Le Méridien New Orleans

$ 30 cash went missing from my room, it’s not the money that bothers me, it’s the nerve that someone felt they had the right to violate me in that way

Le Meridien… you have an identity crisis. Make up your mind, either you want to be a W hotel or a Sheraton.
Staff here was great, lobby was big and had a nice bar. The concierge was top notch, really helped us with some last minute reservations.
The rooms, eh… pretty weak. Oddly shaped rooms. You walk in and the bathroom is literally in your face (rooms next to a suite).
If you are in a suite, the room is so oddly shaped that it doesn’t even make sense. Not sure who designed the décor in these rooms, basically west elm living room (literally, I saw this stuff at the store last week) and not much else.
There is a sheraton and westin 2 – 3 blocks away (closer to the madness on bourbon street), so you have a couple of other spg options as well.
I really wish this brand would figure out what to do with itself because I’m ready to cross it off my spg list for good.

Great hotel great service great location … Only thing missing was a jacuzzi tub in my room … Big bed spacious and pretty big tv … We got the 11^th floor which was high but not much to see anyway so didn’t really matter… Enjoy

My trip turned out to be soooo much for then expected largely because of this hotel. Everyone said i was crazy for going to New Orleans in July but I am so happy I did.
First day down to breakfast the hotel General Manager Mr. Thompson was greeting everyone as they came in. So impressive as I have never seen a GM take the time to do this. Breakfast Staff and Restaurant was great. I had the same server Charles everyday who always had a smile on his face accompined by wonderful service.
Killian the front desk agent helped me multiple times throughout my stay. He assisted with my internet, gave easy and percise instruction and directions to different places I was going but the best was him sending me to a local favorite called Café Du Monde for authentic beignets and the best cup of coffeee i ever had.
Housekeeping was excellent as the rooms were perfectly cleaned and when i ran out of amenities they were delivered quickly. Cha-​Cha and Kiwanda did a lovely job durning my 5 night stay. Each day i just happened to run into the housekeeping supervisor named LaToya who was always pleasent and helpful. She even went above and beyond by fixing my dress for a Gala I was running late for since I couldnt get the zipper to work.
Last but certainly not least, i would not have had a trip full of memeories without the organizing of excursions and dining recommendations through the concierge desk. TRAVIS and DANNY are the super stars of this property.
I did things I would have never done without them sharing the wonders of New Orleans. I did an airboat swamp tour and held a baby alligator, went to the mardi gras museum and learened about the history and saw the first hand designs of the floats, I tried bananas foster for the first time at Brenann’s, and participated in a second line march down bourbon street.
One of the best trip’s I ever had. Thank you Le Meridien for the life time of memeories I will be taking with me!

Stayed July 2015, traveled on business

We stayed at this hotel when it was a W Hotel. I was glad to hear about the big remodel and had hoped for a great stay. I am a Platinum Starwood Member and typically love Starwood properties. We also got upgraded to a suite as one of my annual Platinum level perks.
The good:
— The recent remodel was really nice — I like the modern design of the lobby spaces and of the rooms.
— Hotel Staff — everyone was very nice — no complaints at all!
— Location — the location is perfect for us — close to the quarter and to the Central Business District.
The unfortunate:
— Like another reviewer also reported, the bathrooms, while beautiful, are a total pain. It is impossible to reach into the shower to turn the water on without getting drenched by freezing water!
— While the suite is 525 square feet, I swear that most of the space is in the entry way. The rest of the room is just a regular hotel room. I would never pay for a suite there.
— Since I’m a platinum Starwood member, I’m used to having access to a Club Level room for free continental breakfast and free water every day in my room. I got neither. I did get free water the first day, but that’s it.
— ONE bathrobe in the suite.
— TWO bath towels — I know it sounds lame, but I like to use one bath towel for my hair and one for my body. Which isn’t possible when sharing a room with another person.
— Not enough pillows. Again, I know it sounds lame, but I’ve gotten used to hotels having extra pillows. In case you are wondering why I just didn’t ask for pillows — see my notes below about never being able to get help from the front desk.
— The staff, while very kind, were very understaffed. Every time I stopped by the front desk to ask for assistance, the one front desk employee was stuck in some long winded conversation with someone else.
— Free wifi for Starwood members, but painfully slow — like dial-​up internet speeds. Not even worth using it.
— The daily parking rate of $ 42, while painful, is in line with nearby hotels. I would have not complained about that, but it took up 30 minutes to get our car — on a Tuesday mid-​day. The valet staff couldn’t have been nicer, but he was just as frustrated by us at being left alone for an extended time. (Apparently, he couldn’t leave the bell stand alone — he finally did leave to get our car for us — thank goodness — I think I’d still be there).
So, while the hotel has a brand new finish and perfectly tidy, I would not stay here again. This place is not in line with other Starwood hotels. And, has no soul. I’ll take the quirky and old and beaten up with good service any day over this.

