TerryD

We are taking a bus trip from New York to N.O. and the hotel booked is the Ambassador. It sounds nice but a little out of the French Quarter. Any comments. Also, will weather in Late April be tolerable. Thanks.

Jim

I'll be staying there in early April. I'm paying $99/night taxes included...which is cheap...it looks to be a decent location to the Quarter and other places, and a so-so hotel. Will let you know when I get back.

Steve

My car was stolen at this hotel so my memories are not very fond. It COULD be nice but the staff is just awful. I got zero help from them even though the van was in their lot!

TerryD

Thanks for replies. Looking forward to update from Jim on his stay at the Ambassador in early April.

Jim

I'm back after 4 nights. I liked the location because it was close to the convention center and Riverwalk, and close enough to walk to the French Quarter.

At first glance, the hotel looked pretty nice. It's in an old coffee warehouse which was nicely renovated. It didn't take long to notice the details, which make the hotel a disappointment. It's obvious that the management and staff don't care about quality or customer service. With certain exceptions, most seemed to be sulen and uncaring. My toilet was plugged upon arrival. The room was poorly cleaned and poorly maintained. The bed was broken. I had to call again down to the lobby to get my bags delivered to my room. There's a bar and restaurant off the lobby. I stopped at the bar a couple of times. I had a strong sense that the restaurant wasn't any good. One employee told me that on a 1 to 10 rating, she'd give it a 4 1/2.

I wouldn't stay there again. If they would replace present personnel with people who give a darn, and train them to provide good customer service, it would be a really nice hotel.

Sam

Thanks so much for the follow up, Jim! I wish more people would do this.

TerryD

Thanks Jim for keeping your promise to advise about your stay at the Ambassador, which, unfortunately, does not sound too promising. I hope we have better luck. Since we are on a bus tour, there isn't much we can do at this point but keep our fingers crossed. At least I won't be surprised at poor service. Thanks again.

Sara

Terry, we stayed in this hotel last March and enjoyed it very much. It is a 'safe' 5 minute walk to the FQ along streets with people on as the casino is pretty close by, along with the 'W' and Doubletree Hotel. The room was large with 2 double beds, polished wooden floors, exposed brickwork and the original posts to keep the ceiling supported. The staff in the restaurant were great and the breakfast was lovely, but restaurant food is usually pretty dodgy anyway so we didn't eat here as New Orleans has too many places to eat at. Make sure you don't get a room over the bar as you may not be able to sleep for the noise, we called down several times to complain without much success! On the whole it was 100 times better than the FQ Courtyard hotel (which is there sister property)that we stayed at the first night, this was in a 'dodgy' part of the FQ and the staff there were the WORST I have ever come across in the world. Enjoy your trip.

Sara

I wouldn't say New Orleans was my favourite place I have stayed. It's just Bourbon Street is the pits. The rest of the FQ, Garden Dist, Bayous, Rivercruise, shops, restaurants and bars were great. Terry was asking about the hotel and I gave my opinion whats wrong with that?

jim

I loved New Orleans. It's not unusual for people to have different opinions about a particular street scene or hotel. Diversity of opinion is a good thing. And after all, no street, or no hotel, is all good or all bad.

Sara

Thanks for that Jim. This thread may look a bit strange now Fodors has removed a comment made about my previous thread.

TerryD

Just found out that our tour has booked us into the Radisson rather than the Ambassador. This hotel seems to be a bit far from the French Quarter and we won't be able to walk to the Riverfront. There is a free shuttle. Has anyone stayed there?

Anna

I don't think the Radisson is in a good part of town. Maybe the natives can help here. If I remember correctly it used to be the Clarion (I stayed there in 1992) and it was not great at night.

susan

The Raddison is in an AWFUL part of town. I wouldn't stay there no matter what! Rampart Street is the edge of the French Quarter and anything either on that street or beyond it can be dangerous.

JanisB

Stayed at the Raddison a year ago -- didn't like it and wouldn't return there. And I agree with the assessment of the neighborhood.

Stayed at the Marriott on Canal in December. It was nice, including helpful staff. Liked the location for walking to everything. But if your tour is staying at the Raddison, you can easily take the shuttle to the French Quarter.

Chazz

I think that some of the above posters are too hard on the Radisson. While I would not stay there any longer, simply because I know of too many ways to get rooms as inexpensive or more so at better proprties, I had three good stays at this hotel. We always walked, even at night, (We are all in our 20's)and never had problems, although if you are not used to urban areas it can be a little off-putting. You could always take a cab. Some of the biggest rooms I've ever had in New Orleans were at this hotel. The bottom line is you can almost certainly find a better location for an equitable price, but this hotel is not bad, if you feel you have no other options.

Chazz