Help with place to stay in New Orleans
 

My husband and I are going to NO for the first time in April. We want a quiet, clean smallish place to stay. I've been looking at the better bed and breakfasts and been getting very confused. Can you please give me some info on Chimes, House on Bayou Road, Elysian Fields, etc. Thank you in advance.

My most recent stay in NO (this past summer) was very enjoyable at Ashton's B&B on Esplanade Avenue. It is in a safe area, and the house is an old plantation home with 15 foot ceilings and lots of antiques. There are several rooms to choose from on the web site; they are all good, but there is a little street noise in the front rooms. Anything but a front room is very pleasant. Each room has A/C and the beds are queen-size with a few rooms having doubles or kings. Patrick Ashton, the owner, is very helpful and will advise you on places to go while you enjoy one of his sumptuous breakfasts. I can't remember the exact website address, but if you have gotten to some of the websites for b&b's in New Orleans, you can find Ashton's pretty easily.

The location is about a 5 minute drive from the French Quarter. Ashton's has private parking within a gated, fenced area at the house. We found it easy to drive everywhere we wanted to go, even including the French Quarter, where there is lots of parking in the big lot next to the old Jax Brewery.

You won't find many B&B's in what I would call the swanky parts of town. Most of them are in decent areas. As for the specific location on Bayou Road, it's about a 10 minute drive north of the French Quarter in a decent area. Elysian Fields is a bit farther away from the old downtown. If you want some more info, I grew up in southern Louisiana and would be happy to help. ([email protected])

I have stayed in many hotels and several B&Bs in New Orleans. These days, I like a place called Grand Victorian (St. Charles Ave) and La Maison Marigny (Bourbon Street/Esplanade Avenue). I have also stayed at Chimes in the past and enjoyed it although it was several years ago and I don't have recent experience.

What/where is Elysian Fields? That street can be rough in the wrong areas. You definitely need to be near the river if the B&B is on that street.

I haven't stayed at any B&B's in New Orleans but have always read great reviews about La Maison Marigny (Bourbon Street/Esplanade Avenue). Their website is very informative - good luck and enjoy the city!

Wow! What quick and informative responses. I've been sitting here the past few hours reading old posts, and there seems to be a consensus not to stay out of the FQ on a first-time visit. One person posted "there are several quiet and lovely B & B's in the quarter," but failed to name them. Can one of you help me out with that? We're looking in the $100-$200 price range. Someplace I would feel safe and pampered, but not a B&B with really intrusive hosts or a breakfast where there is only one long table where all the guests must eat together at exactly the same time.
Wayne, I have been reading good things about Ashton's but we will not have a car. How would we get downtown the easiest? Taxi? Cost?
Thank you all again. I wish I'd started here, but everything I'm reading gets me more excited. I'm in the northern-most tip of Michigan and it's only 10 degrees here today. Planning this trip is helping to keep me sane!

If you don't have a car, it's easy to get a taxi from Ashton's. As I recall, it should be around $5.00 to get into the Quarter. Ashton's recommends a specific cab company (can't recall which now, but he will tell you) and they respond quickly. I forgot to mention that Ashton's is completely fenced, and that he will give you a key to the gate to enter the property.

One thing you will find about many, many parts of New Orleans is that there are many older homes that are decaying and not so pretty, and that is true in every neighborhood in the city with the exception of the areas near the lake shore (which isn't really a central location) and the middle of the Garden District. Unfortunately, there are no B&B's directly in the Garden District, but there are some around the edges. I still prefer Esplanade, although you will find it to be less grand than you might have expected.

Something I have done from time to time when visiting that area is stay on the north shore of the lake, in Mandeville, Covington, or Madisonville. There are some neat B&B's in those towns, and they are generally less costly. The only downer is the toll (I believe $2) and the time to drive across the causeway to N.O. Since you don't have a car, this wouldn't be of interest for your visit. Good luck.

We'll be staying at Maison Marigny for the first time this April. It's right on Bourbon, but don't let that discourage you. It's on the far end, away from the crowds, but close enough to walk. Also on Bourbon, but a bit closer to the 'action' is Lafitte Guest House, which was also on my list. Two years ago we stayed at the Cornstalk Hotel on Royal. We enjoyed our stay, but they've really raised their rates (at least for Quarter Fest), and it seemed overpriced this year.

Personally, I can't imagine not staying in the Quarter during our trips to New Orleans. Yea, it's busy and can be noisy depending on where you stay, but it's also very safe (at least in the retail areas), and there's always great people watching.

In addition to the B&B's, there are also many small hotels. Prince Conti has some nice rooms at decent prices. Although, we haven't stayed there Hotel Provincial also gets decent reviews.

Are you coming for Quarter Fest?

The Fine Inns of New Orleans (www.neworleansinns.com) lists some of the B&Bs mentioned plus a few others. May be worth checking out.

I live near the Garden District and there are several here. If you want the Quarter area, you'll probably stay in the Faubourg Marigny or the Esplanade area as I don't think B&Bs are allowed in the French Quarter itself unless they were grandfathered years ago.

La Maison Marigny (on the quiet end of Bourbon Street) and B&W Courtyards in the Faubourg Marigny both get WONDERFUL reviews. You can read more about both of them by doing a back search of this board. You won't go wrong with either.