Maison St Charles Hotel - New Orleans

[Luey]

Hello - Has anyone stayed at the Maison St Charles hotel in New Orleans. I am driving down to New Orleans for a 4/7/07 RCI cruise and looking for a hotel that offers free parking during the cruise which this hotel does.

 

I have never been to New Orleans and am not familiar with the area it is located in (Garden District, 1319 St Charles Ave). Not sure how safe this area is or how much taxi fair will be from there to the port. Will be going with my husband and two teens. Your info is helpful.

 

Happy Cruising!

[sweetmommieof4]

My family stayed there a few years ago and liked it. Waiting for some recent updates though.

[jointavenger]

I can tell you that you will be very safe in the Garden District and close to the port as well.

 

Here is a link that will show you additional hotels in our area offering free or discounted parking for the duration of your cruise http://www.neworleanscvb.com/static/index.cfm/contentID/505/sectionID/2/subsectionID/0

 

Happy Mardi Gras!

[mommatee]

We have reservations with the Maison St Charles for this Friday (Feb 23rd). We're watching the weather, so if it looks like rain - we'll just drive in on Saturday morning for our cruise. I'm glad you posted this questions because I'd like an update from anyone that has recently stayed at this hotel. Our plans were to have DH drive me and luggage to the port then he drive back to the hotel to park the car and he would walk back. I'm not sure the reason behind most posts - but most everyone says they wouldn't walk back. I talked to the hotel this morning, they told me it would be best to take a cab. According to the lady at Maison St Charles, cab fee is $12.00 if one person, $7.00 if more than one person and may be more - depending on how high the meter goes. (may be stuck in traffic). Any updaters would be great. Anyway's, if we stay at the hotel - I'll be able to post information upon my return.

[crazycruzer68]

We have reservations with the Maison St Charles for this Friday (Feb 23rd). We're watching the weather, so if it looks like rain - we'll just drive in on Saturday morning for our cruise. I'm glad you posted this questions because I'd like an update from anyone that has recently stayed at this hotel. Our plans were to have DH drive me and luggage to the port then he drive back to the hotel to park the car and he would walk back. I'm not sure the reason behind most posts - but most everyone says they wouldn't walk back. I talked to the hotel this morning, they told me it would be best to take a cab. According to the lady at Maison St Charles, cab fee is $12.00 if one person, $7.00 if more than one person and may be more - depending on how high the meter goes. (may be stuck in traffic). Any updaters would be great. Anyway's, if we stay at the hotel - I'll be able to post information upon my return.

 

 

We are planning to stay here in Oct. please report back any good or bad reviews you have. I am in charge of our group of 26 and a little nervous about a hotel we know nothing about other then what the hotel told us. We will be there for 2 days pre cruise, can't wait for you to fill us in on your return..............GOOD LUCK!!!

[mommatee]

We are planning to stay here in Oct. please report back any good or bad reviews you have. I am in charge of our group of 26 and a little nervous about a hotel we know nothing about other then what the hotel told us. We will be there for 2 days pre cruise, can't wait for you to fill us in on your return..............GOOD LUCK!!!

 

You think you're nervous? You now put me in charge of 26 people. Just kidding : ) I've been going back & forth between Maison St Charles & Holiday Inn French Quarter. Holiday Inn is in the prime location, right in the middle of everything. I'm a very picky person and some of the reviews on the Holiday Inn kind of grossed me out : ( so I decided on Maison St Charles. Any traveling to & from the Quarter from Maison St Charles will most likely require a taxi. I'll post my review when I return. 3 days untill New Orleans & 4 days untill Cruise!!!

[Luey]

Hi Mommatee - Lucky you leaving for your cruise soon. Hope you have a great time. Be sure to let us know how the Maison St Charles is. I have reservations for the night before my cruise in April.

 

We will also be traveling on the Grandeur of the Seas. Please let me know how that is. I'm curious to know if the beds have been replaced or if they will get taken care of during dry dock. I am on the last cruise before dry dock.

[mommatee]

Hi Mommatee - Lucky you leaving for your cruise soon. Hope you have a great time. Be sure to let us know how the Maison St Charles is. I have reservations for the night before my cruise in April.

