New Orleans Hotel and Dining Recommendations

[KermitRocks]

I'm looking for hotel and restaurant recommendations now that the Wonder will be sailing out of New Orleans next year. First time to New Orleans and looking for a central location to experience as much as possible in a short amount of time. No kiddos on this trip. Thank you in advance for your recommendations and help.

 

[fredandkell]

I really like staying in the JW Marriott. Within walking distance to everything, but not in the middle of the Bourbon Street craziness. Fantastic concierge lounge with seriously the best hotel coffee I have ever had. As far as food, honestly, the entire city has good food. Of course you need to get beignets and chicory coffee somewhere (Cafe Du Monde or similar). Make sure to ride the St. Charles streetcar line - it's really cheap and you go past all these gorgeous garden district historic houses. Great way to spend a couple hours and sightsee.

 

[tidefan]

We like the Hilton Garden Inn Convention Center in the warehouse district. It’s right by the cruise port and riverside shops. You can also grab a streetcar here for a quick trip into the French Quarter.

For restaurants, if you want fairly cheap (for New Orleans) Mother’s is good, but I don’t think you’ve truly experienced New Orleans without a trip to Commanders Palace. If you are adventurous with Uber, our go-to place after the Endymion parade is Velvet Catcus in the Lakeview district...

It’s hard to go wrong with dining in New Orleans...

 

[monarchsfan16]

For dining, we love the Gumbo Shop. We also really enjoyed Mother's for both breakfast and lunch. And you have to get hurricanes from Pat O'Brien's. You can just walk up to the courtyard bar and get them to go. Brother's has the best fried chicken we have ever eaten, but it is just a convenience store. We've used it for late night snacks, or when we napped through dinner, since it was an easy walk (in one case right next door) from the hotel.

We've been happy with both the Hampton Inn Downtown/French Quarter, and the Drury Inn. The Hampton Inn is a couple blocks closer to the action, but both are an easy walk to the heart of the French Quarter.

 

[squirk]

I'm looking for hotel and restaurant recommendations now that the Wonder will be sailing out of New Orleans next year. First time to New Orleans and looking for a central location to experience as much as possible in a short amount of time. No kiddos on this trip. Thank you in advance for your recommendations and help.

Like the others said, assuming that you want the Quarter to be your focal point, there are several fine hotels on or near Canal Street. My favorite is The Roosevelt. It’s a Hilton/Waldorf property and, IMO, one of the most beautiful hotels in the city. The Quarter is literally across the street, and you are a very quick Lyft/Uber to the cruise port.

Another option is the Westin at the top of Canal Place. Great views of both the Quarter and the Mississippi.

Food-wise, I’d agree with @tidefan - take a streetcar ride or (another) very quick Lyft/Uber to Commander’s Palace. We have our own “local favorites,” but everyone should try Commander’s at least once.

 

[SaintsManiac]

Hotel - The Roosevelt

Dining - Court of Two Sisters, Red Fish Grill, Palace Cafe, Galatoires

Do yourself a favor and go to the WWII museum.

 

[Mrtommorrow1987]

I'm looking for hotel and restaurant recommendations now that the Wonder will be sailing out of New Orleans next year. First time to New Orleans and looking for a central location to experience as much as possible in a short amount of time. No kiddos on this trip. Thank you in advance for your recommendations and help.

Hotel- Roosevelt or Hilton.

Food - GW FINs is great for nice seafood restaurant. Chophouse is my favorite steakhouse. Saffron Nola for Indian/Creole fusion. Commanders is another one of our favorites they have Brunch on the weekends but Dinner is great. Dick and Jenny’s has my favorite Crawfish Rissotto. El Gato Negro is my favorite Mexican restaurant in the city (get the watermelon Margarita). Great Poboys at Parkway Tavern midcity as well.

Beignets at Cafe Du Monde

Stay away from Bourbon street at night. The Marigny and Wharehouse district have nice dive bars and music without the same amount of crime as Bourbon street

WWII museum is great. Otherwise walk around and enjoy the music, parks, and food.

If you are here during Crawfish Season Feb- late May make sure to find somewhere
To eat. Deanie’s should have them in the Quarter but you could head Mid City in an Uber to Bayou Beer/wine garden. If you need any other recommendations let me know. I’ve lived in the suburbs of New Orleans since birth.

What date are you sailing my family is on the Feb 14th-21st Wonder?

 

[squirk]

Glad to see The Roosevelt getting represented.

