Sharon, I am sorry to say that St. Vincent's gets TERRIBLE reviews. In fact, I've yet to see a positive thing written about it other than "it's cheap." Don't expect cleanliness or service and the neighborhood is somewhat inconvenient to the French Quarter or nice parts of the Garden District. I'd definitely keep looking as I think you'll be very disappointed.

John, thanks for your quick reply. do you have any suggestions for better places that are moderately priced?

Sharon

Sharon, what are your specific dates? October is a VERY busy month and prices are higher.

dates vary slightly by couple
10/10-10/17
10/10-10/16
10/13-10/17
We all want to stay in the same place.

I have found two others with availability - one is Fauberg Guest Suite on Frenchman St. and one is Cotton Brokers houses on Esplanade and Bayou. Are you familiar with facilities and/or locations?

We like to walk so would like to be in areas where we can walk to and from French quarter and other sites. etc.

thanks again for your help
Sharon

Sharon, those are tough dates because of conventions but then again you already know this!

You can't walk to the Quarter from Cotton Brokers or from St Vincents. You can from Faubourg Guest Suite. I'll throw in another one to consider: The Suites at 824 Elysian Fields, www.824ef.com.

Good luck!

Sharon, The St. Vincent Guest House is horrible. I've stayed in small hotels, hostels and backpacker places (literally) around the world and this was my worst experience. It was so bad we even sent letters to the BBB and NOLA Tourist & Convention Association. It is rundown to the point tacky with such as curtin rods hanging from the walls, dirty bed linens (one of our people found lipstick on what was supposed to be a clean bed); some of the facilities did not work properly (a/c, TVs, phones, showers). The swiming pool was dirty even AFTER they cleaned it. And the management is indifferent to downright insulting. We were a group of 25 that made the mistake of staying there this past July, so it wasn't just one room that was bad, it was several. I'd cancel my reservation and look for another place. Even though you didn't ask, you might make it a point to have at least one of your meals at Mulate's on Julia Street--right across from the Riverwalk. They were excellent and treated our group just fine. Hope you and your friends enjoy your visit.

Sharon--here's a P.S. to my previous message. Go to the following web site for a listing of some moderate (and expensive) hotels. www.aroomforyou.com/new-orleans-hotels.htm
The Hampton Inn is suppossed to be good. If all else fails, you could even spend the night in one of the Quality Inns, Holiday Inns or there's a Days Inn right on Canal street. After I re-read my note realized it should be Curt"a"in rod, swimMing pool and "...to the point of being tacky." See what happens when you get all fired up and start banging away on the keys. "That place" made me a strong believer in checking out some websites before trying these "cutesy" places again. If you want some more info, go to Frommer's site, US, Louisiana for additional input on NOLA and "that place." Cheers to you and your fellow travelers.

Sharon, take John's advice and check his possibility. My suggestion is to visit New Orleans on some other dates if you're not locked into those dates that you listed. If you are locked into those dates, you possibly might find rooms cheaper than they are now, by watching the discounters closely. Sometimes hotels at the last minute drop prices for rooms that they had blocked for the conventions and at the last minute release them. Good luck, but those prices you see out there are too high for a leisure trip if your budget is tight.