Louisiana-New Orleans

Hotel Block in the Quarter in October

Ashoes123Ashoes123 member
Second Anniversary First Comment
edited April 2014 in Louisiana-New Orleans
Ugh.. this has been the biggest challenge so far and I'm really interested to hear what other brides have done.  My wedding is in October in the quarter and a lot of the guest list is out of state and will need to stay in a hotel for several days.  I called pretty much every hotel in the quarter, and placed bids out on HotelPlanner.com and the cheapest I could get was $200 a night.  A lot of guests have been saying they are planning to stay 3 or 4 nights so that is very expensive and I hate making people have to pay that to come see us get married :(

I've been exploring other options too - renting out a vacation rental on VRBO, renting out a B&B..The problem with these options is that even though these options would be cheaper on a per person basis, I can't really afford to put everyone up and people would need to coordinate this in groups amongst themselves and there is some planing involved.

Our wedding will right in the middle of the quarter and I think guests should be within walking distance to the quarter.  Does anyone have any recommendations for safe neighborhoods within walking distance that may be cheaper that I may have overlooked?

Re: Hotel Block in the Quarter in October

  • Aeb74Aeb74 member
    10 Comments First Answer 5 Love Its
    Call Tamara at the LeRichelieu! I've stayed there a few times, the most recent this past December. It's a great little boutique property in a quiet part of the FQ on Chartres. It's nice and close to Frenchmen street, where the great jazz clubs are! The city cab stand is right out front of he hotel, so if guests would like a taxi, they're always right there. Our rates were $141 a night. All other properties we looked into were $200+ a night. Good luck! :)
  • Thanks for the recommendation! I just left a voicemail with Tamara.  Another option my fiance suggested was to give guests a much cheaper hotel option in Metarie, then hire a shuttle bus for the rehearsal day and wedding day to shuttle guests to and from.  Maybe some hotels out there even offer a shuttle bus service to the quarter!
  • Aeb74Aeb74 member
    10 Comments First Answer 5 Love Its
    True, but they will want to see the FQ and surrounding neighborhoods.  If they cab back and forth from Metarie to the FQ, they'll spend the more on cabs and not really save any money.  Another idea is check out Frenchmen Inn on Frenchmen Street.  Also perhaps Lamothe House on Esplanade.  If they're in the Marigny, that's adjacent to the FQ and an easy walk, or just a few bucks for a cab.  Biscuit Palace is not exactly the Ritz, but its location is fantstic and they have rooms starting at $120.  They won't do group rates though.  Olivier House and Hotel St. Marie may be worth checking into as well!  The boutique hotels may offer better rates than the chains do.  And just my opinion, but boutique hotels usually are more interesting anyway!  :) 
  • Ha. I just posted the same comment on another bride's board. Try Hampton Inn on St. Charles.  Hotel Rooms were under $200.00. The place is beautiful and they have free parking and free breakfast which doesn't happen in New Orleans much.  My out of town guests loved that they could just jump on the street car or catch a cab and be in the quarter. My husband and I have decided that for any future trips to NOLA we will be staying at the Hampton.
  • Try a hotel up in the garden district, like the Maison St. Charles or the Avenue Plaza. They are less ritzy, but less expensive, and right on the street car line, so even without rental cars your guests can get in and out of the quarter easily and cheaply. Plus parking is cheaper at these hotels, so that's even less expense for your guests that rent cars. The Maison includes continental breakfasts, and the Plaza rooms have kitchenettes- even more savings!

     n the quarter, parking can be upwards of $40/night, add that to the 13% occupancy tax, extra charge for wifi, eating out every meal....staying in the quarter really adds up, on top of the quoted rate. But if that's the experience you want your guests to have (i.e. right smack in the quarter), they will pay for it. Try to keep in mind they will likely be making a vacation out of it, and not just coming for your wedding, so don't feel too guilty.

    We are doing one hotel in the quarter and one out in the garden district to give people options. So far it's an even split. We also told some guests with larger families about VRBO/Home Away, but warned them to use caution so they don't get scammed. We have made ourselves available on weekends to check out some of the houses our out of town guests are renting.

    Good Luck.
This discussion has been closed.
Choose Another Board
Search Boards