The hotel lobby décor was modern and whimsical, but they just took it a step too far. It became confusing and dizzy after awhile.
The lay out of the rooms are super strange and there’s a total design flaw in the bathrooms. You basically have to get into the shower before you can turn it on (glass doors) and then you get all wet. The door opens INWARD to the shower too, so there’s basically no way to avoid water everywhere.
The staff was ok friendly, but the bar was out of half of everything requested (out of Cabernet?!, out of the crawfish, out of the short rib poboy, out of tea…).
I had to go get a refreshed room/​elevator key 3 times in a 4 night stay, which is super annoying.
There was a tray of left over room service food in our hallway for over 24 hours before I finally called and asked if someone would please clear it since it began to stink.
The location is convenient and we got a good deal on the room, but overall… wouldn’t stay here again.

A very comfortable stay. Our room was very quiet and I appreciated that. There is really only one complaint that I have and that is the bathroom lighting was horrible. Way too dim. The bed was very nice, the décor was also nice. Didn’t use the tv. Oh, there was no ironing board know the room. The front desk brought one up, but that was weird. I would stay here again. The location is perfect for sight seeing. Right in between most attractions.

As a Starwood platinum member, I am
used to stellar service at both Meridien and Westin properties. This hotel’s service and staff were terrible.
I booked on points for a two night weekend stay. First of all, the location is ok, not as nice as the Westin’s but it was the only place available.
The front desk people need to go through training because customer service is not something they seemed to have understood or cared about.
Also, The valet parking here is about 50/​day which is insane to me.
There is no executive Lounge either and Starwood platinums don’t get any breakfast buffet included, just a choice of a pastry or parfait.
All in all, I really didn’t like this hotel for the following reasons:
— location (noisy business district)
— customer service lousy
— no exec lounge
— small dark rooms
I wouldn’t recommend this hotel unless you don’t have another option.

Great location in downtown of New Orleans, walking distance to French Quarter, Riverfront walk and all the main attractions of the city.
The hotel is new with modern high tech design I’d say. In cold blue colors.
The Wi-​Fi is not included in the rate, the basic Wi-​Fi is 9,95 $ per day and it’s very slow.
The room itself as the bathroom, they both are not very spacious. But with an enormous Plasma in the room if you like TV. No balcony rooms at the hotel. There was only one bathrobe, looked pretty cheap to me. But they called it «luxurious» and offered to purchase one for home collection. I have a lot of doubts if any guest ever asked for that… No coffee/​tea maker in the room. No minibar, just a little fridge that you can use for your necessities. The ice machine on our floor wasn’t working. They serve coffee downstairs at the bar during morning hours or in the evening if you get lucky. Breakfast you can have downstairs or room service. They have some interesting dishes with a local touch in the menu.
The fitness center is located on the 4^th floor so as the tiny pool and sunbeds. When it’s too hot outside in Summer guests are relaxing there and they have pool bar for your convenience. The gym is pretty large and equipped very good with cardios, weights and few exercise machines.
Valet parking.
If you’re staying on business and don’t plan to spend a lot of time in the room, that’s an option. But for pleasure — there is a huge variety of other hotels in the area which are more comfortable and luxury that could be more convenient for your stay, Loews, Westin, and many different others, almost every first building in this neighborhood is a hotel. Make your choice wisely.

Let me start off by saying we visit New Orleans quite often. I have stayed at most of the hotels off bourbon and on the river. Le Meridian was one of the best I have stayed in. Front staff was great, room was clean and modern, lobby was well decorated and comfortable and compared to most hotels for the weekend the price was very good. I find most hotels in New Orleans (and not talking the cheap places) that people are rude, the rooms are usually clean but well worn and I know it’s the old city theme of New Orleans but I don’t need to see antiques everywhere and then they want to charge us $ 300 a night because the hotel is so «historic». But this place was a great change. Definitely would stay here again.
I have seen people complain about the valet pricing. Just to inform you that parking is expensive at any hotel or public parking lot in New Orleans. There is not really any free street parking. It is not worth renting a car.

