739 Canal Street at Bourbon, New Orleans, Louisiana, United States | (618) 248-8274
Amazing central location right on Bourbon and Canal Streets
24-hour fitness center with cardio equipment and free weights
Attached restaurant/oyster bar with views onto Bourbon Street
24-hour room service available
32,000 square feet of event space, including ballrooms and theater-style spaces
Small rooftop pool
Clean, basic rooms with flat-screen TVs
Business center with three computers for guest use
No free Wi-Fi (except for International Hotel Group reward members)
Valet parking only
Some rooms have no views whatsoever
Standard Room bathrooms are cramped and dim
No in-room mini-fridge or minibar
This modern, but slightly generic, 14-story downtown hotel is situated right on the corner of Bourbon and Canal Streets. It's literally steps from the action -- a distinction that also comes with homeless people outside the entrances and strip clubs on the street. The 693 rooms are convenient and reasonably spacious, if not stylish. Frequented in equal parts by tourists looking to be in the middle of it all and business travelers lured by the plentiful event/meeting spaces and conveniences -- like a 24-hour fitness center, pool, and attached Dickie Brennan's Bourbon House -- the Crowne Plaza Hotel New Orleans French Quarter is certainly not dull, and comes across as a well-visited and always-happening mid-range property.
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Scene
French Quarter energy with classic New Orleans style
With its wrought-iron balconies and high-flying flags, the facade melds perfectly into the streets of New Orleans. Guests are greeted in a classically elegant lobby with high ceilings and marble floors, where rich-colored velvet seating complements cream and white walls. Given the central location, guests are often out and about in the city, but many also gather for oysters and cocktails at Dickie Brennan's Bourbon House. The busy traffic of Canal Street and streetcars clanging by are consistent reminders that this is city central -- so, too, are the homeless people walking and sleeping near the hotel entrance. Still, this hotel feels like a safe, surprisingly quiet oasis in the thick of the urban scene.
Location
Location, location, location -- in the heart of The Big Easy
While many downtown hotels claim to be near the action, this hotel is actually right in the thick of it: all of the partying, shops, and restaurants of the famed French Quarter are within a half-mile. Situated at the end of Bourbon Street (so not quite in the noisiest part) and on Canal Street, this hotel is within walking distance of just about everything tourist-worthy in the New Orleans area, including Harrah's casino and the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. Immediate neighbors include a couple of tourist shops and fast food, with drugstores nearby as well. On the Bourbon Street side of the property there are strip clubs, restaurants, and bars.
Rooms
Generic decor, small bathrooms, and hard beds, but decent space
The somewhat generic but clean and reasonably sized rooms in this hotel are minimally furnished with stained-wood desks and dressers. Colors are muted, save for a rich-hued chair or couch and metallic gold headboards. Modern amenities include flat-screen TVs and coffeemakers (some rooms have Keurig coffeemakers with K-Cups). The Standard Room bathrooms are small and not well lit, with cramped tubs, but there are nice toiletries available for guest use. Each of the approximately 700 guest rooms also has Crowne Plaza Sleep Advantage bedding along with super-cushy pillows, though beds get mixed reviews overall. Though some rooms have no views and literally face a brick wall, there are other rooms available with balconies for awesome viewing of Mardi Gras and Bourbon Street festivities.
Features
An oyster bar, 24-hour gym and room service, and ample event space
The 24-hour fitness center is a good size, though a little drab. Wi-Fi is only free for IHG Rewards Club members, and is otherwise pricey -- guests may join online at no cost, but unfortunately the connection can be rather slow. The attached restaurant and oyster bar, Dickie Brennan's Bourbon House, has an entrance through the hotel as well as outside. Lit by faux gas lamps, the restaurant has elegant high ceilings and tall windows, and serves Louisiana cuisine for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. There is also 24-hour room service available. For business travelers, there is a well-equipped business center, and lovely ballrooms and meeting rooms available for events of up to 800 people. Parking is valet only, as is typical of almost all hotels in downtown NOLA. The pool is small and oftentimes crowded, and has a handicapped lift.
