We're planning a road trip to New Orleans and other places in the south in early May. Hotels in the French Quarter are quite a bit more than we usually like to pay for lodging (one of the cheapest I've seen is the Royal St. Charles for $137/night through LivingSocial).

Mr. Pickle saw a Studio 6 (part of the Motel 6 chain) at I-10 at Bullard Ave. for around $65 per night. Is this area OK? We would, obviously, have to drive into New Orleans to do some things (we're just starting to work on activities), but we can have some good meals, etc. if we spend less money on our hotel.

Any opinions?

Lee Ann

Last time I was in New Orleans, (before Katrina) I stayed in a hostel. http://www.hostels.com/new-orleans/usa
If all you need is a safe place to sleep, one of these not too far off the St. Charles streetcar line (Garden District) would be OK.

Honestly, I would choose that night to splurge and make up the difference elsewhere on the trip. There's a magic to NOLA and that includes wandering the streets at night and coming back to your room. If you stay off Bourbon Street, you can pretend you are in a European city. My favorite place is the Dauphine Orleans. We stay in the private courtyard rooms at the Hermann House but my mom loved taking "girls trips" there and staying in the hotel section.
http://www.dauphineorleans.com/hotel...hine%20orleans

I highly encourage you to stay in the French Quarter and enjoy the full experience, even if that means shortening the stay from 2 nights to 1 or cutting $ corners elsewhere during the trip. How long has it been since you've been to NOLA and how long will it be before you return?

If you want to stretch the budget, check the Federal City Inn, a better bet than that Studio 6. Located on a former naval base, it's across the river from NO and if you're lucky your room might have a view of the skyline. Rooms have kitchenettes, wifi and free parking. It's about a 15 min drive into the Fr Quarter but parking there can be tough so you'd probably want to take the ferry to Canal Street or maybe the bus. Front desk is very helpful with directions etc. Downside is that there is nothing within walking distance of the hotel as far as restaurants, cafes etc so you're a bit isolated.

What Starrs said.

Urban planner Andres Duany hit the nail on the head when he said that NO is the northernmost city in the Caribbean.

You need to stay in the city to experience it. Save money elsewhere. The good news is that I have been to NO many times and not spent one nickel on admissions to anything. The best thing there are free or very cheap (St Charles streetcar).

What Starr's said.

Check Place DArms. They have some week day rates under $100 and are in a great area of the FQ

I've never been to NO; Mr. Pickle was there once when he was a kid. We're spending three nights in early May, right after JazzFest.

Thanks for the input, everyone. I'll check your recommedations.
We're also looking at VRBO and will see what we can find with Priceline.

Lee Ann

Unfortunately you'll have to budget in $25-$30 per night for parking in the French Quarter, so consider that when checking Priceline rates.

That would be crazy to stay way out there. Eastern New Orleans is not the safest place to stay, and the traffic and commuting back and forth will destroy the experience. Not to mention the parking rates as one other person put it.

St. Charles area or CBD is your best bet price/proximity for your budget. There is no safe area in New Orleans, not even the French Quarter, just use your common sense, stay in lit areas and be aware of your surroundings and you'll have a great time. I spend a lot of time here so I know the city well.

We just got back from NOLA yesterday and stayed in the CBD (lots of hotels and restaurants there). It was an easy 20 minute walk to the French Quarter.

I don't know your tolerance for noise and crowds, but I will say we were glad to get away from all that by staying in the CBD.

In a word - NO - you do not want to stay out there.
Is it safe? Yeah, probably. But it's not an area I would chose. It is a fair distance from the French Quarter and has nothing interesting nearby.

I agree with starrs - splurge a little and stay in the city (FQ or CBD) and make sure to include parking in your budget calculations.

Starrs -

So happy to see you like Dauphine Orleans! We haven't stayed there before but are taking our kids in the spring and have booked two connecting rooms. Nice to hear good things about it ahead of time!

I've been going since the 80s and it's my favorite place in NOLA. I've stayed in most of the conference hotels when on business, but I move over to the Dauphine when my part of the trip began or when going for leisure. My mom would go for "girls trips" and stay in the hotel and it's been consistent for decades. If you go back with just hubby, consider the Hermann House rooms across the street around a private courtyard. Very romantic.

The location is great with onsite valet parking. Not sure how long it's been since you've gone to NOLA but be sure to take the streetcar out towards the bend in the river for a nice ride - and then get off to walk to Magazine Street to enjoy the new shops. My favorite is -
http://www.shopsucre.com/

Fabulous macarons and gelato. Which reminds me, I need to order a King cake.

Thanks, everyone, for your suggestions. I spent some time looking at VRBO and Airbnb properties and found a nice place that's a short walk from the French Quarter. It had several dozen positive reviews, so I think we'll be happy staying there.

Lee Ann

I really love staying in the Marigny on AirBnB, in the approximate location of the Balcony House B&B (not where I stayed, but to fix the location).

We splurged on a dinner at Mr B's Bistro, and we're glad we did.
Stop by Hotel Monteleone and enjoy the Carousel Bar
And there is a great free museum -I can't remember name, but enjoyed learning more about the history of the city. It was right in the French Quarter

We love to cook, and the best part of our visit was a class at the New Orleans School of Cooking ... Because of that experience, we're including a Santa Fe cooking school on our trip this summer.

We splurged on a dinner at Mr B's Bistro, and we're glad we did.
Stop by Hotel Monteleone and enjoy the Carousel Bar
And there is a great free museum -I can't remember name, but enjoyed learning more about the history of the city. It was right in the French Quarter

We love to cook, and the best part of our visit was a class at the New Orleans School of Cooking ... Because of that experience, we're including a Santa Fe cooking school on our trip this summer.

Lee Ann, if you continue to look, I second cd's recommendation of Place d'Armes. It's half a block from Jackson Square, and if you get an "interior" room (means no windows), it is not too pricey although you do have to pay to park. My brother, sister, and I shared a room there the first part of March and surprisingly didn't miss having a window. The room fee also includes breakfast--of sorts.

{Think Lee Ann's trip to NOLA got put on hold}

Thanks, carolyn. DebitNM is right - we got a really great airfare deal to Milan, so we're going to Italy this year. We are still planning to do this road trip, but not until 2016.

Lee Ann