Bienville House

Very romantic place; staff was unfriendly

Pros: The hotel felt very French, romantic, and quaint. It was in a perfect location and within walking distance to the wedding we were attending that night. The rooms were cozy and the balcony was nice.

Cons: Somehow my reservation was saved under the name "Judith" (not sure if this was a mistake on Kayak's end, or the hotel's), and the staff treated me as if I had done something wrong. My name is not/has never been/isn't even close to Judith, so there's no way I accidentally gave them the wrong name. I entered the hotel to check in with the three friends who were also in the room, and they couldn't find the reservation and I had to ask "ok so what do I do?" and they told me to call whoever I booked the reservation through. The woman at the desk was rude and unhelpful overall, and finally, after we got the whole thing sorted out she noticed that the reservation had been made for two people instead of four (all four of us were standing at the desk) and she proceeded to charge us and additional $50 for the extra people. Of course, I was dishonest about the number of us in the room, but an extra $50 just seemed unnecessary seeing as we only planned to sleep there and not use an abundance towels, or even eat breakfast. The frustrating thing is that my emails from Kayak are addressed to me, with my real name, so I think the mistake was actually on the hotel's end and yet they were extremely unkind and did not apologize for anything. It was just bad business practice, but I suppose with a location as great as this one they'll continue to fill rooms no matter the customer service. Also the price for parking was just insane. I recommend looking for other places to park; a few of my other friends found a nearby lot for $15 overnight parking.

Bad experience

Pros: The hotel was old which isn't always a bad thing. Our door to our room fell off the hinges and we literally had to sleep with our door opened and unlocked. :( we called downstairs and no one answered. Very dissatisfied

Cons: Just not comfy and dated. Front desk clerk did not make me happy with how she handled the door situation. She asked me "What do you want me to do?" I don't feel I should ask. I didn't have privacy in a room with females. You think they would bend over backwards to satisfy us. Not the case. Very disappointing.

Ants in Bed

Pros: Location and over-priced hotel in the Quarter. I was here for my 60th birthday. I chose this hotel because I had been here before and had a great experience. Hotel allowed me to change rooms after the ants were reported twice and after my patience had run out.

Cons: Ant problem in one of three rooms reserved for my 60th birthday. Since I have been here before the system is the following: they give you a really crappy room (interior dungeon room with no windows or a small, crappy and smelly room) you inform the front desk that you are not happy, they respond by saying they cannot do anything until the next day even though the hotel seemed to be fairly empty and it was at check-in time and finally you are allowed to move yourself the following day. The rates are all over the place, they change on a day to day basis. I reserved one of the rooms at full price because I wanted to make sure my birthday accommodations were great and I received a very disappointing, smelly, cramped room with a tiny bathroom. Unhelpful front desk. Overall a sad experience.

Pros: The location couldn't be better - right on Decatur in the French Quarter. And the price was great. If you're looking for an affordable place to crash after a hard night in the quarter, this is a good hotel.

Cons: The parking is absolutely terrible - the spaces are so small I couldn't get out of the car. Afterwards I learned they have valet parking, but that didn't help me when I pulled in as there were no signs and no attendants outside. Besides, there's no way the valet can get in/out without hitting your door on the car next to you. The concierge was very rude. She insisted that I refer to my girlfriend as my wife - this is the French Quarter, I expect to not have to justify my life choices to the concierge. The pool is nice, but rather small, and when I visited it was very unclean. As guests we had access to the Hotel Monteleone rooftop pool 2 blocks away - but for just $25 more I could have booked my room at Monteleone anyway. The decor reminded me of my grandmother's guestroom, the elevator took a full minute to make it up one floor, the towels weren't soft - I could go on. If you're looking for a cheap place to crash in the quarter, I recommend this hotel. But otherwise I'd spend a little extra cash and stay at one of the much nicer hotels in the area.