House in Slidell - Near NOLA

[realtordebp]

My family is staying in a house in Slidell - 20 minutes from NOLA. Does anyone know anything about the area? There are 12 of us so we thought it would be best to rent a house to spending Christmas in. We are leaving on the Dream on December 26. Thank you for your help.

[nolatravelgirl]

Slidell is more like 45 minutes to downtown New Orleans. It is fine if you are just using it as a place to stay the night before a cruise but don't expect to just pop over to the city for dinner and shopping.

[realtordebp]

We are staying there for 3 nights before our December 26 cruise. We are a party of 12 and couldn't find anyplace reasonable nearer to New Orleans. If anyone has any suggestions, I'm willing be listen. Any help is appreciated! We have always sailed out of Port Canaveral before so this is all new territory. Thank you!

[WLHyatt]

Slidell is a safe neighborhood on the "northshore", we usually stay the night in Covington before our November/December cruises so I don't blame you.

 

It is a pretty easy drive into New Orleans, especially Sunday Mornings.

[nolatravelgirl]

As posted above Slidell is like most suburban cities and has good and bad parts. You will find all the typical suburban things: Wal-Mart, grocery stores, strip malls, chain restaurants, etc.

 

I was a bit curious where in Slidell that you could find a house that sleeps 12 for $200 per night and cruised over to VRBO and assume that this is the property you are referring to:

 

https://www.vrbo.com/4040938ha

 

If this is the property in question then the owner is seriously stretching the truth with his quotes on time and distance into the city. This is more like a fishing camp out in the boonies. If you are okay with being that far out of town and just enjoying some time with your family then you will be fine. Also 1700 sq ft for 12 people is tight!

 

I did a quick google maps for directions from 24000 Chef Menteur Hwy (approximate address) to the French Quarter and it clocks in at 30 miles and none of that is on a major interstate so easily an hour drive.

[jgmpuma]

Just a word of caution: there have been reports lately of people booking reservations, paying in advance, and showing up only to find that they have been scammed. Whoever ran the ad and accepted payment was not really the owner.

[realtordebp]

As posted above Slidell is like most suburban cities and has good and bad parts. You will find all the typical suburban things: Wal-Mart, grocery stores, strip malls, chain restaurants, etc.

 

I was a bit curious where in Slidell that you could find a house that sleeps 12 for $200 per night and cruised over to VRBO and assume that this is the property you are referring to:

 

https://www.vrbo.com/4040938ha

 

If this is the property in question then the owner is seriously stretching the truth with his quotes on time and distance into the city. This is more like a fishing camp out in the boonies. If you are okay with being that far out of town and just enjoying some time with your family then you will be fine. Also 1700 sq ft for 12 people is tight!

 

 

I did a quick google maps for directions from 24000 Chef Menteur Hwy (approximate address) to the French Quarter and it clocks in at 30 miles and none of that is on a major interstate so easily an hour drive.

 

 

 

 

Thank you for the information. We are really open to any suggestions that anyone has for anything closer. We will only be staying there on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day so thought we could make the 1700 square feet work for that length of time. Our cruise leaves on December 26.

 

We have always cruised from Port Canaveral so we are very unfamiliar with leaving from New Orleans.

 

Thank you for your help.

[realtordebp]

Just a word of caution: there have been reports lately of people booking reservations, paying in advance, and showing up only to find that they have been scammed. Whoever ran the ad and accepted payment was not really the owner.

 

 

 

 

I tried to research Evolve, which is the rental management company. Looks like, from my research, that they are legitimate (at least I hope so). There are several reviews for them on TripAdvisor and several other sites. Thank you for the help.

[nolatravelgirl]

Thank you for the information. We are really open to any suggestions that anyone has for anything closer. We will only be staying there on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day so thought we could make the 1700 square feet work for that length of time. Our cruise leaves on December 26.

 

We have always cruised from Port Canaveral so we are very unfamiliar with leaving from New Orleans.

 

Thank you for your help.

