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Crossposts: http://sholio.livejournal.com/416941.html

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Lots of comments to answer on the last few posts, I know, and I'll be getting to them shortly. :D But first, I wanted to throw a question out there to you all. For Christmas I'm going to be visiting my brother and his wife in Leesville, Louisiana, where he is currently stationed (he's in the Army). I have a couple extra days after the holiday and we were going to drive down and spend one night in New Orleans. I've been tasked with reserving our hotel. All the B&Bs (that I've looked at) require a 2-night minimum stay, and we're all very strapped for cash anyway, so I'm now looking at places like Super 8 or Motel 6, some kind of cheapish hotel a little ways outside the city center. My sister told me that even those places book up around Christmas (apparently last year, they wanted to visit New Orleans after Christmas like we're doing this year, but gave up when online investigation revealed that there was absolutely nowhere to stay in the whole city), so I need to reserve something.

I'm just curious if any of you have enough experience in or around New Orleans to have any advice for me on places absolutely NOT to stay, parking or getting around, etc. Since our time is so short, basically we're just going to have dinner there, spend the night at a cheap hotel, then wander about the French Quarter a bit and have breakfast before driving out again. We'll have five adults and one child, so we're going to have two cars to deal with, as well.

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You will do much better price and accommodation wise in
the Garden District
We have stayed at one B&B, very old home, right on
St. Charles Ave. which was nice and the cost was much better than
the French Quarter.......
The street car is wonderful from the Garden District
It travels along St. Charles and stops on Canal where you can get of and walk across into the French District.

Some in Garden District that have good rates and good reviews:

The Prytania Oaks
1612 Prytania Street, Central City, LA 70130 New Orleans
(1.5 miles from French Quarter)

Annabelle's House Bed and Breakfast
1716 Milan Street New Orleans, LA 70115

The Queen Anne Hotel
1625 Prytania St New Orleans, LA 70130

Fairchild House
1518 Prytania Street New Orleans, LA 70130

Avenue Inn Bed and Breakfast
4125 Saint Charles Ave New Orleans, LA 70115

You can also try KAYAK
www.kayak.com

I just used hotwire to search for rooms and got some from $100-$40. All near the city and other attractions. I like hotwire b/c while not knowing the eact hotel, you choose area of town, star rating, and the price.

Forgot to mention the ones I noted run in $80s according to EXPEDIA.......but you can try KAYAK or you can call them directly, what we did.......
Good luck
I still think you would love Garden District which is just a cool area to stay in......near French Quarter but far enough away for some real peace
and quiet after you have run all over.....tired
We used the trolley and loved it.

Thank you! :) Heh, looking at the star ratings on the cheap hotels at this and other sites is striking terror into my heart. *g* But I suppose it's better to be prepared ...

Thank you very much for the suggestions! :) I know nothing about the area, but that sounds very pleasant. And I didn't know about kayak.com either, so I will use that as well!

One of the things that's making it hard to plan this trip is that we have a young child with us, as well as a very diverse group of 5 adults who all have very different ideas of what constitutes a fun vacation. I kinda wish, in a way, that it was just me and my sister, because we love traveling together and we both like to walk, so I think it would be really easy to plan a trip for just her and me. But in this case, there are a bunch of other things to take into consideration -- my sister-in-law isn't physically capable of doing much walking, and a lot of B&Bs do not allow young children, and my dad is a smoker, and so forth. It's turning out to be a lot like putting together a jigsaw puzzle!

The street car runs down St. Charles and ends at Canal.
There is a walk across the street and you are then in French Quarter
We stayed first two nights in French Quarter but then decided to move to
the Garden District and were so glad we did.
We loved riding the trolley....returning to the quiet surroundings of the
Garden District after spending time in the busy hubbub of French Quarter.
I know you will love it too.
Also we rode the street car down the line and saw all the beautiful sights
along the way.
St. Louis and Lafayette Cemeteries are in Garden District and we walked around the latter....as you may know, the tombs are all above ground as the water levels are so high in the area.
We also rode the street car past Tulane which is down there also.
BTW here's a pix of the trolley. If you look closely you will see
Canal Cemetery on the front of it.........
AND I see it is holiday decorated too!!

