The Saint Hotel, New Orleans, French Quarter

We checked out early because the condition of the hotel made staying there uncomfortable. The curtains wouldn’t close all the way, the lamps were broken, and surfaces had visible stains and layers of dust and dirt. Both the common areas and rooms looked worn and very dirty. The bathroom fixtures were rusty, and without an exhaust fan the room felt incredibly musty. I was too grossed out to walk around barefoot. I wanted to like the hotel’s vibe, but the upkeep and cleanliness were far below acceptable. I wouldn’t return.

The location is good, but this was nowhere near a 4-star hotel. We’ve stayed in hotels across the US and Europe, and never had an experience like this, not even at a 2-star place. Our friend, a retired New Orleans law enforcement officer, gave us the reservation as an anniversary gift, but the hotel wouldn’t let him pay in advance, so we had to pay ourselves. There wasn’t any water in our room for a shower, and nobody had cleaned it by 2 pm. We weren’t told the water had been shut off. We asked four times for a pillow and it never arrived. The drink cooler didn’t work, and we were told the hotel didn’t own it. They brought up a small fridge that looked like it had fallen off a truck, though at least it worked. We were also told breakfast wasn’t included, even though our friend said it was part of the reservation. There’s too much else to fit here. We won’t return. Don’t waste your money.

The staff were welcoming and friendly every time we passed them, and the hotel was clean, nicely designed, and had a boutique feel. It’s well located, about a five-minute walk to Bourbon Street and around 30 minutes to Frenchmen Street. It was surprisingly quiet given the nearby noise and atmosphere. Check-in was easy, and our king room had air conditioning, a shower, TV, and coffee maker. The rooms were kept immaculate and cleaned daily. We had a bag-to-go breakfast once, with juice, a pastry, and an orange. Honestly, it wasn’t great, and we didn’t eat it, so it was a waste for us. The pillows were much too big for us, and the heavy room doors slammed loudly enough that we often heard other guests coming and going. That disrupted our sleep, especially on Friday and Saturday nights. One day the water went off during an unusual cold snap in New Orleans. We couldn’t shower, flush the toilet, or brush our teeth, and the issue, which we were told was with city water, lasted many hours. The downstairs bar was closed too. When we returned, we saw workers leaving after fixing it, so they seemed to have dealt with the problem as quickly as possible. I would’ve given the hotel five stars without that water issue, though I know these things can happen. The hotel took $400 for our four-night stay, pending for up to a week after checkout. That’s usually how it works in America, but we hadn’t budgeted for it during a road trip through four places. We had $800 held in total across the hotels and didn’t get any of it back while we were still traveling. It’s something to factor in if you’re booking several stays.

We booked two rooms for New Year’s at the same time and paid the same price for what we thought were the same rooms. One was so cramped we could barely move, with only 1.5 feet between the bed and dresser. The other had 15 feet between them and was more than twice the size. We tried to show the difference with pictures, but it won’t let me upload them. The front desk said we booked the bed size, not the room size. By that logic, a suite with queen beds would cost the same as a regular room, which makes no sense. They wouldn’t fix the situation or work with us, though they did offer two drink tickets, which didn’t help. I’d recommend the Ritz Carlton next store. This place isn’t worth the price.