The Celestine

We booked this couples trip as our second trip to New Orleans, our first time staying at The Celestine. We loved the location, and it was close to stores and restaurants but quiet enough that our sleep wasn't interrupted. We had a room with a balcony facing the courtyard. The courtyard was a favorite location in the morning, and it was ideal for winding down late at night. The couple we traveled with had a room with a balcony facing the street, and we spent a lot of time there relaxing with drinks and people-watching. The rooms were clean and cozy; the bed was comfortable. We were planning our next stay at The Celestine before leaving to go home. The customer service was the reason for our excitement about rebooking at this location. Ian was our main point of contact at The Celestine, and he made our stay that much more enjoyable. Ian quickly provided recommendations and was charming and engaging. We made it a point to pop into the lobby throughout our stay to say hello, get background on the hotel's history, and get new restaurant recommendations; mostly, we stopped to chat. We are thankful that Ian was there throughout our entire stay, as he was the most hospitable person I have encountered in all our travels.

This is one of the very worst hotels where I have ever stayed, due to the lack of professional management. Before you arrive, you receive numerous emails about how taxis may not be able to find the hotel, and the street may be closed off, and there is no elevator, When you do arrive, the door is more or less unmarked, and there is no one visible inside. You drag your luggage up and down through a courtyard to find a human being to check you in. Immediately and without warning, your credit card is charge for the whole stay, so you cannot leave after the place turns out to be a disaster. The HVAC unit in the room blows cold air in December. You are asked if you want turn down service, but when you say yes, there is no turn down. The worst thing is breakfast. When I went downstair early looking for a cup of coffee, I was told that if you wanted breakfast, you had to order before 2 am. There was supposed to be a piece of paper in the room with this information, but of course there wasn't. And even if there had been, this information should have been provided face-to-face to the guest, rather than leaving it to chance that the guest would stumble across the piece of paper. In any event, it turns out that the only choices (even if you order by 2 am) are yoghurt with berries and some bagel options. When I complained at the front desk in the morning, Ian at the front desk was dismissive, and put the blame on me for not finding the piece of paper, that was not in the room anyway. When I asked Ian to contact the manager, he said that the manager worked a 16 hour day the day before, so he would not call him. This "boutique hotel" is also expensive. I plan to call American Express to dispute the charge.

James and his team have made the Celestine an amazing place to stay in the French Quarter! Beautiful remodel of a historic property with a really cool story. Excellent bar and coffee bar, connected access to Peychauds bar (those guys are great too!), beautiful courtyard and fantastic location. We walked everywhere we wanted to go. James and his team provided excellent service and history, and we can’t wait to stay at this boutique gem again!