Let the good times roll in New Orleans, 2012

November 1, 2011 5:10 PM

I'm looking for an affordable hotel in New Orleans, ideally in the French Quarter. I'm coordinating a meetup of friends in 2012. Right now we're considering April 20-22 but are open to other dates. We've only started to look but the early prices we've been quoted are $320 a night (at Holiday Inn French Quarter) which our group can't handle. Group rates are lower, but we may not be able to guarantee 10 rooms.

We need a hotel that's as conveniently located as possible to attractions and transit as many people won't have cars. Some of the older hotels without elevators (I love the Hotel Provincial) won't work as some in the group have balance/walking issues. Ideally a pool and hot tub, but we can sacrifice those for price. Some are worried about safety as far as a location goes, so we--lit, busy areas would probably put them at ease.

We've got a number of people who can help us by calling hotels and checking prices and availability, but we need suggestions of hotels to try. Thanks for any help!

posted by GaelFC to travel & transportation around New Orleans, LA (13 answers total)

Hotel Monteleone is the place.

I'm a native New Orleanian and my SO and I stayed at the Monteleone over Christmas last year. It's perfect and reasonable, smack dab in the middle of the Quarter, and has a fantastic bar called the Carousel Lounge which revolves. It's classic New Orleans.
posted by TryTheTilapia at 5:19 PM on November 1, 2011 [2 favorites]

The hotel St Marie has all those things and I've never paid that much for a room there. Right now it's showing $230ish for spring 2012 weekends, but I've paid lower than that in the summer.

It has only the one small elevator, but it does have one.
posted by crush-onastick at 5:19 PM on November 1, 2011

PS - Jazz Fest is the last weekend in April, first weekend in May, so bear that in mind when planning your trip.
posted by TryTheTilapia at 5:21 PM on November 1, 2011 [1 favorite]

Do you or anyone in your group work for a large-ish company? I get a company rate of $104 a night at the JW Marriott (which is on Canal, right across from the Quarter) - I've used that rate for personal travel as well, and have never once had to "prove" that I work for the company in question (although of course I do). We have a similar low rate at the Omni in the Quarter, and I've booked the Ritz for $139 a night. NOLA is such a convention-focused town that any large company likely gets a sweet rate. MeMail me if you'd like a company name to try :)
posted by ersatzkat at 5:22 PM on November 1, 2011

The Country Inn is a 2 or 3 easy blocks from the French Quarter, but is nice and the area is safe. I've stayed there before and would recommend it, but some rooms may not have easy elevator access.
posted by 2bucksplus at 5:25 PM on November 1, 2011

I came by to recommend Hotel Monteleone, too. It's a nice hotel, right where you want to be, and the prices are better than what you've found so far (and likely to be better still if you move it away from Spring Break times).
posted by Houstonian at 5:25 PM on November 1, 2011

Whatever you book, make sure you can cancel. New Orleans is my all-time favorite city for Priceline. There's a glut of hotel rooms post-Katrina, and as long as it's not Mardi Gras/Jazz fest/or New Year's (or a major convention) it's almost never full.

I've been to NOLA four times over various weekends, and have never paid more than $50 a night for a room.
posted by unexpected at 5:46 PM on November 1, 2011

I don't know any hotels in particular but you should be able to find a better price.
posted by radioamy at 6:47 PM on November 1, 2011

Thanks so much for all the great answers! I'm wary of Priceline due to my having to guide an entire group to one place, but there are some excellent ideas here. If anyone has any other specific hotels to suggest, please add them!
posted by GaelFC at 9:01 PM on November 1, 2011

FYI, I certainly intend to call, but the Hotel Monteleone's Internet site gives me prices of $370-$1500 per night! Hope they can do better on the phone.
posted by GaelFC at 9:03 PM on November 1, 2011

If price is important you can certainly do better than the Hotel Monteleone. We switch around but rarely pay more than 60-70 dollars a night. You can get cheaper, but any lower and we get nervous. Done price line once or twice, but hate giving up control when the difference the few times we've tried it is negligible.

We've stayed at the Place d'Armes many times. It's next to Jackson Square. Can't get more in the middle of everything. Last visit we stayed the French Market Inn, just a few blocks from Jackson Square.

These are small hotels, and certainly not luxurious. But they're colorful, the staffs usually very helpful (especially our recent stay at the French Market Inn), in great locations, and very reasonable. Of course, your trip is during a more expensive part of the year.

Also, almost every hotel in the French Quarter charges for parking, usually 20-25 bucks a night, and that isn't included in the quoted rate. It's extra (though most allow you to pay for parking while making your reservation). So a room you find for 70 a night is, in most cases, going to be about a hundred after parking and taxes.

Good luck.
posted by justgary at 12:01 AM on November 2, 2011

You need to seriously reconsider your dates if you're looking for cheaper rates. French Quarter Fest is April 12th-15th then you have the weekend you're looking at before Jazzfest begins the following weekend. Many folks will already be coming in for Jazzfest on the weekend you're arriving and rates will already be boosted to Jazzfest levels. The weekend of April 7th rates at the Holiday Inn are in the $180 range so you can see the difference. Also the 2nd weekend in May rates are back to normal.
posted by white_devil at 4:53 AM on November 2, 2011

Oh, almost forgot to answer your question! This spring I stayed at the Inn on Bourbon and liked it well enough. They have a really nice pool and it's close to everything in the Quarter. It can be loud though if you get a room facing Bourbon street.
posted by white_devil at 12:09 PM on November 2, 2011