Recently spent three nights here for a series of events at the not too far away conference center. My wife and I found our room on the 21^st floor to be comfortable and quiet. Parts of the room were a little tired looking but we’re pleased overall with the accommodations. Elevators were relatively prompt when called which is always a concern when staying beyond stair walking distance.
The location of the hotel is sweet. A couple of blocks away is Canal St and just beyond that the Quarter. In the other direction, the convention center is an easy 15 minute walk which I did every day. Might be tough to do though in the dead of summer. Even closer is the casino but I was strong this trip and didn’t set foot inside.
The staff at the hotel were pleasant and helpful. On a couple of occasions, they were serving up complimentary samples from the bar to drum up business. I had a colleague switch midweek from a different nearby single letter Starwood property and liked Le Méridien much better.

Apparently for a large hotel that most likely is NOT at full capacity, they keep guests in rooms right next to each other rather than spreading them out a little. We got a noise complaint for having a conversation at night and were threatened to be removed from the hotel. Dear guest sitting in the next room over, I paid just as much as you did for this room and did not complain when you were moaning loudly. I should not feel that if I don’t whisper I will be kicked out of hotel I paid for. If we find ourselves in New Orleans again, we take our business elsewhere.
I advise you to better spend $ 212 a night elsewhere. I wish I had checked the Unilocal reviews first rather than the rating on Expedia.

We just spent four nights at this hotel and everything about our stay here was pleasant. It was our first time visiting New Orleans and I wanted to stay at a hotel that was centrally located and within walking distance to the spots we wanted to explore. Le Méridien provided all that and then some.
When we arrived in our rental car, I knew ahead of time that valet with in/​out access was going to be a steep $ 42 dollars/​day, but oh well. We were on vacation and I’m not going to hem and haw over the cost of that and try to find cheaper parking at a spot I’m not familiar with. Heads up on that if you’re planning a visit here and you have a car in tow. Help yourself to the complimentary, mini bottles of water available in the ice chest/​cart in front of the valet stand.
Upon our arrival, check-​in was swift and when the front desk gal asked what brought us into town, I did mention it was for my annual birthday getaway. With that said, she provided me with two complimentary drink vouchers for the lobby bar… thank you!
We also scored on a nice room on the top floor (23^rd). Our room was clean, spacious and provided a view of the Mississippi River. We opted to not have our room cleaned each day in exchange for 500 points on my SPG membership. I also received a $ 5 food voucher that was slipped under our door each morning to spare housekeeping an extra room to clean.
When we wanted a fresh set of towels, it was easy to call housekeeping to have new ones delivered. Same thing with room service. For our first night there, we had every intention of dining out, but after our late lunch in the French Quarter, our day of traveling wore us out and we decided to give room service a try.
Oh my, so glad we did because it was probably one of the best beef quesadillas we’ve had and fries sprinkled with magical seasonings. More than enough to share between the two of us. Kudos for the complimentary coffee and spa water available for hotel guests in the morning at the lobby bar. I never used the coffee makers at most other hotels, so it was nice that all we had to do was make our way downstairs to help ourselves to fresh brew.
I had to bring my work laptop with me since I had to finish up some stuff before I can really enjoy our getaway. I wasn’t too thrilled about having to pay $ 14.95 for premium service (which allowed up to three devices for 24 hours), but oh well… at least the signal was strong and it kept me online when I had to VPN.
We fell in love with New Orleans and we hope to return back there someday. If you like gambling, you’ll love the fact that Harrah’s Casino (which is non-​smoking inside, yay!) is literally steps away and right across the street.
Thanks for a pleasant stay, Le Méridien. We hope to come back soon!

Le Meh. The staff are AWESOME– which made the rest of our stay so surprisingly disappointing. We learned that the «Complimentary» coffee is great… When it’s available. At 10 am there was none. We were told to come back for it in 10 minutes. When we did… It STILL wasn’t ready.
We learned that «complimentary coffee» is SPG’s solution to avoid coffee makers in guest rooms. However, Another guest came down to the coffee bar looking for Tea. He quickly learned that, while coffee is complimentary to guests, tea is NOT. Strange.
Overnight parking was way overpriced, and an unpleasant surprise. I would rather spend extra $$$ on tipping valet/​door staff, than covered parking. I don’t know, I think SPG can take a «hit» on that, and do their staff that favor. They do all the work, after all– they earn it, and deserve it.

