Le Meridian New Orleans- 3 nights June 2018
Hotel is part of Marriott (SPG). I had no status but I was a member of SPG Rewards program and that was noted on my reservation, this resulted in a high room on a floor reserved for “Starwood Preferred Guest Level”. The view was nice and the friend traveling with me thought it was the coolest thing that I was getting a special perk even thought I was like “it’s free to join...” Idk if this has changed with the programs merger into Marriott Rewards complete but the lesson stands- always join a hotel’s Rewards program when it’s free, you don’t know what you might get
The rooms were like slices of pie which was weird. The tip was the door, but it worked. Funky room architecture went with the feel of the hotel. Rooms felt upscale as I expected (but this was my first Le Meridian so idk how it compares to others within the brand).
About 5 min walk to the riverfront streetcar (at the Hilton stop). 15-20 min walk to the French Quarter without a streetcar (depends on where you’re going). 10 min walk to the St Charles Street Car. The Riverfront Trolley drops you right near Cafe Dumonde, which is right near the horse drawn carriages FYI.
Grabbed latte at the espresso bar in the morning that was actually ok. On weekends they had a crazy looking Bloody Mary Bar! Didn’t have a chance to check out the pool.
The feel of the hotel was neat, if not weird. No, I don’t understand what was with the upside down furniture or the video they played of the artist carrying that chair around on his back but- whatever! Something to ponder while one waits for an elevator.
They had issues with roomkeys and elevators and we had to have them reprogrammed a couple times. The front desk was apologetic and said something about elevator system having issues with the keys (you need a key to go up the elevator).
It’s located far enough away from FQ noise is not a problem, transport is within walking distance as stated above. We Ubered to the hotel from the airport.
Who do I recommend this hotel for? People who are in ok shape to walk a bit. Couples or friends traveling together. Children could be a problem reigning in. (Look at the photos online and you’ll see the lobby has seats surrounded by all sorts of books and stuff kids could just make a mess of. Nice atmosphere, but not great for parents trying to control kids in such a tempting environment.)
Uber/Lyft are great if you’re going out at night. High heels + cobblestone = trouble. Save your feet, save your ankles, grab the ride share!
I would not want a car, parking is a pain in that area. Also, both hotels I stayed at charged like $45/day for parking so definitely check parking rates if you intend to drive to NOLA.