Holiday Inn Express & Suites New Orleans Airport South by IHG

The room itself was fine, with a comfortable bed, lots of pillows and lighting, and a good-sized fridge. Breakfast had decent choices, though the bacon was burned to a crisp on day one, like crunchy tissue paper. Some items were missing both mornings and never got replenished while we were there for about 30 minutes. One of the breakfast staff looked straight at me without acknowledging me, which bothered me. The front desk was often empty, with the staff member in the back; you had to go into the luggage room and call out for someone. I had to show another guest how to do that after someone had shown me. The property seems understaffed, especially at the desk and around breakfast. One woman at the front was great, though. I didn’t get her name, and she seemed to have far too much to handle to get the appreciation she deserves. Getting there was rough. I waited around 45 minutes for the free shuttle in New Orleans, then took an Uber. The hotel’s direct number wouldn’t connect. The first person I reached at corporate got disconnected, and the second spent about 20 minutes trying to track the shuttle before saying they couldn’t find it “in the system” or reach the hotel by phone. I later saw the shuttle doing rounds at the top of every hour, but it never appeared during the time I was waiting that evening. Check-in was quick, but our two room keys had only been set up for one day of our two-night stay, so both needed resetting after the first day. The location isn’t walkable. It’s on an industrial highway without sidewalks, so trying to walk places would be unsafe. Even the closest restaurant, apart from the sports bar next door, needs a ride. The French Quarter is about 30 minutes away by Uber, and the airport is around 20 minutes away. I booked mainly for the supposed proximity to both, but you still need transport. The rooms are okay, nothing special, and I wouldn’t stay here again.

The airport is close, which made getting around easier, though most restaurants and attractions still take a bit of driving. For what my company paid, the hotel was decent but nothing special. The room was comfortable, but it faced the hotel roof and had little view. The AC and heat took a while to start working, so I left the AC running all day to keep the room cool. Breakfast was average and not memorable. Housekeeping was inconsistent: towels I asked for never came, and the room went uncleaned for several days until I went to the front desk. After maintenance fixed the tub drain, they left dirt and shoe marks behind without cleaning them.

The lobby is pristine and looks like it got most of the updates, but the rooms are another story. This is an older, roughly 10-year-old property that was a Ramada before it was purchased, and it doesn’t look like the photos online. The rooms feel cramped, especially with several people sharing one. A lot of the furnishings were scratched, worn, and due for replacement. The doors need attention too: the wood on the lower half of the bathroom door was peeling, and the old, dark-bottomed bathtub needed updating. We wore shower shoes. The front desk staff were very nice and courteous, and they put in a cleaning request when I asked. Still, the cleaning team didn’t come for two days, or even check whether we needed service. They finally showed up the night before checkout. The breakfast staff, on the other hand, were kind and did a good job keeping the same daily breakfast clean and stocked. For the price, the quality doesn’t match and the rooms need upgrades. The location is good for people flying in, and the free airport shuttle was nice, but I wasn’t flying, so that didn’t help me. With some room improvements and better training for the cleaning crew, this could be a really good place to stay.

We booked well ahead for the night before our cruise, but the hotel canceled our room at the last possible moment because they’d overbooked. That left us stranded at the New Orleans airport. They wouldn’t find us another place, and the woman on the phone was dismissive and unhelpful. Now we have to pay same-day rates somewhere else, and I’ll never book here again. Someone at the Holiday Inn is clearly lying. The woman on the phone gave us a different reason from the “we overbooked a volleyball team” explanation posted below. When you overbook, industry-standard practice is to rebook the customer at another hotel. Instead, the message was basically, “Not our problem, get lost.” That’s the opposite of hospitality.