The Garden District Hotel in New Orleans

Recently, we spent several days vacationing in New Orleans, a first visit for myself to the city. I admit to not having high expectations since their recent disaster, but was surprised at the renovation work that has been done in the tourist areas. Unfortunately, when you travel a few streets over the scene looks like the pictures we all saw on the news just days after the hurricane hit.

We stayed at the Garden District Hotel on St. Charles Avenue. The location was perfect for a family vacation and within walking distance to several shops restaurants and art museums, but the amenities were not perfect.

I loved the character and historic charm of the hotel, but our room wasn’t the cleanest. The furniture and bed linens were very outdated, but I realize they are attempting to keep a certain style. Our room was certainly smaller than the pictures they boast online.

The biggest problem we encountered was the hot water. Usually you hear about places not having any, but the Garden District Hotel had plenty! There was no cold or even warm water, just extremely hot. Our son rightfully refused to shower for 3 days.

My other issue was the friendliness of the hotel staff. When we asked the desk clerk about directions on getting to a certain location we knew was close by, she simply stated she didn’t know. In my world, if you work in customer service and you don’t know an answer, you go find out for them.

Although the price was reasonable and the location was perfect, the amenities were few and far between. We didn’t spend much time in our hotel, so we dealt with it.

The highlight of our vacation was spending an afternoon at the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas. We’ve been to several large aquariums in other cities and Audubon offered the most interactive and kid-friendly exhibits that I have seen.

I was pleasantly surprised that there were more family activities in the city than I imagined. Beautiful parks and lots of outdoor art fairs. We had an enjoyable time and hope to visit again. If you get the chance go visit, but I’d choose another hotel.

Written by Emily, who is a married working mother of a very energetic 5 year old son. They reside in Southern Indiana (a little too close to the Kentucky border). Someday she’d like to visit Intercourse, PA and have her picture taken with the welcome sign. She writes at her personal blog, Fenicle and loves free samples and trying new things!