2 Grannies, 2 parents & 1 three-yr-old
 

Hi, the 5 of us go traveling together. NO has been elected next on Oct 9-12 and we're flying from Atlanta. Looking for a kid-friendly area. A hotel with an indoor pool would be nice! We're thinking the French Quarter or Algiers area. Please advise. Thanks!

I don't think you'd want to stay in Algiers as it is not as convenient as staying in the city.



What price range?

I thought Algiers was close to the city. What do you suggest?

FQ seems central but maybe loud or too commercial? We enjoy old architecture, gardens, small, local restaurants and businesses. The toddler is not picky when it comes to food so we'd like to experience real New Orleans food. Budget around 200 a night? I actually noticed the prices are good at this time: even less than 200 in a lot of cases.

You may want to clarify how many rooms you need? Are you all trying to fit into one room or suite or separate rooms? I don't know about NO but in some places the toddler would put you over occupancy limits.

Once off Bourbon Street, the French Quarter is beautiful and not so commercial or noisy. If you want even quieter, stay in the Warehouse/Arts district or the Garden District.

We'd want 2 rooms, preferably adjoining. Or a suite big enough for us all.
We'll check out the FQ away from Bourbon St. Also the Warehouse/Arts & Garden districts.
Anywhere else?

You need to give a budget. This place is fabulous, in a non-bustling stretch of the FQ. I toured it last winter and would love to stay there. But it is not cheap.

http://www.auduboncottages.com/

Algiers is across the river so you need to take a ferry, and I am not sure if there are hotels near that ferry on the Algiers side. It looks low-rise residential when you view it from NOLA proper.

Here you go, a house rental two blocks from the Algiers ferry, in Algiers Point; $250 a night with kitchen.

https://www.vrbo.com/959125

Is the 200/night each room for two rooms or total?

You can find VRBO listings in New Orleans proper too. That's a better bet so that you can have junior(ette) walk less and fuss less.

Plus, you should consider visiting City Park - it has diversions for the oldies, for you, and for the hobbit. Plus Morning Call resto is reasonably good and its prices are fairly low.

http://neworleanscitypark.com/

The problem with Algiers is that you have to take the ferry or drive to pretty much anything you'd want to do. The FQ is very central and will allow you all flexibility of easily going back to the hotel to relax, meet up later, etc. And yeah, except for a few blocks of Bourbon st, its not loud.

Warehouse district and any hotel on Poydras should be good. The Children's museum is in the warehouse district as are many good restaurants. You can take the streetcar to the Quarter from the Hilton hotel area at the foot of Poydras. Can also take it to the zoo from St. Charles Ave. Have fun!! http://lcm.org/

Also, agree with not staying in Algiers - it is close on a map but not convenient to the city.

Hi! This is Samare's daughter who is also going on the trip. I was confusing Marigny with Algiers. We meant to ask if Marigny/Bywater is a good area. I've looked into a bit and it seems interesting historically especially for we artistic types. I see there's a new park with a walking path that takes you right into the French Quarter in 15 minutes. We can't afford to hotel rooms each night so I'm now going with Airbnb or VRBO. The five of us can stay in one for around 200 a night in Marigny. I tried Garden District but it was quite a bit more. Any input or ideas or things to do are welcome. The typical tourist stuff and the off-the-beaten path stuff all sounds great.

I, personally, wouldn't stay in the Marigny. If you are not familiar with the city it is not where I would place my family. I say that while still having friends that live there - in what I would consider very safe areas. The deal with any large city is that safety is all about knowing where and where not to venture. It sounds like you are doing your due diligence; however, New Orleans is a tricky city. Play it right and you have a vacation you will never forget. Try to staying in the lower cost areas and you are going to risk finding out why they are cheaper. I am going to Seattle next spring and staying in the city two nights - not with kids and fully aware that I am considering staying in an area that I am probably going to want to cab to and from after dark - I don't know the city and am simply not willing to risk walking or biking around the first time I go. Sorry for being so verbose - just thinking you may want to adapt your trip and assure that you are in a safe location over length, closeness, ect. You could find yourself better off renting a car and staying in the suburbs if you can't afford the downtown prices.

Thank you for the insight, Nolanoel. I'm just reading this and booked the place I spoke of this morning. We are going to rent a car and will be super cautious. Thanks for reminder to be careful.

At least the Marigny is close to the French Market, which the hobbit will love. Depending upon exactly where you'll be, it should be close to the FQ too.