I have been spending alot of time on this forum looking for a nice, hotel in New Orleans. (looking for a clean, nice, free parking and nice and convinent neighborhood....not commercial...not too much to ask!)
What I am finding is: One post raves and the next post totally trashes the very same hotel.
Soooo, maybe it will be easier to start with the negative reviews first.

Actually, cedar, free parking IS hard to find as most hotels are in the parking-unfriendly environs of downtown or the French Quarter. Most N.O. hotels are pretty nice, in my experiences, but a few stand out as not so hot: Radisson, Days Inn Canal and anything that's on an interstate highway.

Hotels that nearly always get good reviews on this site are Iberville Suites, Windsor Court and the Monaco.

Remember that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Even great hotels won't appeal to everyone!

Uh... I wouldnt put Monaco anywhere near the Windsor Court and the Iberville Suites has gotten plenty of bad reviews here, in fact it was a thread of its own not long ago. I will say that I met a couple who stayed there and highly recommended it.
Id have to say the Wyndham Bourbon Orleans is the most controversial hotel in New Orleans; you'd think it was two different hotels to read reviews about it lol. I recall the Dauphine Orleans seemed to be well liked on another travel site and the OMNI Royal Orleans is hard to beat.
On he issue of free parking in the quarter it DOES exist! The Le Richelieu prides itself on free parking and is in a quiet end of the quarter.
The Chateau Motor hotel does also and the....Hotel Provincial near the convent has free parking. Of these 3 the Le Richelieu probably has the best reputation and it looks like the Provincial has had a facelift recently and actually looks nice. years ago it was kinda run down. Parking is convenient uptown/Garden District and you can take the streetcar back and forth to the quarter.

Thanks for the response...I will keep searching!

Try the NOLA.com website. They have forums for both Bourbon St. and Travel Advice (along with many other forums) and have some people who give great advice. Good luck finding a place where EVERYBODY agrees - we all have our own opinions, ya know!

As a former 20 year resident of NOLA, I can recommend Le RIcheleu on the edge of the Quarter for really nice rooms and self-parking but the Royal Sonesta is right in the middle of everything and has a garage. Get a top floor room at the back of the hotel to avoid the Bourbon St. racket. The Pavilion over on Poydras has valet parking, nice rooms and peanut butter sandwiches in the lobby at 10PM. BUt, why do you want a car in NOLA?

kh

We are driving to NO....I have this husband who gripes...big time...about paying for valet parking....I am trying to make this trip as smooth as possible...!
I have never been to NO....I thought it would be a good idea to go before the busy "season"...and take advantage of the NOLA specials etc.

I made the mistake of staying at the Radisson on Canal a few years ago. Paper thin walls, fairly small rooms and it is just across Canal street from the Storyville housing projects.

Can't recommend the Pontchartrain Hotel in the Garden District. Our suite was huge but run down and in need of some serious cleaning and remodeling. Hope your trip is wonderful!

Le Richelieu is fine most of the time but it has its moments as well. My last stay there (5th time) my room was not cleaned very well and I had to ask twice for air conditioner repair. Also, another guest was sick in the hallway (not the hotel's fault) and it made for a very unpleasant smell.

Having visited the in-laws often, I can recommend a very good map for starters, if you have no experience driving there. The streets are, by no means, on a grid, so do not run in logical directions. That said, most hotels in the desirable tourist areas will gauge you for parking. Like the earlier post, an alternative is to stay on the Streetcar line, so you do not have to get in the car for every outing. There is a Drury Inn conveniently located, with self-parking in a fenced lot adjacent to the hotel. Le Richelieu may be the only free parking hotel in the Quarter. Otherwise, expect valet parking to run $15-$20 per day. Also, if you find a hotel which offers parking "nearby", be sure to find out how near, as the lighting on some streets is not that great, and having to park a few blocks from your hotel is probably not something you would want to do.

Hey KH,

Have you been to the Pavillon?

I drive by it all the time, and often wondered if they have a nice bar to go for a drink?

Dave

why not look for a b&b in the Garden District (on the streetcar line)? If you plan to stay in the quarter, I'd second the Royal Sonesta. The Omni is also very nice and has a great location on Royal.

tripadvisor.com has some good reviews.

The worst I have stayed at was the Fountain Bay Club. It was about 10 years ago so perhaps it has improved. We were assigned there as part of a convention and checked out the same day we checked in (as most guests seemed to do also but perhaps for different reasons).

Is anyone familiar with the Meridien on Canal St.? We'll be there mid December.

FYI, the Meridien is changing names soon. Have no idea to what or when it will happen. Shouldn't impact you as a guest but I'd keep it in mind because hotel name changes always confuse people for a few weeks.

And to answer your question, it's a very nice hotel that's well located on Canal near the French Quarter.

We just got back last week from New Orleans and we stayed at the Meridien. We really liked it a lot, but we has a room at the end of the hall in a funky corner. Not any noise from any other room could be heard in our room. The service was great, they were friendly and helpful. If we got a good rate, we would stay there again. The location was close enough to Bourbon but far enough too (if that makes sense) Didn't know that it wasn't going to be a Meridien soon. What will it become?