La Quinta Inn & Suites Downtown New Orleans

Well, since I was going to attend the Mardi Gras at New Orleans I wanted a hotel to be close to the French Quarter. The location of La Quinta Inn was unbeatable in that sense. I just parked my car, and never used again until I left.

I think it would have been a great stay, if it wasn't for some annoying, incidental things that happened.

1. First of all, I was very surprised that the door to my room was wide open when I got there. I noticed that it had a piece of wood stuck underneath it. I tried to remove it but it was really hard. I went to the front desk and they said they called somebody to fix it. As you can imagine, it was very uncomfortable to be inside my room with a wide open door, so I told them I would go for lunch in the meantime. I got back, and they hadn't fixed it yet. This started to become annoying. I asked for another room, but the receptionist said the whole hotel was full. So, I had to leave my stuff in the car and headed for the French Quarter. I came back at night and it was finally fixed.

2. Another disappointment was that when I finally got to my room at night, I noticed there was no wireless internet available. Now, this made me upset, because it was advertised in hotels.com that they offered this service, and that's one of the reasons -besides location- that I chose this hotel. I called the front desk again, and they just apologized for the inconvenience. They said that wireless internet was available at the lobby. Duh, I was too tired for that so I went to sleep.

3. I took the elevator the next morning and it smelled terrible. Somebody threw up the night before and they didn't do a good job deodorizing it. It was disgusting. I had to hold my breath through 12 floors plus the extra time added every time somebody stopped the elevator, and refused to get in because of the smell. This was terrible!

4. When I was going to check out, the staff tried to charge me for valet parking, and I didn't use it. I complained and they told me they would fix it. However, I checked my bank statement two days later and they actually made the charge. I called to complain and the lady apologized and said they would remove it.

Well, as good things I have to say the room was very nice, with a flat screen TV and a very nice desk. The bathroom was clean and comfortable as well. I have no complaints as far as the room itself, but all these unfortunate situations is what made me give this bad review. I'm not sure how often these things happen over there, but all I can say is that my stay could have been better.

I had stayed at the La Quinta Inn my first trip to New York City in 2008 and had a very pleasant experience there, so when I found one in the relative location I was looking to stay and within my budget in New Orleans, I booked it with confidence. I was not disappointed.

Upon arrival the checkin process was quick and friendly. After dropping my keys off at the valet service, I made my way up to my room on the 14th floor. As a couple in the elevator with me pointed out, the hotel had no 13th floor, so I was actually staying on the 13th. But since it was the week before Halloween and a large part of why I was there was the history of voodoo in the city and the many ghost legends, I didn't feel staying on the 13th floor was a bad thing. The room itself was spacious with two double beds, a desk area, television and a roomie bathroom.

The only bad points to the hotel were little more than nuisances really. The toilet seemed to barely have enough water pressure to flush. The heater didn't work, just continued blowing cold air, but with temperatures never falling below 65F my whole stay mid 80's most of the time during the day, it was hardly needed. The continental breakfast was sufficient, though the belgian waffles you have to make yourself and the lines at the makers were always long, so if you want them, get there early. And I didn't see the view from the room being all that great at first, but it was actually a good vantage point of the Aquarium of the Americas, the World Trade Center building and Harrah's Casino and hotel.

The best part about the La Quinta though, besides its location - two blocks from Canal Street and the French Quarter and a block and a half from Lafayette Square, the St. Charles Streetcar stop and Gallier Hall - was its service. The maid service provided fresh linens, towels and toiletries daily. The front desk was always helpful with directions and recommendations. They even went out of their way to get me a last minute reservation for lunch at Emeril's. Even upon checkout, the girl at the front desk told me she had been so upset the night before because she had forgotten her cell phone and was unable to call up to the hotel to have them tell me there had been a concert in Lafayette Square. I had never gotten service like that even at the higher priced hotels where I paid more than double the rate. Felt very much at home.

The La Quinta Downtown is a great place to stay. I would recommend it to anyone visiting The Big Easy, especially those on a budget.