777 global mile hound

I used the gym at the Hilton Riverside across the street where friends were staying it is one of the best fitness centers in the city.I believe the Westin has an adequate decent facility.My corner suite was fantastic by New Orleans standard with a huge corner bedroom ,river view and and enormous living room also with breathtaking views of the river and sunset.Living room too had a
Regretfully I do not have pictures.Its been so long since I have been upgraded to a great suite at a Starwood Hotel I almost had forgotten what Platinum is except for the welcome amenity points
No pictures sadly.Decor in rooms is reasonably modern with outstanding light up bathroom mirrors,Heavenly bed.Lobby and public areas are classic old world meets corporate business hotel.The hotel has breath taking views from the main lobby with soaring ceilings looking out to the river

mnscout

My wife and I are going to New Orleans for 5 days including Mardi Gras, of course. I intend to use my Starwood points, and we are curious as to which hotel you guys would recommend. Since we've never been to NO, we want to be close to everything, so should we stay in FQ? If so, we are considering Sheraton and Westin. Both go for 10,000, so which one should we use? Also would appreciate any tips on time management, restaurants, sightseeing, etc. It's our first vacation without a kid, and the time is short, so any suggestion would be deeply appreciated. Thanks.

777 global mile hound

I had another stay at the Westin NOLA recently and that marks three years in a row as I gravitated away from other area New Orleans hotels.....
Can’t think of many other stays in the entire year as an SPG Platinum that could compare with the Westin New Orleans excellence in SPG Plat recognition and overall concern for a top tier guest. Except for the Westin Sydney perhaps.These folks are looking out after us/ and appear to appreciate our loyalty.I can not say the same for a number of SPG properties anymore. And there is essentially no recourse for those poor properties and their empty jr. suites that do not honor our BIB earned status.

The rooms at the Westin New Orleans were lovely
The staff upgraded both of my rooms to suites mind you on deeply discounted rates(the true test IMO if a program works fairly) with inspiring high floor views at check in without asking. They even comped breakfast when there were some initial wifi problems with one room and both rooms had smoke smells from previous chain smokers (I know smoke free )
Guests will be guests I suppose and do whatever they choose to do
It became more bearable in 24 hours and I would have moved but who wants give up great accommodations?
There was also one daily replaced complimentary large bottle of Panna water which was also greatly appreciated
Although the Sheraton and the W both do a fair enough job in NOLA
I can't say enough good about the Westin.That said during an event like Mardi Gras I would lower all expecations at any hotel even as a Platinum
The Sheraton and the Westin both have a good long term record dealing with large crowds/events and disasters and would inspire me to book during a massive event like Mardi Gras for security/safety reasons alone. That said nothing is a perfect given during event times. New Orleans is doing well again despite some concerns with BP and past
Sounds like a fun trip to look forward too good luck in your decision

Cheers

Vulcan

Can you actually use points for a room during Mardi Gras? I was under the impression that these dates were among the few sacntioned 'blackout' dates tha SPG has.

mnscout

Vulcan, all NO hotels showed points availability for those dates on spg site, but I didn't actually attempt to book them. Now, you're getting me nervous, though

777, thanks for your review. I guess, I know where I'm staying if everything goes well.

I'd like to invite more comments on Mardi Gras in New Orleans. Planning the big event is always half of fun for me.

777 global mile hound

I would like to add the steak and eggs(scrambled made to order) in the morning for breakfast were excellent in the Westin restaurant surpassing anything in the over ten years I have been traveling to New Orleans and staying in either the Ws or the Sheratonor elsewhere dining wise. It is a joy to sit in the historic dining room and look at the river.I regret not trying dinner at the Westin on my last stay
In the past they did nice crab cakes and Short Ribs

The buffet has very nice produce consistently every day of my stay.Breakfast runs until at least 11:00 AM possibly later on weekends as many try to recover
A chef stands there to cook up omelets in adition to ala carte off the menu
Baking could use some improvement.
Servers are very nice ladies who have been there almost as long as I have been staying outlasting ownerships and various managementsd and brand changes.
A number of the door guys too have been there many years
Despite some shortcomings here or there like the stinky over perfumed lobbies that Starwood still believes adds class and loyalty this is the SPG property hands down in NOLA unless u need the W style.But even then the cardio equipment is inferior to the Westins treadmills and stairstepers that I'll assume most folks wo't get on while they are eating and drinking to excess in NOLA

All in all it’s great to have the Westin back as an SPG property
let’s hope it will be around for a long time to come along with SPG
Both are keepers when it’s a perfect fit. My colleagues were quite jealous when they saw how SPG took care of me at the Westin New Orleans.It is now sold out for my return dates in October so it looks like I am booking at the InterContinental
It won't be the same however it will be highly adequate with my Royal Ambassador benefits.........
And one upside no stinky perfumes in the lobby or the so called Heavenly scent.One thing I hope Starwood will lose down the road

KSA_USA

Stayed twice at the Westin. Great property. treat platinum guest very well. upgraded to 2 room suite on top floor both times ( very large suite). the hotel is connected to a small mall. and right in front of the Casino. about 10 Min. walk ( or maybe less) from bourbon street.

if you like Tabasco sauce then you must visit their factory in Avery Island. it is about 2 hr. drive from NO. amazing history. cover charge to enter the Island is $1 only. next to the factory there is a nice jungle gardens. you can drive your car inside the jungle. it is a very nice 5 miles drive. cover charge to enter the jungle is about $5.

