new orleans help

[rile42]

My wife and I are considering a trip on the CONO. What I would like from the learned members here is some advise on the places to stay near the station, if indeed that is possible.

 

[WhoozOn1st]

Jeez, Dude, wish I could be of more assistance, but my last experience in The Big Easy was a year - almost to the day - before Katrina nailed it. And I would guess that few Forum contributors have been there since that calamity.

Difficult to tell what might be available now, so perhaps it would help to contact the local visitors bureau - which would no doubt be happy to hear from you. The Amtrak station is not in the nicest area.

While there I stayed at a unit of the Choice Hotels chain that was on the St. Charles streetcar line. A bit of a cab ride from the train station, but otherwise very handy (and reasonably priced) - all I had to do every morning was walk out the door and catch a streetcar to get started. Unfortunately, I don't believe the St. Charles line is up and running again yet; infrastructure problems. The old cars themselves survived, though, and are in limited service on the Canal and Riverfront lines, replacing the newer cars on those lines, which were all essentially destroyed by flooding. (Estimated $1 million apiece to repair 'em)

If you make the trip, please report back with your experiences. Certainly many would be interested.

As a little aside, the ballast on the station tracks was all seashells.

 

[PRR 60]

The St. Charles line is up and running using the old, original street cars. Most of the tourist-related stuff in New Orleans is OK. The French Quarter was relatively undamaged by Katrina. That is not to say that New Orleans is back to normal: far from it. Vast areas are still devastated and the population is only about half of the pre-Katrina count, but as a visitor you will do fine. In fact, you will be helping to bring some economic help to an area that sorely needs it.

I am not an expert in New orleans hotels, but I do know that the Hyatt is located reasonably close to the Amtrak station (next to the Super Dome). Note that both the Amtrak station and the Hyatt are quite removed from the French Quarter and the walk, particularly at night, is not at all recommended. To really get the flavor of New Orleans (which, by the way, is not to every one's liking), I would recommend staying nearer to the center of things. There are literally dozens of places.

 

[had8ley]

My wife and I are considering a trip on the CONO. What I would like from the learned members here is some advise on the places to stay near the station, if indeed that is possible.

I can highly recommend LePavillion on Poydras Street. We have been using this hotel for over 30 years. It has had its ups and downs but right now it is 4 stars even after Katrina. Ask for a "bay window" room. It is about 1/2 mile from the train station and is on the outskirts of the French Quarters; about a 5 minute cab ride. You would not be disappointed. Next choice would be the J.W. Marriott on Canal St. NOT to be confused with an older Marriott on the same street. Good luck and please be careful.

 

[jphjaxfl]

I have also stayed at Le Pavillion when arriving on Amtrak. I have not been to NO since Katrina, but am glad to know Le Pavillion is still available. I have never thought of the area around Union Passenger Terminal as being "bad", though it is not far from some areas that would be of concern. Like with any large city, you need to be cautious. I wish I could take the Sunset Limited from Jacksonville where I live to New Orleans. It was a very covenient overnight trip.

 

[AmtrakWPK]

I will second the wish for Sunset Limited's return east of NOL. We took Sunset to NOL overnight from the Orlando area. We did walk from the Amtrak station to and through the French Quarter, and indeed all around the riverfront, took a stern-paddlewheeler ride on the river, ate, shopped, and had a generally wonderful time, but we were not carrying luggage since we were getting on Sunset eastbound that night to come home (there was one day per week when the schedule allowed arriving in the morning in NOL from the east, spending the day in NOL, and leaving that same night to return eastbound). I will always remember the side of the Holiday Inn Downtown Superdome, a few blocks north on Loyola from the Amtrak station, which has a huge painting on it of a clarinet that is as tall as the hotel, and VERY realistic, with shading to make it look like there is a shadow behind and beside it. Google Earth (free!!) is a very good way to orient yourself, to see where various hotels, eating places, etc., are located, to get a good idea beforehand of the physical relationships and positioning of the Amtrak station, the river, the french quarter, other landmarks, and so forth. Google Earth also has a large number of photos of various places and things in that area that you can click on. A few hours spent that way beforehand will probably make the visit seem much less intimidating and confusing when you actually get there, and you will have a good mental map of where you are and where you are going when you actually get there. While I don't know for sure when the current Google Earth area pictures were taken, I gather from the myriad of blue roof covers (i.e., blue tarps) that they are post-Katrina. We remember that here in Central Florida from the several Hurricanes that hit us so hard in 2004, we got to referring to blue tarp as the new "State Flag".

