W New Orleans--French Quarter

We stayed at the W. French Quarter August 1st-3rd 2008. We always choose W for there stellar service, ambiance, great rooms, killer bars, and great locations. This hotel DOES NOT live up to the W standard!

Picked the Mega Room for its location by the pool & the private patio with hot tub. When I opened the door to the patio, the doorknob came off in my hand. The room was generally as promised, but not clean & very hot, but being NO in Aug. we just turned the air temp down & went to enjoy the Quarter. Upon returning that night the room was still hot. I turned the air down to 60 and sweated all night. The next morning we asked someone to check the AC while we had lunch. When we returned the AC was set to a warmer setting. How is this is a fix? Now the room was really hot. We called again & the best they could do was bring a fanwith a timer. Hell of a way to stay cool at $439 a night every two hours or so I had to get up and reset it!

We decided to make the best of it and go to Bacco, the famed Brennan establishment at the hotel. Upon entering the stench of sewer gas was overwhelmingnice! We went elsewhere. This is now mid afternoon Saturday and as we go back to the room, we noticed the patio and pool area...the pretty pictures on the web sitewere very dirty. There were trash cans overflowing with beer cans a liquor bottles, trash everywhere, it just looked really bad for a hotel with a big red W out front. There were some people out there partying that day, but why not have the hotel staff cleaning that area as the day goes on. The furniture around the pool and patio is so moldy it must have been there before Katrina! I also noticed our room had not been touched by housekeeping. This is when it came to me that save for the nice shower, we could have just slept on the streetthe smell, temp, and cleanliness would have been no differentjust cheaper.

What happend to " What Ever, When Ever"?

Pros: Great location
Cons: Poor service, dirty.

Let me start this by saying we stayed at the W French Quarter for a week during Mardi Gras. Everything we read said to expect a low level of service during this time of year as it's so chaotic. The W was sold out for the entire week we were there, and the service was _FLAWLESS_. Montrel and Stephanie at the front desk were bullet proof to the chaos around them. They always had a smile on their face, and eager to help with Whatever, Whenever we needed it.

This trip was for my wife's 30th birthday, and during our time there we had 13 friends meet us in New Orleans. Most stayed at the W, and none of them could say anything but great things about the hotel. I wish I could remember their head security person, he was also incredible. Helping us with our bags when there were no bellman left to help, getting the door, offering suggestions on restaurants...

On our departure, the valet (who i might add always had a smile on his face and was eager to oblige your every whim) asked us if we made it to the Zulu parade. We had told him we missed it as we misplaced our parade schedule, he _gave_ us one of the Zulu coconuts that he had gotten while at the parade. Simply incredible....

My wife and I are veterans of the W, and while not all of them truly live up to the standard (*cough* W Seattle *cough*), this W truly lives up to the Wonderful standard. My wife and I will never be able to get enough of New Orleans, we look forward to coming back.

btw, if you are staying there and have a chance to swing into Bacco, the restaurant downstairs, try a Sazerac at the bar, and the Bacco Shrimp is a _delicous_ dish.

Pros: Service, The Beds, The Atmosphere, Service, Food, Courtyard, Service
Cons: my stay at all other hotels will pale in comparison

Retro look in the quarter. small rooms but nicely furnished. the water is soft and clean feels like a spa in the shower.

The location was close to where we wanted to be. However, I was expecting a higher quality in the hotel (room, furniture, cleanliness) The elevators were painfully slow and not very clean. The hotel staff were very friendly, the real only plus of the hotel. The room furniture was below average. I don't know how long this hotel has been open, but there were way too many chips and scratches on the furniture. The minimalist look is nice...if you take care of the furniture. It looks REAL bad when it's less than perfect. There were also many carpet stains in the room and in the hallway. Am I being too picky? I don't think my expectations were that high. Being well traveled and having stayed at some cool hotels (Delano, Paramount, One Aldwych), I was disappointed with my first W experience.

Pros: Staff, Bar, Location
Cons: Elevators, Room cleanliness

This hidden treasure was a magnificant find. It has the prime French Quarter location and feel but with modern comfort. It is remarkably clean, elegant, modern and comfortable. I never wanted to leave the hotel between the most comfortable bed I have ever slept in, the beautiful pool and courtyard and their restaurant Bacco. I highly recommend it!

Pros: comfortable elegance, location