Recent 8/21/14 Trip to NOLA - Hotel and Resturant Reviews

Hi Everyone,

I just got back from a cruise out of NOLA. We spent two days in the city prior to the cruise and had a great time. I really got some good info on the board prior to the trip, so I want to pay it forward.

A little bit of background - this is not our family's first trip to NOLA. We visited in 2008 prior to another cruise. As a college student I spent a summer at Tulane's School of Public Health and lived on Canal Street, so I was pretty familiar with the pre-Katrina CBD and could easily find my way to and through the French Quarter. I share that because I think that visiting the city for the first time is totally different than being a repeat visitor. This board is a great place for tips for both types of visitors.

Hotel - we stayed at the Loews on Poydras ( directly across from Harrah's Casino). The hotel was great. The rooms were huge and well appointed. The service was fantastic. Everyone from the front desk attendants to the bell hop was friendly and helpful. DD(13) loved the very clean saltwater pool and I enjoyed the appropriately heated whirlpool - both were indoors which really made a difference to us as the August heat and humidity was overwhelming at times. I loved the location of the hotel - short walk to the FQ, easy walk down Canal ( for Walgreens or CVS), easy walk to the Canal St. street car and St. Charles street car. Easy walk to the riverfront. Not an easy walk(didn't even try) to the pier. I really feel that this is a great property. We paid $154 per night and got $25 per night food/beverage credit. Free wifi in the room and no resort fees made it really a good deal for our family. I think that it's a 'mature' hotel that caters to a lot of business travelers and locals so I'm not sure that I would recommend it to families with younger kids or people looking for a big party place. That said, if you're looking for a quiet and well located place, I recommend it. In the next post, I'll share some reviews of the resturants. We ate at Acme, Mena's Palace, Cafe Du Monde, Cafe Adelie(sp?), Gumbo Shop and Mother's.

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Thank you for sharing ... I'm looking forward to your next part!

Looking forward to your review on Acme as it is WAY up there on our short list right now!

Our first dinner was at Acme Oyster House. We arrived in NOLA in early afternoon and after a long morning of traveling and checking into our hotel, we were all starved. We considered Deanie's, Felix's and Acme's as all viable options and decided that the restaurant with the shortest wait would be our choice. We walked by Acme first - no line and no waiting (around 4:30pm) so we decided to eat there. I had not been in Acme for close to 20 years and it really had not changed much. The music was loud, the neon and mirrored decor was the same and the oysters were fresh. We were seated at a large communal(sp?) and immediately brought cold water by a friendly waitress. We ordered a dozen raw oysters and enjoyed them with horseradish, lemons and cocktail sauce. They tasted very fresh and sweet and not grainy at all. DH had a combo plate of fried fish and shrimp. DD had 1/2 crawfish Po-Boy and gumbo and I had 1/2 shrimp Po-Boy and gumbo. Everyone enjoyed their meals. The total bill for the 3 of us - without any alcohol - was $83.00. It was good standard NOLA food in an interesting bar. I would not stand in line for hours to eat here. If the line is long, you can absolutely get a similiar experience at Deanie's.

After dinner we went to Cafe Du Monde for dessert. What's there to say except that you can never, ever go wrong with fried dough covered in powder sugar. Dh had cafe au lait, and we all shared two plates of fried goodness. It was $10 (including tip) for our dessert. Cafe Du Monde is a fantastic people watching place and we enjoyed the local musician as well as a peace rally in support of the people of Ferguson, MO. I think that it would be a shame to visit NOLA and not have at least one plate of beignets there.

Thanks for the info, we will be there in December.

If you're still around, Cheetah, where did you book the Loews to get that rate and F&B credit?

Thanks!

thanks for the restaurant tips for New Orleans