 

[Gord]

My wife and I are considering a trip on the CONO. What I would like from the learned members here is some advise on the places to stay near the station, if indeed that is possible.

The wife and I have stayed at Maison St. Charles several times. I would guess it's about a mile and a half from the station, right on the St. Charles carline, a few blocks upriver from Lee Circle, which is currently the end of the line. It''s a ten minute streetcar ride to Bourbon St. It is also on the edge of the beautiful Garden District and the shops of Magazine St., a great area if you love to tour on foot This portion of the line is expected to be restored as far upriver as Napolean Ave., sometime soon, likely this Fall. Prices run about $90. to $120. but will be higher during special events, Voodoo Fest, Mardi Gras, etc. I would rate the hotel as 3+ star.

In January, we stayed at the Frenchmen Hotel at the back end of the French Quarter, again a 3 star and a great location if you like live music. It's about a block from the end of the Riverfront streetcar line which along with Canal St., is using the older Perley Thomas, 900 series cars until the 450 and 2000 series, Von Dullen cars are rebuilt.

Note that there still were some staff shortages so you may find service and cleanliness may not always meet your expecatons, especially if you are on the fussy side.

We take taxis to and from the station. I recall that there is a $10.00 minimum charge.

We always have a great time in New Orleans and look forward to returing in the Spring, on the City of NOLA, of course.

Gord,

Toronto

P.S. Friends have highly recommended La Richelieu hotel as well.

 

[had8ley]

I have never thought of the area around Union Passenger Terminal as being "bad", though it is not far from some areas that would be of concern. Like with any large city, you need to be cautious.

My beef with NOUPT is INSIDE the station. Although there are Amtrak police on duty the station is shared with Greyhound. Apparently, they have to call a New Orleans policeman to police the Greyhound side which adds to response time. I have witnessed more than one shady character being led out of the bus side of the terminal in handcuffs while waiting for friends on the ever tardy #2. And it's a rare day when someone isn't panhandling to get something to eat or make that last $2 for a bus ticket and this was happening way before Katrina.

 

[DKtexan]

Greetings all,

I have been reading this forum for a while, and decided to add some comments regarding New Orleans.

I recently made a trip from NY to New Orleans aboard the Crescent.

There are sveral hotels near the Amtrak station. There is a Holiday Inn nearby as well as a Days Inn.

Most of the hotels near the French Quarter are about a $10 taxi ride.

I stayed at the Hotel St. Marie, on Toulouse Street, just steps to Bourbon Street.

It is a lovely hotel, with spacious rooms and reasonable rates.

I was last in New Orleans shortly before Katrina hit, but the French Quarter didn't appear damaged at all.

Riding the Crescent into town we saw a large area of homes detroyed.

But I stayed in the French Quarter and it was as fun as ever.

What I did notice was that there were policemen all over the place. I felt very safe walking around Bourbon Street even in the middle of the night. There were police cars at every intersection.

I had a great time. Common sense should prevail when walking around at night, as in every city.

Just my 2 cents...

DK

 

[wayman]

My wife and I are considering a trip on the CONO. What I would like from the learned members here is some advise on the places to stay near the station, if indeed that is possible.

I visited New Orleans in mid-August (traveling there by the Crescent) and stayed at the Quality Inn & Suites on O'Keefe Ave. It was, as others have said, about a $10 taxi ride from Union Station. It's in the Central Business District, about a block from Canal St (the streetcars) which is the dividing line between the CBD and the French Quarter. In other words, it's about a four minute walk to the streetcar which will take you to the waterfront (or up into the still-devastated areas) and a five minute walk (you have to cross Canal) into the heart of the FQ.