I need to find the interior decorator who decorated the lobby of this hotel. It has a great vibe, looks classy as hell and is a cool place to hang out.
The bar had a great selection of wine and the bartenders can make some pretty fancy cocktails. While staying we ate at their restaurant for breakfast. They serve complimentary green shots (non alcoholic) with breakfast. It was a fun twist on the norm. The breakfast was good, but I was disappointed that they always seems to run out of oatmeal an hour after opening.
The room itself was nice. I had a very hard time leaving the bed. It was so comfortable and the room stayed cool. It was a great escape from the July heat. The bathroom was very posh and well lit. The shower was nicely sized and had good water pressure.
While staying there we did have a strange issue, I think people were smoking next door to us and it went into our vent. So we woke up with the room smelling like an ash tray. When we spoke to the front desk, they had it cleaned while we were out and it was as good as new!
I would definitely stay here again

I really struggle with how I should rate this hotel — the property is completely gorgeous and full of world-​class amenities. I love the Le Meridien brand and their incorporation of art & design into every corner of the hotel. The SPG network is better than ever and staying near the top of the building on the «Starwood Preferred Guest» floor is a great perk.
However, I did not have a nice room and I can’t forgive that. It had no desk, no chair to relax on (although it did have a random bar chair), and no dressers. The mini-​fridge is actually just a «cooler» and can’t refrigerate anything. Essentially, the room felt basic and minimal. It was an Accessible room too, which I did not ask for and wasn’t a good fit for me. This meant that the shower was small and cramped with extra equipment and the bathroom was enlarged, crowding the rest of the room. The air conditioning was very stale and operated through a busted thermostat.
My corporate rate had a promotion for a free breakfast buffet, but my co-​worker and I both missed out on the first two days of it because the people who checked both of us in gave wrong information about it (two different employees both gave separate pieces of wrong information). I was even faced with a confrontational attitude when I suggested that my room included a breakfast buffet, so pulling out my work computer to show the rate description and promotion detail was enough of a downer. That said, once I found the proper location of the buffet (by chance when I used a different entrance to the building), the food was incredible and service by the LMNO restaurant employees was outstanding. I tipped them well but was frustrated that the front desk wasn’t able to properly direct me here from the start.
In summary, the food and drink (bar is awesome, great patio too) at Le Meridien was to die for as always, food service employees were rockstars, front desk employees were mediocre, hotel was beautiful and clean, room was small and uncomfortable. Very torn about giving a 4-​star rating but I think they deserve it. This is a luxury hotel with a lot of great features, I just had a few frustrating experiences and I should have been more vocal about them from the start.
I would come back but this was my last work trip to New Orleans — although I will continue to seek Le Meridien and other SPG properties globally for my work travel needs.

I would stay here every year when I would vacation to the French quarter when it was still the W Hotel.
The last time I was guest here-​which was in July 2014-​the hotel was under extreme construction and transition and was operating under the name Hotel New Orleans. The future change to the Le Meridien was apparent; there was even a «sample room» in the anteroom of the lobby.
Although Le Meridien is an SPG hotel, I personally enjoyed the chic and contemporary feel that the W could give you if you stayed there versus the clean and sleek feel that the the Le Meridien encompasses. But they both are not too different in style I suppose.
The employees were always extremely accommodating and inviting.
Love where the hotel is located. Walking distance from other hotels in the area and the French Quarter.
The rooms are very isolated. I never heard any strange noises from other guests lol.

Service — friendly and helpful. Some issues with the room that weren’t addressed. Eg room phone didn’t work the entire 3 night stay. Requested water but was never sent up.
Food. Didn’t eat at the main restaurant but had the daily breakfast at marche. This was fantastic. Recommend the oatmeal with banana brûlée or the Belgian waffles. Some confusion though as to how many free breakfasts were included. Apparently you get one voucher for each night for just one person. Didn’t make much sense since we were a group of three staying. The management ended up comping our last breakfast but seems kind of silly.
Room. Clean. Fancy spacious bathroom. Large flat screen. Show time channel.
Amenities Tiny rooftop over the fourth floor. Unfortunately there’s no sun after 3 pm as it’s main exposure is east. Nice nearby gym with new equipment. Water. Towels. You get two free bottles of water on first day but no more afterwards. Very quaint pool
Location. Came for convention and this place is nicely located. Walking distance to French quarters. Across the street from casino.
Cost. About $ 320 a night.
Would stay again.

Formally The W hotel, this place had a major face lift. I almost didn’t recognize the the hotel when I checked in. The hotel’s new color scheme is yellow and gray, which is an amazing color combination. The front desk agent was extremely friendly! She upgraded our room and gave us complimentary cocktails. (#SPGlife)
We enjoyed a spacious room with a huge TV. I think it was over 50 inches. The room came with a lounge and refrigerator. We also had complimentary water in our room. The bed was comfy and cozy. Wi-​Fi and cable made us feel at home.
The pool and gym area reign supreme! The pool area has cabanas equipped with televisions. The gym has the very best equipment, loaded with towels and water.
This hotel has so many beautiful seating areas. On the second floor you can find a few comfortable lounge areas. The service was awesome. I will be staying here again!

