it was likely lower. Not only was this wrong, but it was also severely misdirected. Even if the stolen items were $10, the premise of theft while in the trust of a hotel is still the underlying issue. Nasir Ali was coarse, terse, and possessed every quality you would not wish upon a person of that position.

5) After the first three issues arose, I spoke with the Assistant GM (who was very helpful and personable) and who then went into the back room to discuss with Nasir Ali. My original rate for the room was $99. When I explained the stolen property, the filth in the room, and the general disregard for hotel-like service, he offered me the room at a rate of $69 for the trip. I figured: I save about $120 over 4 nights, the stolen property will cost me $60 to replace, so I'm basically receiving a discount of $60 total. Not great, but I accepted it. When I came down the next morning to pay, the desk attendant charged me at a rate of $99 for 3 nights, and $69 for 1 night. Figuring this was a mistake, I asked to see Nasir Ali in order to discuss it with him. He appeared and then proceeded to deny that the discount had ever been offered. When I told him that this was not the case, he argued with me and pretended to play ignorant--saying he had never offered me such a deal (a deal that undoubtedly had occurred not even 12 hours earlier).

I never complain about hotel experiences, but this event angered me more than any I can remember in recent memory--so much so that I happen to be in Maryland (the site of Corporate Headquarters) for business and holiday-visiting this week. This Comfort Inn made me so upset that I personally plan to visit headquarters to explain the situation--if for nothing else than to bring to light the travesties that Nasir Ali is committing toward the Comfort Inn and Choice Hotel International brands. At this Comfort Inn, the customer is never right. Do not stay here.

I stayed here during a convention at the Convention Center. It was v. reasonably priced, and the breakfast was super (by mid-priced hotel standards). I was on the 5th floor, but my room was larger than expected. I did hear some street noise during the night, but overall, a v. good value for the price (about $85/night)