4/10 - 4/14 -The only thing good about this hotel is the location.
We were on the 10th floor. It was noisy at night because there was a street behind our room. The bathroom was very small.
The room could use a update of carpet and paint. The staff at the front desk seemed very confused. They had us down as hotwire customer, I booked thru the hotel directly. Then the woman at the desk had us under another name. Good thing I brought my confirmation from home. Then another younger woman helped us out at the desk. The restaraunt next door was terrrible. The waiter dropped his tray and I ended up with salsa all over my back. The manager finally came over and gave me 20% coupon....(at home I would receive a free meal) The bell boys at the hotel were the only staff that seem friendly since they work on tips.
There was a nice restaraunt a block away for breakfast called Mela. Ate there twice and would definately recommend. I would definately pay more to stay elsewhere in the quarter than the Holiday-inn.

Buy the round trip shuttle package because there is lots of construction and drivers are taking side streets and other ways around, we heard over $40 from airport to French Quarter. $60 round strip for 2 is worth it. We booked through AA Vacations and asked for a King bed, upon check in around 3:30pm they had us down for a double, no problem switching to an available room. There was some kind of college dressup thing going on so the elevators were packed. This was not bad and was fun seeing drunk "kids" all about. When it came to our room I was surprised on how well it was kept. We only cared about one thing, the bed, it had to be comfortable and it was. Desk, TV, iron, etc. was all there nothing fancy. Paint, colors where good and no broken fixtures. Places to eat: Deanie's, down from Acme (because of the lines). Charbrolied Oysters, very good taste. Music: Fat Catz and Opera House. Drinks: Jester's Pina Colada, Tropical's Grenades and drink Abita beer on draft. For a little fancy food try Bonton. I couldn't decide so they made half of each; Oyster's Alvin and a crawfish dish. Do the haunted tour at Voodoo's and get Paul (little short veteran with long curly hair who walks with a cane).

This hotel is a great deal, if, you can get a deal. I booked it for 54.00 a night with Hotwire and so it was well worth it. Otherwise I think I would have overpaid. The location is fabulous, but there are a lot of charming spots to find in the French Quarter for the same amount as a regular night here. Because we arrived near midnight on a Saturday night, we could not get the room we had booked and had to accept a smoking room. They were happy to switch us for the remaider of our stay though. Our room was decent enough, however the first one was a bit shabby. The hotel reception was often busy in the middle of the day, but were as accomodating as they could be. The pool was O.K. too. The Monteleone down the street looked like an nice upscale alternative, with a great location.
New Orleans is a blast! We had a great vacation for 8 days, the end of March. The weather was wonderful, high 70's and just right for sight seeing. I spent hours just roaming the French Quarter streets enjoying the atmosphere there.
Meals were always an adventure! There is some great food to be found in this city! We often tried Frommers' inexpensive recommendations and we were always happy. (can be found online at Frommers' site.) These spots weren't fancy, but they were often interestingand had great food! Central Grocery for a muffelatta is a must, and if you are in the Garden District slip in to Slim Goodies Diner for interesting atmosphere!
We loved the tours that we took and recommend Tours by Isobel, for an authentic and personal touch. The Cajun swamp tour was fabulous, with the swamp part being guided by a honest to goodness, bayou living,Cajun alligator farmer, among other things. The passenger vans were really packed, though.
It's great to see that this city is still rebuilding and has a positive attitude after so much heartache. There is still lots to be done though! Take the Katrina tour to learn so much about this disaster.

I was not impressed with this hotel, the rooms were given to us supposedly at a group rate of 129.00 for courtyard rooms. I couldn't get a courtyard room, because the ran out. then one of our party cancelled I tried to book the room, they couldn't change my reservation at the reservation center, the hotel told me to call the reservation center, finally I called the manager 3 times, they never called back. When we got there early (at 11am) they told us our rooms wouldn't be ready till at least after 12, it wasn't ready till 4 and then they booked us on the 11th floor when everyone else in our party was on the 9th floor, we had to wait another hour till 5 to get a room.
The people at the front counter didn't seem to know what they were doing, they said they couldn't get a time out of housekeeping, but when we asked house keeping ourselves, they told us 45 minutes, and it was ready in 45 minutes. Housekeeping seems to be much more pleasant then the front desk. At one point I called down and they were very rude and snapped at me. The so called courtyard, was a giant cement patio, with some halfhearted fake trees and stone benches.
crappy place not worth the money. every other member of our party had microwaves and fridges and we did not.
They didn't even know another person from our party had checked in, showing his room as not occupied when he went to get an extra key, even tho he had already checked in.
aside from the concierge who was very nice, but didn't know all that much about what was open and when. the front desk staff all needs training on politeness.