OliverB

Hi rjque,

Did you end up booking the Soniat for September?

Despite my posting about wanting to book in Jan, we were actually planning our trip for the fall to coincide with The Ponderosa Stomp but due to conflicting plans, we had to push it back until next spring. I've already booked 10 nights in a Jr. Suite at the Soniat House for the last week of March. I initially called SLH to book directly through them since I recently signed up for the loyalty club, but that turned into a whole convoluted thing that sort of soured me on their service...

First, I really don't understand why the operate a 24-hour service line when the people who answer in the evenings are incapable of making bookings, which is what I encountered - I was told to call back in the AM and speak with a daytime rep. I'd discovered that the advertised 'club rate' through SLH was considerably higher (almost $150) than the best available rate on the Soniat House website. I called the next morning as instructed and spoke with a supervisor who acknowledged the problem and was able to adjust the price over the phone. The total still came out to be $10 higher for some reason. The supervisor that I spoke with explained that it was a glitch in their system but couldn't resolve it over the phone and asked to call me back. I questioned whether it was worth the trouble for ten bucks and she graciously offered to upgrade my club level so that I could take advantage of the potential upgrades, late check-out, continental breakfast and whatever other club amenities that I didn't otherwise qualify for. She wanted to sort out the price discrepancy for me though and she promised to call back within the hour. 5+ hours passed and I had not heard from her so I called SLH back and decided I was just going to book right then since the dates of our trip fall on the week of the Tennessee William Literary Festival and I didn't want to take any chances as inventory seemed low from what I saw on their website. I got another supervisor on the line who told me that she couldn't honor the upgrade offer of the previous person that I had spoken with and that it never should have been extended. I asked whether she would at least price match the Soniat House site and knock the unexplained ten dollar charge off and she started feeding me this line about ridiculously bureaucratic procedures for their price matching policies at which point I just got frustrated and decided I wasn't gonna waste my time nor spend $10 more to book through SLH who seem incapable themselves of making a simple reservation! I called the Soniat House directly instead and booked with the absolute kindest and sweetest woman who was so extremely helpful, describing all of their suites in detail (bed size and type, views, noise, etc) and which ones she prefers. She told me that she was reserving the only Jr Suite with a private covered terrace facing the courtyard for me. She also asked whether I had her permission to upgrade us to a Grand Suite on arrival if possible and I of course said that it would be fantastic and genuinely appreciated.

Anyway, I'm so glad that I ended up calling the Soniat House directly and speaking with this person. It was so much more pleasant than the 2 full days that I spent going back and forth with different people at SLH. I strongly recommend that you call the property directly to book and ask as many questions as needed, they're really patient and helpful!

If anyone has any recent experiences, photos, advice or suggestions and anything else to add about the Soniat, I'd still really love to hear them. The property seems really interesting in that it looks to be run as a quasi b&b-inn slash hotel, sort of like the Rittenhouse in Philadelphia, I think. I'm really not sure what to expect but I haven't been to NOLA in years and I'm really excited for our upcoming trip!

Btw, has anyone been down over the Tennessee Williams Literary Festival, and if so, how bad are the crowds? The person that I spoke with at Soniat House told me that the city gets pretty crazy and everything gets booked up quick. She offered to help with early reservations and planning. ^