It would help if you describe what your expectations are for your New Orleans part of the trip. Since you seem to have already booked this property and now just need to make it work. You will be far from the historical sites and many things will be closed early on Christmas Eve so you will likely need to plan on just hanging out at your rental house. Many of the groceries do the "holiday dinner in a box" concept where everything is mostly prepared and you just need to warm it up. I would not try to cook as you don't know the set up or amount of cookware available. Nor would you have access to a full repertoire of spices and such. If you want to venture into the city then I wouldn't plan on being in downtown till after lunch on Christmas Day when things will start to come alive again. Normally I would suggest a nice Christmas buffet dinner but if your housing budget for 12 is $250 per night I don't think any of the hotel Christmas dinners will be in your budget. Be sure to have google maps downloaded to your phone as that house is located in a pretty remote part of town. For good local groceries for your rental then check out Rouses.

[realtordebp]

I have only paid a deposit since our trip is not until December and can easily cancel it as there is plenty of time to do that. Our budget is not $250 a night for 12 people but neither did I want to pay $1,000 a night which is what I was finding closer to New Orleans. Since it is Christmas and we are typically a big Christmas family, we wanted to all stay in the house together.

 

The 12 consists of myself and my husband, our 2 daughters and their husbands and their 6 children ages 2 to 19.

 

We are coming in from Tennessee so if there is a better place to look, as I stated, I am definitely open since we know nothing about New Orleans and it's surrounding areas.

 

We always have a traditional Christmas at home, but decided to do something entirely different this year. We will miss our regular Christmas, but love cruising!

 

Again, I thank you for your help.

[Pam]

It looks like if you really, really all like each other, there is enough bed space. Are you driving in, and will be taking how many cars into NOLA for sight-seeing? There is a parking lot kind of across from Jackson Square, which is a blessing because I can remember when there was basically NO parking anywhere near the French Quarter.

 

As to getting to NOLA from Slidell, it just depends on how the traffic flows.

[Human Speedbump]

I grew up in Slidell, its not a bad place to stay, but try this idea.

 

Residence Inn in New Orleans at 345 St Joseph St. They have a whole side of the hotel that is converted 2 and 3 bedroom apartments converted to hotel rooms. I have stayed in one before and they are very nice and give everyone some space. For 12 people you will probably need 2- 3 bedroom units.

 

The upside is free breakfast and afternoon meals. Its just 2 blocks from the St Charles Ave streetcar line and that will take you either to the French Quarter or Garden District. There are plenty of dining options around the area or you can prepare your own meals in your in-room kitchen. Its only about 6 blocks from the Cruise Terminal.

 

I hope this helps. I know the hotel and the area well so feel free to ask if you need any more recommendations (Dining, activities, parking etc)

Edited May 2, 2016 by Human Speedbump

[nolatravelgirl]

Residence Inn in New Orleans at 345 St Joseph St. They have a whole side of the hotel that is converted 2 and 3 bedroom apartments converted to hotel rooms. I have stayed in one before and they are very nice and give everyone some space. For 12 people you will probably need 2- 3 bedroom units.

Those 2 bedroom units rent for $250 a night and would literally double what they are paying as they would need two

[Human Speedbump]

I checked the rate and it was about $199 each for those dates. The OP said he was not stuck on rate.

 

I would do the Residence Inn simply for the fact that he and his family can walk to anything they want to do in minutes and not have to drive into the city everyday. He could put his vehicles at the Fulton St. Garage about 2 blocks away and relax.

[realtordebp]

It looks like if you really, really all like each other, there is enough bed space. Are you driving in, and will be taking how many cars into NOLA for sight-seeing? There is a parking lot kind of across from Jackson Square, which is a blessing because I can remember when there was basically NO parking anywhere near the French Quarter.

 

As to getting to NOLA from Slidell, it just depends on how the traffic flows.

 

Thank you so much for the information. We actually do really, really like each other (most of the time). It is myself and my husband, our 2 daughters and their husbands and 7 grandchildren and we are staying Christmas Eve and Christmas Day so not sure what would be open in New Orleans. We considered a motel, but since it is Christmas, would love to be together in a house. We could make it 2 vehicles to drive into the city.