 

We will also be traveling on the Grandeur of the Seas. Please let me know how that is. I'm curious to know if the beds have been replaced or if they will get taken care of during dry dock. I am on the last cruise before dry dock.

 

I'm confused on the beds. From some post, they say the beds are bad - sink down in the middle. Some posts say the beds are very comfortable. I guess it's the luck of the draw as to who gets the better beds and different people have different comfort levels. I would think, beings it's close to be refurbished that the beds haven't been changed in a while.

 

If I remember correctly, didn't I see on another post that ya'll are driving to New Orleans?

[Luey]

Mommatee - yes, six of us will be driving down from Wisconsin.

 

As for the beds, I am confused also. It sounds like RCI has been replacing the bedding on all of the ships. I really hope ours is taken care of before we board. (have a back problem).

[gcalico]

My wife and I stayed at Maison St Charles prior to our cruise in early January. The hotel is laid out in a sort of interior garden courtyard style and is quite clean and pleasant. It might not be my top choice in NO but for $125 including parking for the week, it was perfectly fine for the night. Rooms probably on par with a Days Inn or similar. We got up on the morning of our cruise departure and drove over the the quarter for breakfast and a walking tour and about 2:30, I dropped my wife and our luggage off at the terminal and drove back to the hotel. They have a fenced and locked parking lot across the street from the hotel where your car stays while you are away. It is about .75 mi from the hotel to the terminal. I walked east on St Charles ant turned right on Julia which dead ends into the cruise terminal. Takes 15-20 minutes to walk and it is perfectly safe in daytime.

[crazycruzer68]

Most in our group want to go to the Hard Rock Cafe, do you know how far from the hotel this is? Also, some are interested in Margaritaville, did you see that close by?

 

There will be kids in our group is the pool heated and how big is it?

 

THANKS

[danaps]

It is my understanding that the beds will not be replaced until after the drydock in April.

[mommatee]

You can go see my review of Maison St Charles on the New Orleans forum. I don't know if I would be going against forum rules to post the same message twice, but I know some folks on this board had New Orleans hotel questions. Hope my review helps some folks make decisions. Please let me know if you have any questions about the hotel & the Grandeur of the Seas, I'll answer if I can.

[tinyrose]

mommatee---

 

We are booked for 4-15-07 at the Maison St. Charles. How far will we be from the port? Close enough to walk with luggage? Any restaurants in the area? Is the pool open? Was it is easy to find? Guess that's all for now! :)

[mommatee]

mommatee---

 

We are booked for 4-15-07 at the Maison St. Charles. How far will we be from the port? Close enough to walk with luggage? Any restaurants in the area? Is the pool open? Was it is easy to find? Guess that's all for now! :)

 

 

Walking to the port: It probably too far to walk with luggage. I mean you can do it if you have rolling luggage, but it's probably 1-2 miles, plus having to cross over a few streets. We had every intention of husband driving me and the luggage to the port, him driving back to Maison St Charles and he would walk back. We did so much walking the day before, we said what the heck, lets pay for a taxi. I think it was $14.00 for both of us.

 

Restaurants: you're right next door to a Wendy's & Popeyes. About a mile walk to Canal Street. We ate at Mother's, excellent "soul food". It looks like a hole in the wall, but there are 100's of picture of celebrities that frequently eat there. Last time we were there, we saw Shemar Moore and got his autograph and he took a picture with us. We didn't even know who he was until I got back to my computer and looked up his name on the internet, now I love him. Very nice person.

 

Pool?? You know, there could have been a pool right in front of my face but I didn't notice one. There probably was one, I just didn't notice.

 

I printed the driving directions from mapquest. It's not far from the interstate but we got a little twisted up trying to figure out the last turn, we kept going around in circles : ) But it's really only about 1/2 mile or so from the interstate.

 

Have you checked out: http://www.neworleanscvb.com/cvbmap/default.cfm?

 

You can see where the hotel is and also where the port is to get an idea. Hope this was helpful, feel free to ask anything else.

[tinyrose]

Thanks, mammatee!