Worth pointing out that Café du Monde can (and usually does) get crazy-crowded, especially on weekends and especially-especially during Mardi Gras season. The location is really not very large, and there is usually a line out to the sidewalk.

You seat yourself. The staff does a good job turning the tables over quickly, but when you reach the front of the line, you still might find yourself with no place to sit for a few minutes. If you see an empty table, even if it hasn’t been bussed yet, grab it immediately and they will bus it eventually.

It’s very hectic. Be prepared to order as soon as you sit down, or it might be a while before they circle back to you.

And make sure you are carrying cash. They don’t take cards.

 

[sunmoon620]

We live about 40 minutes outside of New Orleans. It depends upon what you are looking for. The Hyatt and the Sheraton have fantastic river views but are a bit of a walk to the French Market/ Cafe Du Monde/ French Quarter. There is much more to the the French Quarter than Bourbon Street. If you have never been do a walk through, but beware of the Hurricanes, LOL!

If you are looking for a classic New Orleans Hotel, our favorite is Place De Arms. It is across the street from St. Louis Cathedral and a 5 minute walk from Cafe Du Monde. Canal street in my opinion can get a little sketchy at night, so we like to stay within the heart of the French Quarter. Hotel St. Marie and the Inn on Bourbon are nice as well, but they are right on Bourbon Street.

The Cornstalk Inn is awesome! The Omni, Maison Dupuy, and The Bienville House are also fantastic. Just know you should be making these reservations now if your cruise is leaving on the Friday before Mardi Gras. We will be on that cruise! For the first time in 13 cruises will will be able to drive in the morning of the cruise from home! So excited! I will say if Disney continues to sail out of New Orleans, I will probably need a second job...lol!

As far as food you really can't go wrong a couple of places that come immediately to my mind are Drago's and Acme Oyster House! Stay away from the chain restaurants, there are too many local places to choose from!

Enjoy New Orleans! It is our favorite City we vacation 40 min from home often!

 

[jeffbeardreams]

I like to stay a fair distance away from the French Quarter when I visit NOLA. We settled in to the Le Pavillon Hotel years ago and generally stay there unless there's some compelling reason not to. It's on Poydras St in the Central Business district near Lafayette Square but only five blocks from Canal St and the edge of the French Quarter. Fairly short walk to the river front as well.

 

[NOLA_Tink]

I'm looking for hotel and restaurant recommendations now that the Wonder will be sailing out of New Orleans next year. First time to New Orleans and looking for a central location to experience as much as possible in a short amount of time. No kiddos on this trip. Thank you in advance for your recommendations and help.

I highly recommend Hampton Inn Convention Center & Springhill Suites Downtown Convention Center; they are really close to the port and in the Warehouse District, which is much quieter than staying in the quarter. We love Emeril's Meril, Cochon, Deanie's, Palace Cafe, Red Fish Grill, & Ruby Slipper. Happy hours food & drink specials are especially great at any Palace Cafe, Dickie Brennan's Steakhouse, Domenica, & Bourbon House. The New Orleans School of Cooking also has really fun, interactive meals that start at $26. We always go there if we have a friend visiting from out-of-town.
FYI- If you really want Cafe Du Monde, they have a location inside of the Riverwalk that I highly recommend. It's never as crowded, much more relaxed, and offers lovely seating inside or outside, if you wish to view the boats on the river. We prefer that one to the French Quarter's location because it's much cleaner and you can actually enjoy your hot beignets and coffee.

Which sailing are you? We might be on the same one!

ETA: If the prices are crazy from Mardi Gras, DCL has a cruise-dedicated block at a hotel (I think it's the Hilton Riverside) that you can book through DCL.

 

[NOLA_Tink]

I like to stay a fair distance away from the French Quarter when I visit NOLA. We settled in to the Le Pavillon Hotel years ago and generally stay there unless there's some compelling reason not to. It's on Poydras St in the Central Business district near Lafayette Square but only five blocks from Canal St and the edge of the French Quarter. Fairly short walk to the river front as well.

We really like the old-New Orleans atmosphere of Le Pavillon. It's also close enough to St. Charles that you can catch parades easily without being caught up in the insanely crowded French Quarter. When we stayed for by birthday one year, my DH especially loved their complimentary pb&j sandwiches every evening.

 

[DizMagic]

Was just in NOLA at end of January. We stayed at The Roosevelt (for a conference) it was very nice and centrally located. For food (I will admit I am not a traditional NOLA food gal). My three favorite (in order) were: BOIL (cannot recommend this place highly enough - best seafood boil I have ever had and I am a SC girl). Josephine Estelle for Italian. Johnny Sanchez for Mexican.

