Marriott Hotel New Orleans

The Marriott is located on Canal Street a few blocks from Bourban Street, making it an excellent location for visiting the French Quarter or Mardi Gras. It towers 41 floors above Canal Street making the views from your room incredible if you are higher up. This hotel actually has two towers of rooms served by two separate elevators and you can't go from one tower to the other without descending to at least the 3rd floor convention area.

The beds in the rooms are incredibly comfortable but there were no refrigerators or microwaves (possibly this was due to my visit shortly after Hurricane Katrina). The internet is wired and you must pay for it - its kind of expensive. There was no free breakfast because they want you to spend your money in the restaurant. I stayed here for work and had to start before the restaurant opened, so I never did eat there. They did have a little coffee shop with pastries open early in the morning.

The lounge by the lobby has nice seating, big tvs and expensive drinks. They did have 2-for-1 bottles of beers (on three brands only) during happy hour. A cocktail was easily $9! You can order from the restaurant and eat in the lounge instead (I tried fried pickles for the first time here and loved them!). The food was pretty good. The entire place is now smoke-free (unlike during my visit).

You do pay a steep price for valet parking ($32) - you are not allowed to park your own car. Be sure to check your car for scratches, as the valets are sometimes careless with SUVs.

The prices skyrocket during Mardis Gras, but it is right on the parade route and they give you wristbands to allow access into the hotel. Overall it has very nice accomodations but is too expensive with all the extras you pay for: parking, tipping the valets, internet, food and drink... I'm giving it three stars because some of the negatives (extra cost) cancel out the positives (comfy beds).

I wouldn't recommend it unless you have a lot of extra money or want to be right in the middle of the action for Mardi Gras. I stayed here for work during the Hurricane Katrina clean up so my stay was paid for. I probably wouldn't stay here if I was paying myself, except maybe during Mardi Gras. Can't beat the location.