I like the new Meridien. Much better than the old W and whatever that Hotel New Orleans was. The beds are comfortable, the new paint and updated décor is appreciated, and I like the huge new tvs. The restaurant is a tad slow as the servers/​cooks are getting their feet under them. A decent hotel.
Service is friendly and prompt. The gym is extra cold, which is perfect.
The only ding is that the front desk can get pretty backed up as there were only 1 or 2 people available when I arrived.

Beautiful Hotel. Nice Lobby. Interior Design modern and nice. Hotel workers are very nice and helpful! Comfy beds, clean rooms.
Down sides:
–Key was annoying to use. You have to scan it really slow/​multiple times for it to finally read
–The room had such an awkward layout. The door opened into a corner so you would have to go to the bathroom to close it or get by into the room.

I was really disappointed in this visit. The hotel was less luxurious and well run that I expected as an SPG member and frequent traveler. Honestly, I love the Sheraton Properties, but this is not at all ready for prime time or even at the level it should be.
Lets start with the Pro’s:
— Upgraded rooms with nice furniture
— Comfortable Bed
— Friendly Staff — SUPER GREAT experience with everyone who I interacted with (especially Nicholas at the front desk — he was AWESOME!)
— Great Location
— Nice view from my room
Con’s
— I was in a a suite, but the door opens to a hallway that is dark and somewhat confusing at first
— Internet is SLOW — forget working from the room (I am here on business)
— No amenities in the room — no shower cap, no qtips, no blow dryer, no bath towel rack, etc.
— Won’t hail you a cab, make you walk out in the rain to the curb where the taxi line is. Why wouldn’t they hail the cab to come to the door where it was warmer… we had to go out into the street in some cases to get into the cab.
— No TV’s in the lobby, so we can’t have a drink and watch the NCAA National Championship Game — that was a significant loss on their part with two conferences happening at the same time.
— Phone didn’t work well — can barely hear the desk when I called down regarding missing stuff in room.
— Key discharged on it’s own (as did a few of my co-​workers) the first day
— Construction means no bathrooms on the conference room floor, have to go to another floor during breaks
— Lobby was really cold (it was winter) and my hands were freezing. I couldn’t connect to the wifi I paid for in the room during the meetings so I kept having to come to the lobby to work and the doors kept the place drafty and freezing
— Lunch events were being set up and taken down everywhere, along with construction… so it was like a frogger game to get from the conference rooms to the bathrooms (not on the same floor) and step around vacuuming, plywood, rolling tables, lunch set up, employees carrying trays, etc.
— The lobby bar doesn’t have any outlets for laptops, no water service, no cookies or bowl of fruit, and no free coffee. Hampton Inn offers this… right?
— Noisy. Construction.
My #1 Pet Peeve. No fitted sheets. I hate that. High end hotels should make the beds with fitted sheets so that the clients are not at risk of sleeping on the mattress. Not to mention that it’s cruel to the maids to make them lift heavy mattresses to tuck in sheets when a fitted sheet would snug right up.
I am not sure I would stay here again when there are lower priced boutique hotels with better services.

I was pretty excited with my fiancé and I were going to New Orleans and staying here but ended up a disappointed. Le Meridien took over the old W Hotel and did a massive renovation $ 22 million according to the Starwood website. We had looked over the pictures a few months before and the place looked really nice. The décor and ambiance looked very slick and modern. We decided not to rent a car because it was $ 50 a night to park which is loco (The Andaz in Maui only charges $ 30 a night).
When we came, I was a bit disappointed how close our room door was from the neighboring rooms. We could hear the TV blaring from the other rooms and people talking loudly. The bathroom looked nice however the light on top of the shower did not have a cover? Plus there wasn’t much space when you opened the door to the bathroom. I feel they could’ve redesigned the bathroom a bit better. Bathroom amenities weren’t that good. I would think Le Meriden would have nicer brand name soaps and stuff but nope just shampoo, conditioner, body wash and soap (I think I miss the Japanese Hotels because they had a ton of amenities). Kinda of peeved the cleaning crew didn’t clean our bathroom the first day. We had to call to get new towels. Not sure if they’re doing a great job service wise. The location is great and you can walk your way to Bourbon Street and French Quarter. Front desk area is pretty nice and really elegant. One perk to staying to the hotel is you can get free complimentary tickets to 3 New Orleans museums (New Orleans Museum of Art, Contemporary Art, and another one I forgot). You just need to ask the front desk for tickets. The hotel has more ways to go if they want to be considered a high end hotel.