The Rough Guide to New Orleans
eBook - ePub

The Rough Guide to New Orleans

Samantha Cook

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  1. 248 pages
  2. English
  3. ePUB (mobile friendly)
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - ePub

The Rough Guide to New Orleans

Samantha Cook

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About This Book

The Rough Guide to New Orleans is the ultimate travel guide to this captivating city. Packed with smart, lively coverage of all the sights, hotels, restaurants and bars - as well as the best places to hear amazing live music, from jubilant Second Line street parades to atmospheric local clubs. This is the book that tells you what you really want to know about New Orleans - the best hole in the wall restaurants, the best French Quarter guesthouses, the sights that are worth seeing and those that aren't. New Orleans' vibrant festivals are covered in detail: Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest - the biggest roots music festival in the US - Essence, Voodoo, French Quarter Fest and many more. If you want to really experience the city like a local, encountering Mardi Gras Indians at dawn or dining at grand old Creole restaurants unchanged for centuries, this is the book for you. Katrina and its aftermath are covered honestly with no holds barred, and there are details on volunteering opportunities, from helping rebuild in the Ninth Ward to re-planting the nearby wetlands. Stunning photography brings this extraordinary city to life while detailed maps, marked with all sights, hotels, restaurants and bars, will help you get around.

Make the most of your time on earth with The Rough Guide to New Orleans.

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Publisher
Rough Guides
ISBN
9781405387842

Listings

Accommodation >

Eating >

Drinking >

Live music >

Mardi Gras >

Festivals >

Shopping >

Theatre and the arts >

Gay New Orleans >

Accommodation

New Orleans has some lovely places to stay, from rambling old guesthouses seeping faded grandeur to hip boutique hotels in restored historic buildings. Standard room rates, never low (you’ll be pushed to find anything half decent advertised for less than $75 a night), increase considerably for Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest and major football games. At other times, and especially during summer weekdays, when things slow down, it’s worth checking hotel websites for, or calling and asking about, special promotions. It’s a fiercely competitive market post-Katrina, and you will probably find, or be able to negotiate, prices far lower than quoted rates. (Always call to confirm with the hotel direct the rate you’ll be actually paying.)
This is not a city where you want to be stranded without a room, and though it’s possible to take a chance on last-minute cancellations and deals, you should ideally make reservations in advance. This is especially true during the big festivals and special events and at weekends throughout the year. (Note also that some places, especially in the Quarter, require minimum stays during special events.) However, if you do turn up on spec, head immediately for the Welcome Center on Jackson Square, which has racks of discount leaflets offering savings on same-day bookings (generally weekdays only).
Most people choose to pay a bit more to stay in the French Quarter, in the heart of things. Many accommodations here are in guesthouses, the majority of them in old Creole cottages or townhouses, furnished with antiques. These are some of the most beautiful and atmospheric lodgings in the city, ranging from shabbily decadent places with iffy plumbing and the odd insect to romantic honeymooners’ hideaways. In any one place, rooms can vary considerably in size, comfort, and amenities, so be specific if you have certain preferences – and ask for a room away from the street if you want peace and quiet. The odd few can be dark and a little musty inside – in the Creole tradition, they’re shaded from the heat, sun and rain by lush patios and cranky wooden shutters – but many also have courtyards, balconies, verandas and pools. Bear in mind that the city is still in recovery, and that housekeeping can, occasionally, be eccentric. None of the guesthouses we’ve listed below should be dirty, but you may have to ask if you want your linens changed daily during a two-night stay, for example. Very few hotels offer free on-site parking (those that offer any kind of parking are mentioned below), and Quarter car parks are outrageously expensive. Many visitors choose to leave their car in one of the lots down by the river for the duration.
If you prefer to stay outside the Quarter – if you’re on a very tight budget, say, or want to base yourself somewhere less intense – there are a number of possibilities throughout town. The Garden District offers a handful of budget options near the streetcar line, while the funky Faubourg Marigny specializes in friendly, affordable bed and breakfasts – many of them gay-owned – and Uptown has a couple of gorgeous old places in historic buildings. The CBD is the domain of the city’s upmarket boutique and chain hotels, catering mostly to conventioneers. These are much of a muchness – and unless you hook a special deal, you can usually find better value elsewhere – but we’ve reviewed the best of them in this section.
If you want to get out of the city altogether, many of the grand old plantation homes strung along the River Road offer B&B accommodation; they’re reviewed in the Out of the city.
Rates shown here represent the standard prices quoted by the hotels, and refer to the least expensive double rooms available for weekdays between October and May outside of festival times. Especially in the bigger, more expensive hotels, however, where rates are subject to all sorts of web-only deals and promotions, they should be taken as a guideline only; prices change on a daily basis and are often dependent on occupancy. Always do your research online. Where places offer a choice of en-suite rooms and rooms with shared bath, we quote rates for both. Costs shown do not include the room tax, which varies between 11 and 13 percent depending on the size of the hotel.
The French Quarter >
Tremé >
CBD and Warehouse District >
The Lower Garden District and Garden District >
Uptown >
Esplanade Ridge and Mid-City >
Faubourg Marigny and Bywater >

