rylan

Wonder if they'll end up canceling french quarter fest again for this year too.

Songer5

I'm going with my 9 year old daughter during her school break so I wasn't trying to do Mardi Gras anyway. Just wanted to go somewhere warmer than NYC in February. Any guidance there?

danbnash

It's a ways out but Accuweather shows daily highs of between 62 and 74 for February so you should be pretty good.
Be prepared for rain possibilities.

allseas1586

How are we feeling about the JW Marriott vs the New Orleans Marriott these days? Currently have the JW booked next month but wondering if the Marriott might be a better choice for the pool.

cubeman

Consider the W? Outdoor pool and great environment.

allseas1586

Is the W much better? It’s about $50 a night more than the JW. I have friends staying at the Astor Crowne Plaza so was hoping to be close to there.

cubeman

Haven't stayed at either, just had a great experience at the W.

ajcopley

Just finished a 3 night stay at the Springhill Suites Convention Center (St. Joseph St). Nothing spectacular to write about. One major drawback however is the lack of daily housekeeping service. You have to explicitly request it the morning PRIOR to when you actually want your room serviced, otherwise they won't ever step foot in your room. I can only assume they're using Covid as the excuse (I didn't ask)...

Adam1222

Sharing my experience at the Renaissance Arts, which is mixed.
pros: the immediate vicinity is calmer than Poydras and Canal where most of the big hotels are, and the hotel is much smaller than the mega convention hotels- the "executive" room I was upgraded to as a Platinum was decently sized



The executive room comes with two bags of chips and two cans of Pepsi.
​​​

Cons: platinum breakfast is bad- a voucher for a pastry, beverage, and fruit. But it's strictly to go from the bar, and you have a choice of three cruddy muffins, an apple or orange, and brewed coffee or tea. The coffee and beignet place is not currently operating.

Platinum breakfast

The doors aren't well insulated. I woke up four or five times from others slamming doors. There was also major construction in the hallway outside my room that made working from the room impossible. The roof level is also under construction, so the pool deck is closed, but also all the natural light at the gym is blocked off.
Rooms themselves are dated but well maintained.
Also note that many of the rooms here face interior atria only.

rylan

Thats the warehouse district Renaissance on Tchoupitoulas right? Unfortunate, since I had stayed there several times in the past pre-covid era and it sounds like it was much different. Hotel doesn't have a lounge so they had a small key accessible 'elite room' with snacks and tea/coffee/water. I do remember the exterior rooms with better views could get noisy from street sound.

Very poor breakfast offering. Used to get a voucher for something from the Legacy Kitchen restaurant if I recall. I would complain about that joke of a plat breakfast especially from what is supposed to be a 'full service' hotel.

Adam1222

Yeah, the Legacy Kitchen is open but voucher cant even be used for sit down. Only to-go.
The noise was actually all from *inside* the hotel. People in the hall, including construction crew.
It seems they are refurbishing half the rooms though.

rylan

What they offered is worse than you could get in that little 'elite room' if they still have it.

Adam1222

They do not.

SFOTerry

Any recent experiences at the Marriott at 555 Canal Street? Is the concierge lounge open? Thanks.

ForbesHall

On January 11, I booked the W for a 2-night stay in late February. I used the AAA rate and saw one of the "Hot Deals" was available and didn't require any deposit so I booked it. On my confirmation email, it said "You may cancel your reservation for no charge before 11:59 PM local hotel time on Wednesday, February 16, 2022 (3 day[s] before arrival). Please note that we will assess a fee of 768.31 USD if you must cancel after this deadline. If you have made a prepayment, we will retain all or part of your prepayment. If not, we will charge your credit card. This fee equals your room charge plus tax for all the nights of your reservation." There was no mention of any deposit at the time of booking and that's what I expected. There was no charge to the card I used to hold the reservation.

So I checked my credit card account on February 2nd and noticed a charge of $450.56 from the W. I figured there was a screw up and they accidently charged me for the first night for my upcoming stay in 3 weeks. I called the hotel to get it corrected and was informed that my reservation now required a deposit. The clerk even sent me a screen shot of my reservation and it stated that a deposit was required with that rate. She was polite about the situation but was clearly trying to prove that hotel was right and I was wrong. However, if the rate did require a deposit, then that should have been charged on 1/11/22 and not a few weeks later. I wasn't in the mood to argue with her and just cancelled my reservation. This is was the second time this hotel has billed me incorrectly (cancelled a reservation before the deadline and they charged me anyway a few years ago) so I won't be back to property again.

Has anyone encountered a hotel changing the rate rules on them after the fact?