Hotels in NOLA

[bryanool]

What's a good place not too pricey to stay in NOLA pre-cruise for a night? We get in around noon so we'd like to explore a bit of the city as well.

[mitsugirly]

Drury Inn is usually highly recommended on here. It's a beautiful hotel and a short walk down the street and you are at the Riverwalk/Casino area. They also include a hot meal/buffet and 3 alcoholic drinks in the evening. Then in the morning, they also have a hot buffet breakfast. Definitely worth the money.

[puttheworldaway]

That Drury Inn sounds great! I booked the Cotton Exchange next week and I'm planning on asking other passengers on our cruise what they think. I may be able to elaborate on this subject when I get back.

[cruiseat50]

Drury Inn is usually highly recommended on here. It's a beautiful hotel and a short walk down the street and you are at the Riverwalk/Casino area. They also include a hot meal/buffet and 3 alcoholic drinks in the evening. Then in the morning, they also have a hot buffet breakfast. Definitely worth the money.

 

Although we're not fond of buffets much it might be nice to have the option if we aren't feeling like going out for the night to eat and are staying in NO for 5 days after our upcoming cruise. How was the food/staff/bed comfort? You say you got 3 drinks in the evening but it doesn't list that on their site - was this a promotional thing by booking through a TA?

 

TIA for any info.:)

[mitsugirly]

Although we're not fond of buffets much it might be nice to have the option if we aren't feeling like going out for the night to eat and are staying in NO for 5 days after our upcoming cruise. How was the food/staff/bed comfort? You say you got 3 drinks in the evening but it doesn't list that on their site - was this a promotional thing by booking through a TA?

 

TIA for any info.

 

It's called their "kickback". Here's a picture from their site:

 

 

Here's the page with the information on the meals:

 

https://wwws.druryhotels.com/content/about_spserv.aspx

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's not some authentic New Orleans meal, but it was more than enough to fill you up. I couldn't justify going out and spending a lot of money pre-cruise when we could get full for free with our hotel reservations. It was just an extra added step to saving money prior to the cruise. We knew that we would get more than enough for during our cruise and this was fine with us for both dinner and breakfast.

 

The drinks, they give you 3 coupons per person. So you would just go up to the bar (located right beside the buffet) and hand them a coupon and tell them what type of drink you wanted. We drank 2 while we were there and took the last one up to our room when we were done eating and relaxed and watched a movie prior to bed. It was a wonderful way to end the night. :)

 

I hope this helps.

[mitsugirly]

The place itself is gorgeous and the rooms were a nice size. The bed was comfortable and the bathroom was all done up in marble.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The staff was WONDERFUL and very friendly. We had a problem with some ants one night and they completely refunded our entire stay...no questions asked. I did not ask for a refund, I just wanted to let them know and they said they wanted to make sure we were satisfied and wanted to do this for us. :eek:

[mitsugirly]

There is a pool on the top of the building

 

 

And there's also a hot tub up there:

 

 

Now the hot tub needed a little cleaning, but in their defense, it did pour down and rain for a few days prior to our stay there.

 

This is the view from the top of the building. In the morning, you could see the ships in port.

 

[World Gallery]

I agree the Drury is a nice option because of the staff and building itself (pretty) but in my opinion, the food is absolutely horrible. It is a running joke now in our family anytime we pass a Drury. We have stayed at the one in New Orleans and the one in San Antonio and by the 2nd day, I could barely look at the food and by the third day, my husband could not even look at it. We really feel it made him sick. it is the strangest combination of items and they do not always have the items listed for that day. It is the lowest quality/cheapest pre-prepared frozen food items that can be purchased through food companies like Sysco. There was never chili for the hotdogs and the chicken nuggets were not edible in my kids' opinion. I am not a "food snob" and I am really not trying to be harsh. Just want to warn those that may be thinking you can eat breakfast and dinner here a few days in a row without feeling nausea. I would make other meals plans.

[Raring to go]

I stayed here two nights with my elderly parents before our cruise out of New Orleans. We walked to Mother's, just down the street, for breakfast the two mornings we were there, ate lunch at somewhere really nice for lunch, and ate a light dinner in the hotel. Mother had chili for her hot dogs, and I ate baked potatoes and salad. Don't remember what my Daddy ate. After lunch somewhere like Gallatoire's or the Acme Oyster Co., it didn't take much to fill us up. The room and the hotel itself were beautiful.

[cruiseat50]

Thanks Mitsugurly and all for the input and I'm pretty sure this is the one we'll book but may stay away from the dinners. Well we might try it one night to see but the breakfast probably will do or we will walk down to Mothers. :D More than likely we will be eating out at some of the more local food places to get the flavor of Naw'lins.

 

I doubt we will use the pool or hot tub as DH has been advised to stay out of community pools as his medication makes him highly susceptible to germs/infections. Truthfully I've never cared much for getting into hot tubs with people I don't know anyway.;)

 

The hotel looks beautiful and if the beds are decent I will be happy.:D

[mitsugirly]

Thanks Mitsugurly and all for the input and I'm pretty sure this is the one we'll book but may stay away from the dinners. Well we might try it one night to see but the breakfast probably will do or we will walk down to Mothers. :D More than likely we will be eating out at some of the more local food places to get the flavor of Naw'lins.

 

I doubt we will use the pool or hot tub as DH has been advised to stay out of community pools as his medication makes him highly susceptible to germs/infections. Truthfully I've never cared much for getting into hot tubs with people I don't know anyway.;)

 

The hotel looks beautiful and if the beds are decent I will be happy.:D

 

You are most welcome. It's not a place that I would say eat there every night if you are staying a few days, because that would get old. But, for just a pre-cruise over night stay and saving some $$, it worked for us. I know prior to us staying there, there were several people on here saying that the food wasn't great, but we didn't find anything wrong with it at all. I mean it's not gourmet or anything, but it tasted fine and our bellies were full.