(http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b385/Sharpes_Hussy/?action=view&current=holiday_streetcar_1.jpg)

There is so much there to see and do............If you have time and can round up the family, a nice thing to do if it is good weather is a short
cruise on the paddle wheeler. We did that and it was terrific.
Get it on Jackson Square and speaking of the waterfront, don't miss
beignets and coffee at Cafe DuMonde
http://www.cafedumonde.com/

Later on Decatur Street, Aunt Sally's.... pralines to die for.
http://www.auntsallys.com/

Try Gumbo Shop on St. Peter Street
http://www.gumboshop.com/
for gumbo, jambalaya, red beans and rice etc.
The Old Coffee Pot on St. Peter also
http://www.theoldcoffeepot.com/
And please try a muffaletta..
Acme Oyster House (Iberville Street in French Quarter) has a good selection of Cajun cooking and seafood also.

Finally, I still remember how nice the weather was when we were there also.......and it was same time you are going.

Forgot to mention where you can get the best muffaletta:
Central Grocery on Decatur...

(http://s23.photobucket.com/albums/b385/Sharpes_Hussy/?action=view&current=Muffaletta.jpg)

http://www.roadfood.com/Restaurant/Overview/122/central-grocery

I was there a few years ago and stayed at the Royal St. Charles (http://www1.hilton.com/en_US/hi/hotel/MSYFQHF-Hilton-New-Orleans-St-Charles-Avenue-Louisiana/index.do), though I don't think it was a Hilton then. Most comfortable hotel bed I've ever slept in. It's about two blocks from the French Quarter in the Business District, which was just far enough to make it not pricey but a really easy walk. I seem to recall walking past an attached parking garage, too. I'd think staying anywhere in the Garden District would necessitate cab rides--do not expect to park anywhere near the French Quarter.

There's an LJ comm,

neworleans, with lots of tags that you might want to check out. They are also very good about answering questions on specific hotels and B&Bs and giving recommendations.

I just remember that Cafe DuMonde was the only place with a public restroom available after about 8 pm. And it's...not shiny. Plan accordingly, and make everyone go at the restaurant. :)

edited html fail.

Edited 2011-12-11 06:44 (UTC)

Le Richelieu downtown in the residential section of the Quarter is one of my favorite hotels in any city. It's two blocks from the French Market with very reasonable rates and an actual parking lot. I think it's the only hotel in the Quarter with a parking lot. The hotel is privately owned with an owner who lives there and most of the employees have been there forever. It's very comfortable and homey feeling.

I've stayed there twice for Jazz Fest, both times for two weeks. I originally found it in the Frommers guide book.

http://www.lerichelieuhotel.com/about.html

Edited 2011-12-11 10:02 (UTC)

Awwwww, they're all booked up for the day we want to travel! Which is really too bad - I wish I'd asked my flist earlier, because they do sound perfect. I bookmarked them in case we're in the city again, because they sound really wonderful. Thank you for the tip!

Thank you! :D Especially for the link to the LJ comm -- I shall poke around a bit. I wish we had more time to explore; it's just going to be an evening and a morning this time. But maybe there will be a next time!

Ooh, thank you so much for the recommendations! :) I'm really looking forward to it; I just wish we had more time to spend there (an evening and a morning), but I've never been closer to New Orleans than the pages of various novels, so I really do think this will be a lot of fun!

And you might want to check out places on the bedbug registry before you reserve a room.

http://bedbugregistry.com/

Hmm, I didn't even know that existed! Thank you for the link.

When I was in New Orleans I lived in a giant olive green government-issued tent, so I don't know about hotels.

But! The Gumbo Shop in the French Quarter is the Best Food Ever (TM) - and is vegetarian friendly, if need be.

Not sure which day you are planning to be there, but know that the Saints are playing at home on Monday night, Dec 26. Exuberance, alcohol, and traffic will abound.

Too bad you didn't go last Friday-I was just down there visiting relatives myself for the holidays. :)

Watch out for crazy drivers, don't stay out after dark, don't go anywhere alone. I've not been near Leesville, so I wouldn't know much about that place, unfortunately. Oh, and gas has gotten cheaper there-it's only around $3.00, so you'll save on gas (I've no idea of gas prices in Alaska).

Sorry for not being able to give more advice, and I hope you enjoy the trip. Word of advice? Try their sweet tea-though DON'T DRINK THE CITY WATER!!!

hahahaha OH DEAR. Thank you for the heads-up! :D

Ooh! Real New Orleans gumbo! I wish we were going to be there longer ... there's hardly enough time to do or see anything.

Gas in Alaska is really expensive - close to $4/gallon. I'm glad to hear it's cheaper there! And thanks for the info.

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