The Quality Inn staff were some of the friendliest hotel staff I've ever encountered, and the rooms were well-priced and rather more plush than your average Hampton or Holiday Inn; several of the rooms my traveling companions received were multi-room suites in different configurations. The hotel was virtually empty, perhaps a sign that few tourists have returned to New Orleans. We stayed there for a weekend, then were on a service trip outside New Orleans for a week, and returned to the Quality Inn the following weekend. All of the staff remembered us on sight and remembered each of our names a week later.

 

[St. Charles]

Most all of the hotels are up and going, and that and the French Quarter is one of the first things that came back. Very little else has. The St. Charles street car line is NOT in operation. There have been some tests in the last two weeks, but it is not a high priority of the present city administration. The loop from Canal Street to Lee Circle has been running for a few months though, and that will get you close to some of the better hotels, such as Le Meridien.

Like anything else, get on some of the travelocity type sites, and shop for some rates. Then before you book, read the reviews, and make sure it is the type of hotel you would stay in in your own home town. New Orleans is no better than any downtown city, and worse than some, you don't go off the major tourist routes after dark, and you don't walk from your hotel to the restaurant after dark unless you are built like a pro wrestler and can intimidate the would be muggers.

There are some GREAT restaurants back open, but TV says probably still a thousand or so that are not and never will. Magazine Street has come back strong as a shopping and antique area. Stick to the French Quarter and Magazine Street, and you'll have a great time.

 

[St. Charles]

I forgot to mention one of my favorite things is to take the Canal Street ferry over and back, it is free for pedestrians. If you have seen the movie Deja Vu with Denzel Washington, that is the ferry that starred in the movie.

Of course if you are scared of disasters, then don't watch the movie, go drive on I-5 in California instead!

 

[Joey B]

Actually I read on a NOLA board that the St Charles st cars are starting to run again, dont know if it was test runs or regular servicem but it is a good sign anyway.

Joey B

 

[PRR 60]

Actually I read on a NOLA board that the St Charles st cars are starting to run again, dont know if it was test runs or regular servicem but it is a good sign anyway.Joey B

The central portion of the St. Charles Streecar line is running in a loop using St. Charles, Howard, Carondelet, and Canal. The service began last December. Service to Napoleon will resume this fall. Full service restoration is not expected until next year.

 

[Indochine_UK]

I was in NOLA twice last month arriving on the CONO, and saw Amtrak police patroling inside and outside the station. I stayed at the Country Inn & Suites on Magazine Street, just outside the French Quarter and was charged $11 each time I travelled to and from Union Passenger Terminal.

I agree with doing a trip on the ferry crossing, there's great views of Jackson Square from the Algiers side.

 

[St. Charles]

I am happy to report the impending return of more service on the St. Charles streetcar line. According to TV reports, the line will be extended from Lee Circle (near the Amtrak station) and streetcars will start turning at Napoleon Avenue in the next week or so.

According to this same report, the other half of the line from Napoleon out to the universities is still a year or more away from return to service.

 

[St. Charles]

Just to bring things up to speed, the "St. Charles" line was finally reactivated back onto part of St. Charles yesterday November 10. The cars are running to Napoleon Avenue, which is about 1/2 of the route. They do not run 24 hours a day like they used to, there is no service between 11 PM and 6 AM.

The other half of the line is being held up for political reasons by the city administration. I won't say anything more than that.

 

[rtabern]

I'd recommend the Country Inn & Suites - New Orleans.

I stayed there when I took a ride from Chicago to New Orleans in March 2006. I walked to the hotel from the station (probably a mile) -- no problems, but I also wouldn't do it at night. The hotel is with-in walking distance of the French Quarter and everything -- I did that walk at night with no problems.

I had a good time -- almost everything in the FQ was open even 6 months after Katrina.

Approching New Orleans, the train did go by a lot of condemended areas.

RT