The French Quarter

See map.
Biscuit Palace 730 Dumaine St at Bourbon 525-9949, www.biscuitpalace.com. Well-run, friendly and charming guesthouse in a good central location, named for the vintage biscuit ad painted on its outside wall. It’s housed in an 1820 mansion, complete with a pretty flagstoned courtyard, fish pond and tropical plants. The eight rooms, with balconies and antique baths, are spacious and creatively decorated, and there’s a two-room attic apartment that sleeps six. From $105; from $115 with front balcony.
Bon Maison Guesthouse 835 Bourbon St at St Ann 561-8498, www.bonmaison.com. Hidden from the road and laid out around a brick courtyard, this Creole townhouse has been converted into a laid-back, no-fuss, non-smoking guesthouse. The atmosphere is peaceful, considering its location, partly because there are just five suites, all with baths and tiny kitchenettes, and some with balconies. It’s particularly popular with gay guests, but everyone is welcome – though children are not allowed. $95–145 for two guests, $165 for three, $175 for four.
Bourgoyne Guest House 839 Bourbon St at Dumaine 524-3621, www.bourgoynehouse.com. Good-value guesthouse in an 1830s Creole mansion, furnished with homely antiques. There are two kinds of accommodation: five worn but cosy studios (with small kitchenettes) around the subtropical courtyard, and two fancier suites. The plum is the rather lovely Green Suite, accessed by a sweeping staircase, and boasting two bedrooms, a kitchen, parlour, and Bourbon Street balcony (which can, of course, make it noisy, depending on when you’re here). Studios $92; Green Suite $130.
Chateau Hotel 1001 Chartres St at St Philip 524-9636, www.chateauhotel.com. All the rooms are comfortable in this simple, clean hotel in the quieter part of the Quarter, but some are far better than others, so if you feel yours is too small or a tad dark, ask to see what else is available. The attractive, plant-filled brick courtyard is a boon, with a pretty (if small) pool. Rates include continental breakfast (which you can have in your room or the courtyard) and a free daily paper. Valet parking $16 per day. From $110.
Cornstalk Hotel 915 Royal St at Dumaine 523-1515 or 1-800/759-6112, www.cornstalkhotel.com. Casually elegant, somewhat faded place in a turreted Queen Anne house, surrounded by a landmark cast-iron fence decorated with fat cornstalks. The twelve appealing, high-ceilinged rooms are each individually furnished with antiques and have lots of period detail. They vary considerably in size, but all have showers, and some have baths. Free wi-fi. From $140.
Dauphine Orleans 415 Dauphine St at Conti 586-1800 or 1-800/521-7111, www.dauphineorleans.com. A historic complex of buildings with more than one hundred nonsmoking, good-looking, quite upmarket rooms. The best are set in brick cottages around tranquil, palm-filled patios and have their own jacuzzis. There’s a pretty outdoor saltwater pool, a gym, snug bar (once the site of a brothel) and library. Rates include welcome cocktails, a hearty breakfast, and afternoon tea. Free wi-fi. On-site valet parking $28 per day. From $130.
Author pick
Hotel Monteleone
214 Royal St at Iberville 523-3341 or 1-800/535-9595, www.hotelmonteleone.com. This handsome French Quarter landmark is the oldest hotel in the city, owned by the same family since 1886, and hosting a fine array of writers and luminaries since then. At sixteen storeys, it’s also the tallest building in the Quarter, something of a gentle giant towering over genteel Royal Street. It has been restored and modernized somewhat over the years – and now has more than 600 rooms – but manages to keep its distinctive character with a handsome baroque facade, stunning old marble lobby, comfy rooms, and the atmospheric revolving Carousel bar. There’s a small gym and a heated rooftop pool, and pets are welcome. From $180.
Author pick
Olivier House
828 Toulouse St at Bourbon 525-8456 or 1-866/525-9748, www.olivierhouse.com. Though a bit dark in places, this atmospheric, quintessentially New Orleans guesthouse offers good value and real character. It’s a family-run place, spread across three handsome Creole townhouses with a warren of corridors, balconies and stairwells. The 42 rooms (all with bath and kitchenettes) vary considerably in size and quality, but most of them are appealingly old-fashioned, with funky antique furniture, chandeliers, plush sofas, tall, shuttered windows, and some have small patios. It’s worth negotiating about rates; if money’s no object, go for the two-storey Garden Suite, which has its own internal tropical garden and fountain. There’s a courtyard, and a tiny pool. Free valet parking in a small lot nearby. From $100.
Omni Royal Orleans 621 St Louis St at Royal 529-5333, www.omnihotels.com. Large, landmark French Quarter hotel, built on the site of one of the key hotels of the Creole city. Very upmarket without being snooty, it has an old-fashioned New Orleans elegance that never intimidates, with very comfortable rooms and wonderfully low-key service. The rooftop pool is lovely. From $170.
Place d’Armes 625 St Ann St at Chartres 1-800/366-2743, www.placedarmes.com. There’s nothing special at this friendly (and very kid-friendly) hotel, but you can get good online rates and the location, behind Jackson Square, is superb. The eighty or so slightly faded standard hotel rooms, in a complex of restored nineteenth-century buil...

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