 

[anricat]

The Gumbo Shop is the best gumbo I've ever had and if you're vegetarian, they even have a veggie one available. Sooo good!

I know everyone talks about Cafe du Monde, but I'm going to be honest, I think their beignets are mediocre and their coffee terrible. I've never understood why that place is mobbed and everyone says you have to go there. Not that I can provide a good beignet alternative, but there's got to be one that's better than that tourist trap.

 

[NOLA_Tink]

The Gumbo Shop is the best gumbo I've ever had and if you're vegetarian, they even have a veggie one available. Sooo good!

I know everyone talks about Cafe du Monde, but I'm going to be honest, I think their beignets are mediocre and their coffee terrible. I've never understood why that place is mobbed and everyone says you have to go there. Not that I can provide a good beignet alternative, but there's got to be one that's better than that tourist trap.

New Orleans Hamburger & Seafood has a location on St. Charles (on the Uptown parade route) which is attached to a New Orleans Coffee & Beignet shop. Theirs are delicious & they even have "mini" beignets. We like that place a lot. There are a few great donut shops around the city that also have tasty beignets: Joe's & Shipleys are two of our favorites. Not everyone loves our coffee because it has chicory, which some find a little bitter. I love the richness that it adds to coffee, but I've been drinking it since I could hold a demitasse mug.

ETA: If you want flavored beignets, check out Bakery Bar on Annunciation! They always have seasonal beignets & doberge cakes that are out of this world! We especially love their king cake doberge!! http://bakery.bar/

 

[Mrtommorrow1987]

Jackamo’s on oak street used to be one of my favorites havnt eaten there in a long time though. I think I also forgot restaurant revolution.

 

[JustCallMeMommy]

New Orleans is one of my favorite places to use Priceline or Hotwire for a blind booking. I search for a 4 or 5 star in the French Quarter (or sometimes the business district, but usually the quarter), and I had had great luck! I usually walk everywhere in New Orleans, except when I travel with a friend who doesn't like that much walking - then we Uber or Lyft everywhere. I usually don't move my car after we arrive.

A few of my dining spots:

Arnauds. Make reservations ahead of time and be sure to get either the Bananas Foster or the Cafe Brulot for a table side experience. There is also a little walk-through Mardi Gras museum upstairs.

Cafe du Monde. Yep, it is a tourist trap. But I still love it. Get there early for breakfast have a beignet and some coffee then take a walk to the French Market and/or around Jackson Square. The non-French Quarter locations don't have the same atmosphere, IMO.

Muriel's has good food AND a haunted table. Ask to see it.

Mother's is good for a lunch-type meal.

Commander's Palace, Antoine's, Galatoire's - you can't go wrong with any place with an 's in the name. lol These are all old, classic New Orleans restaurants.

 

[squirk]

Jackamo’s on oak street used to be one of my favorites havnt eaten there in a long time though. I think I also forgot restaurant revolution.

Jacques-Imo’s is my favorite “local” restaurant. It’s where I take my friends when they want to avoid the “touristy” places.

 

[we"reofftoneverland]

https://hotelmonteleone.com

 

[Keyser]

Honestly, it's hard to go wrong with restaurants in New Orleans (no reason to go to a chain restaurant here - and I'm normally a fan of chains...). It's been a few years (too many!) since I was last there, but I've thought it's got the best food of anywhere in the country. Even local places that no one will mention here will probably be great (I was fortunate to go there visiting family or others who lived there on almost all my visits). As I said, it's been a while, but, I remember having one of the best meals ever in my life at Brennan's, so I'll throw it in as a specific recommendation (I was there on an anniversary, and they treated us well, which probably was part of what made it so good...).

I know everyone talks about Cafe du Monde, but I'm going to be honest, I think their beignets are mediocre and their coffee terrible. I've never understood why that place is mobbed and everyone says you have to go there.

I kind of agree - I don't like coffee (though they do have chocolate milk, also), and their beignets are fine, but I'd kind of classify them as doughnuts, and I've had better doughnuts... Still, it'd be hard to go to New Orleans and NOT go there (at least to decide for yourself how you like the beignets), and half the point of going is just to sit there and enjoy the atmosphere! It's kind of cool that they're a 24 hour place, with a different feel in the morning, at night, and during the daytime.