AndrewT84

Does this hotel have a club lounge or offer free breakfast to Plats? I checked the Lounge/Breakfast threads and didn't see any mention...the only mention in this thread was from 777 mentioning them comping breakfast for some problems. I'm staying here with some friends for Halloween and don't think an upgrade will be very likely...

KENNECTED

NO. I was there at the end of August.

777 global mile hound

You must have booked early.
I tried but failed to secure a room.Not that I didnt have a wealth of options for reward or revenue outside of SPG.

My suggestion would be to ask very nicely at check in for one or two vouchers
The worst they can say is no As stated previously there is no lounge and I have never known the property to have one even in the years when it was a Wyndham.
Typically I see this as one of those SPG properties that is understanding of long term relationships and the importance of satisfied guests in house
When you look at the elite amenities of a number other area properties the Hilton Riverside, The Sheraton,The InterContinental and others they all include it for their Plats/Diamonds, Royal Ambassadors. And it is not a terms and conditions requirement of the programs with the exception of Hilton
That said it is certainly shouldn't be an expectation at the Westin based on SPG terms and conditions to be fair.

The Westin New Orleans Service Express folks made an impression on me of actually caring about requests sincerely..........
The property seems eager to please Platinum members. That is something other select SPG properties systemwide are struggling with even at the most basic levels. In fact at those select properties Gold do exactly the same as Platinum’s other then the welcome amenity gesture at check in which frequently is limited to 250 or 500 points.........

Though you will be staying during Halloween I wouldn't rule an upgrade out
for a variety of reasons. However the number one reason is this property is going the extra mile in every experience I have personally had in my interaction with them
Including complimentary large bottle of Panna water from Italy daily in my suite/room

In fact if all properties would get this in the SPG galaxy or reasonably so
I could drop an extra 25 stays that go elsewhere in competing programs
Frequently I feel like a Priceline customer or a few steps above though I booked through SPG.
Thankfully there are the SPG properties that go above and beyond that make up for those properties that don't measure up

Look forward to hearing about your experience
As with all stays experiences will vary!Enjoy
Cheers

AndrewT84

I didn't book super early. Maybe less than a month out but I kept monitoring SPG.com and when there was a room that opened up for reservations, I snagged it and swapped from the Hampton (used my Diamond Guarantee there for the room).

Anyway, just got back earlier this week from my stay there. There were several weddings going on that weekend when we checked in so no suite upgrade; however, they offered us a super early check-in to a river-view room the and allowed us to move rooms the next day to a suite. ^

Location was pretty convenient and I liked being able to access the hotel through the mall and the side-street depending on where we needed to go. Service in the hotel was lightening fast (requesting sheets, menus, etc.) considering everything else in NOLA seemed to crawl. It took us 30+ minutes to get food at Arby's!!! "Fast Food" Not too many food options are this area late at night other than Arby's and an occasional nasty looking pizza place.

The River-view room was nice and bright, and definitely large enough to house four-people's worth of luggage and stuff. Bed's were a lil small (guess I'm used to most of the hotels that I stay at having 2Q instead of 2DBL). The walls for this room seemed to be fairly thin though. Was woken up the day of check-in and also the next morning by kids running around and people talking in the hallways. Could even hear some sort of carnival-y music coming from outside. :\

We moved to a city-view suite the next day. Faced Harrah's and definitely not as bright as the river-view room even with the window shades open. It was sort of a standard type suite with a living room with wet-bar area (aka coffee maker and sink) and work/desk area separated by doors to the bedroom/bathroom area. Bathroom was nice and big (shower/toilet separate from sink area). There was also plenty of counter space where we could all store our toiletries, products, etc. There was 1K bed, which 3 of us shared, and a sofa (not a sofa-bed, but one person could comfortably fit on it laying flat) in the living room. Also had a chaise and ottoman in the bedroom next to the bed, which I think we could have used as another comfortable sleeping location if necessary. I think my only gripe is that since I'm an early riser, it would have been nice to have doors that separated the bathroom area from the bedroom area.

All in all, it was a pretty good stay. Points and amenity posted with no problems too.

nonesuch flyer

Spent a week at the Westin. Fantastic suite upgrade. Large living room, equally large bedroom with fantastic river view from both. 28th floor. Large bathroom.The wife liked that there were doors between the two rooms. I get the impression that they try to upgrade all PLTs to suites.

Location is fantastic.

Lobby is on 11th floor and all rooms are 12th and above. Lobby and restaurant have just spectacular view of river and the French Quarter. Restaurant serves great buffet breakfast with Omelette station.

777 global mile hound

Congrats on the great stay
I maintain and from the start this is a property that gets SPG
It makes Starwood and the program stand proud as well as the property
I wonder why quite a number of SPG properties struggle with recognition?
The problem is that when a property can exceed not just meet expectations
It makes the non compliant properties look particullary evil for not making reasonable effort

kingeddy

I have booked at the Westin using C&P for Jan. 7/8. Bachelor party weekend.

This will be my first stay as a platinum^^

Hoping me and my crew get a great room. Any advice on finding our way into a suite? I chose the Westin in part due to the feedback on this thread re plat recognition!

Anyways, will post comments on my experience at the Westin Canal Place (but will not be commenting on other adventures).

KENNECTED

I like this property, but for a weekend like this. BOOK the room you want! Use additional points to ensure a suite, don't leave it to chance.

You never know what type of occupancy or special events are going on at the hotel.

BOOK A SUITE IN ADVANCE IF THAT IS WHAT YOU REALLY WANT. DON'T WAIT UNTIL CHECK IN THEN PULL A PLATINUM TANTRUM.