My husband and I spent 5 nights in New Orleans during JazzFest. We stayed at Soniat House which is well-located and a wonderful haven. Our trip was more business than leisure. Of the US cities we have visited, NOLA locals proved to be the friendliest compared to folks we've met in our other travels.
Our weather was perfect: sunny w/temps in the low to mid 80's.
Restaurants we really enjoyed for dinner were: Gautreau's and Stella's! - Bayona (in our opinion) was the best dinner we've had anywhere. We visited Acme Oyster twice - the 2nd time late in the afternoon - there was no wait. We throughly enjoyed hearing the music at Preservation Hall as well as Old Opera House (a club on Bourbon) which highlighted a group "The Bonoffs". A visit to Cafe du Monde is a must. We enjoyed gumbo at "The Gumbo Shop" and had a fabulous Suncay brunch at Mr. B's Bistro. We walked most of the time - through the French Quarter, to Jackson Square, to the Convention Center. St. Charles streetcar (roundtrip) takes one through interesting parts of the city, including the Garden District. It's a good 1/2 day tour, but worth it. We toured the French Market, walked the Riverfront to the Aquarium and strolled Royal St., window shopping at the myriad of antique shops. Since our stay was during JazzFest, it appeared there were many muscians playing just about everywhere.
NOLA coffee is fabulous! As we had early meetings, we cannot address "nightlife". The architecture of most buildings very interesting. If visiting for the first time and walking after dark, a good idea to check at the hotel first. Some side streets can be deserted - better to stay in high traffic areas. A pity we could not experience JazzFest at the Fairgrounds - but there was not lack for finding good music just walking through the city - at any hour.
Folks on this Forum were more than helpful as we planned this trip. It's always a challenge combining business and leisure.

Thanks A Lot!
You come to New Orleans in peak season,
you don't go to Jazzfest (one of the
greatest musical events in the world),
you don't take a tour except for the
$1 streetcar ride (which does not go
through the Garden District), then you
tell us the architecture is "very
interesting" in the French Quarter.
I commend you for going to some good
restaurants but, really, come back
sometime and get out and see the place.
It sounds to me like you were on a
corporate account and got a free trip!
It must be nice! Michael Brecker

Thank you for reporting your trip. We often travel on business and combine some pleasure with it which is better than no pleasure at all, right? It sounds like you had plenty of time to explore the Quarter and get a feel of the city. You couldn't have asked for nicer weather. Glad to hear you enjoyed Soniat House.

Elaine, a good report on one of my favorite US cities. Ignore Michael. He obviously woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning!

Elaine,
Great time to one of my favorite cities.

Question to Meg/Howard:
We will be in NOLA this Sept. Our agt has booked the International House (not "of Pancakes") on Camp.

Their website and Rants/Raves make it seem too good to be true. Your insightful input would be appreciated.

The International House is not great, I'm afraid to say. My husband and I thought it was highly overrated with a rude staff to boot. Why stay in a trendy hotel in a historic city, anyway? I suggest one of the many charming places!

I'm with Sandra on this one. While I haven't stayed there, we did stop for a drink at the bar and the hotel has a superhip, 20-something big money feel to it. I'd like it if I were staying in NYC or South Beach, but not New Orleans.

Plus, I'd recommend you stay in the Quarter rather than having to cross Canal anyway.

So glad you had a good trip, and good to know this board's suggestions were helpful. Do hope you will be able to attend Jazz Fest at some point in time. IMHO, it is musical heaven. If I had been in your shoes, I'd probably ditched all my plans and lived out at the fairgrounds. But good to know you got to soak up the flavor of the city. It is indeed a treat!

Aloha and Thanks for the input. I am forewarned!

It's part of a "football fan" booster club package so we may be "stuck" with it.

We've stayed at Marriott and Sheraton the past 5 trips. (They stayed in the FQ last trip but we weren't able to attend.)
Close enough to the FQ, even tho I wore out the knees on my pants crossing Canal to go back to the Sheraton after a few cocktails in the FQ.

But in NOLA, how many times do you actually remember "sleeping" in the hotel room? ;^)

Ahhh...A Ferdi's Special w/ debris anyone?!

Oh Kal, you're just too easy! You don't really much care where you stay in New Orleans, you just want to be there!!! Sorry we're going to miss you, but I'm sure we'll all have as much fun as Elaine did. What a great report she posted, thanks Elaine!!