Hilton Riverside Hotel
 

Aloha, We will be traveling to New Orleans next week for the first time as my husband has a conference. We are staying at the Hilton Riverside Hotel, I have been reading posts on travel talk and was wondering is the hotel centrally located? any information and <BR>advice is greatly appreciated. Pakepf3

The hotel is just outside the French Quarter, so its location is fine. The biggest disadvantage is its size...it's huge and can be impersonal.

I've stayed there twice on business - last time was just last October. I had a room in the tower overlooking the river and really liked it. The Hilton is connected to the Riverwalk Mall which has shops, food-court for cheap eats, etc. At the far end of the Riverwalk is the Convention Center. You are 5-6 blocks from the French Quarter, just a couple of blocks from the relatively new Harrah's casino, and one of the trains into the Quarter stops right outside the door [though I never saw it running last time]. I walked in and out of the French Quarter every night that trip to eat.<BR><BR>For a great meal in a neat place that isn't a constant raucous party [ie Bourbon Street] try Crescent City Brewhouse on Fulton Street. Excellent beer, a spicy seafood plate and reasonably priced. I thought Antoines was overhyped - the food was good, but not what I expected for one of the most famous restaurants in New Orleans. The Hilton has a fun sports bar in it's building closest to the river - the one that is your entrance to the riverwalk. Pretty good burgers, and open most of the time.

I stayed at this hotel a few years ago. It is a large hotel and lacks the charm of some of the smaller FQ hotels. But I was able to get a great rate and found it to be a easy walk to the French Quarter. There is a Cafe Du Monde in the connected Riverwalk Mall. We found this to be a nice feature, since it wasn't near as busy and was a good place to have breakfast before heading out for the day.

Thank You for the information. We are looking forward to exploring this area I am sure that it will be a huge difference from Hawaii! Stupid question- I went to weather. Com &amp; looks like it will be rainy part of the time is a rain jacket needed or OK to just take an umbrella? Pakepf3