R.Cormier

My wife and I are heading to N.O. from New England and will be at the Fairmont hotel. Any comments good or bad? Parking available at the hotel?
Also, being of Acadian heritage, is their any museums or historical areas focusing on the Acadians?
Thanks beaucoup,
RC

John

Parking at the Fairmont is done via valet service. My experiences have been very negative with long waits and rude service. However, the hotel itself is quite nice following a huge renovation and you really won't need your car once you arrive, anyway!

Homer

Haven't been there in a few years, but the Fairmont impressed me negatively with poor service. Room was old and run down The renovation could have solved this problem though. Don't mean to be a 'blck cloud', but that was my one experience there. Hope things are better in the new millennium.

juliie

We booked at the Fairmont and received a confirmation number weeks ahead of our scheduled trip. I came in on a different plane than husband, and was told at the desk that they had rebooked me at the Mariott. Since I didn't want to misplace husband and didn't want him walking a long distance late at night when he came in, argued long and hard with the front desk but they had sold my room and didn't care. Told them that to avoid a problem they had better have a "suite" for us for the next three nights if I let them boot us off to the Mariott, which they did, so it ended pretty well. Fairmont is old, elegant, and tired, but in a good location, and still in high demand, evidentally (lots of conventions all the time). My personal opinion was that they were pretty inept.

traveler

Is the Fairmont in the French Quarter? I read another post by Julie that says you should not go anywhere outside of the Quarter, so I am trying to find a nice place in the area. Julie doesn't sound like she's had a lot of good experiences in New Orleans - it sounds very dangerous from what she's written - Would love to hear advice on where to stay - in a SAFE area. Julie - did you live in the Quarter? Can you make some good recommendations about hotels? Thank you.

Bob

New Orleans' crime rate is way down since 1994 and the city now ranks #20 among the top cities. 20! Statistics show that it's safer than Portland or Minneapolis. Hotels in the French Quarter are fine. Ditto for most places in the Marigny or Central Business District, two surrounding neighborhoods. If you're still worried after reading the huge numbers of posts about New Orleans, maybe you should visit Omaha. I'm not trying to be nasty, but you can be too concerned about some things! Visit the city and have a great time, like millions do each year.

John

Bob is essentially correct about the crime rate being way down, but I still suggest that you visit New Orleans rather than Nebraska! As for Julie's experiences, I believe they happened several years ago and she has posted that her last visit was much better. I own a B&B in the Quarter area and always tell my guests to walk until they don't feel comfortable doing so...then call a cab. Nearly everyone walks until midnight or so, then most wisely opt for a cab since it's when you're drunk that you're a target for bad guys! I haven't lost a guest yet...in fact, not a single one has ever reported a problem!! You will have fun in New Orleans.

Helen

I stayed at the Fairmont in 1994 - a beautiful, old hotel! Our room was elegant and the lobby is absolutely gorgeous! The hotel is 2 or 3 blocks from the Quarter in the Central Business District which is quite safe and much quieter than trying to sleep within the Quarter. However, parking is $15 a night and you won't need your car again until you are ready to leave. If you are flying, don't rent a car! Have dinner at the QSV Restaurant within the Quarter - excellent food, service and ambiance!

R.Cormier

Thanks to everyone who offered comments.
I just got back and had a great time
( I love to eat!)
The Fairmont is old , elegant, and roomy but also very expensive.
Pros-
Its located near the French Quarter, has excellent concierge staff, and a Walgreen's next door.
Cons-
The parking was a pain , especially when the local valet parking service has only one person to sequentially find your car, bring it to the hotel and then return to find the next one.
Food in the hotel was fancy and good but overpriced.
Good location, but as advised by most,I will take the airport limo next time,
Thanks all.

julie

traveler with spam: Just got around to answering your post. On the contrary, we enjoyed living in N.O. very much, and considered staying. At the time we were there,there was a pretty high crime rate..crimes happened in dark places, in the "projects" which are very close to downtown and where poverty is rampant,and the political climate of NO was very corrupt. As I keep saying, it is much improved and it seemed evident when we were last there. Things we liked: the food, the music, friends we made, side
walk musicians, novel little stores, shops, side trips, the swamp, mardi
gras, the history, etc., etc.. But we felt that it was quite different than
other places we have lived. For example, attitude. very laid back, and
fatalistic. Instead of preparing sensibly for a threatening hurricane, some people choose to have a "hurricane" party. We have heard NO referred as the "most northerly of the banana republics". Interpretations of the law are quite different,..laws are based on the Napoleonic Code, not English common law. This changes quite a few things. Tourism is the big industry and big money floats around in the city, but the income per capita is far below thatof other places. In NO proper, people love to party, live to party, and there is (was)apparantly no law (at least at that time) about drinking and driving. (It IS
against the law to be drunk when you drive, but not to drink while you
drive.) They have "drive up" dacari (sp?) windows. Its just a different
place, very hot and sultry in summer, things move more slowly. Nevertheless, NO has an ambience that cannot be duplicated anywhere on earth. But it does behoove one to be a little careful. Now, all that being said, we had wonderful times in the quarter, but we did not choose to live there, but in the "burbs", yet we went in to the city most every weekend for the fun of it.
As for hotels, the Fairmont is okay, and a safe block or two (lots of
lights!) from the quarter, but old and outdated in my opinion. It was the
one we stayed at last visit, and as I described, they gave us the run
around. It's pricy too. I would choose one in the quarter over this one.
I will try to get to my source books, as suggest some. I thought that my
experiences there might be of some interest to others, and did not mean to
be discouraging. I will return again and again to NO, and to Louisana.
Suffice it to say that we did have some very down experiences too, as I have
also shared in other posts. Stay tuned for some good hotel suggestions.