Looking for a Pre-Cruise hotel in New Orleans? You may want to check out The Saint Hotel for Pre-Cruise hotel night.
Over the summer, we sailed on the Carnival Dream out of Port New Orleans. We have never been to New Orleans so we drove in the day before to check out the sites. We had heard stories of Bourbon Street and decided that it was just a place we needed to experience at least once.
So, off we went…to Louisiana.
We had discussed booking a pre-cruise hotel outside of the New Orleans area due to cost but ended up throwing budget constraints to the wind and splurged on a hotel right in the heart of the action. With our wallet crying, we chose The Saint Hotel, Autograph Collection perfectly located on Canal Street.
Arriving at our Pre-Cruise Hotel – The Saint, Autograph Collection
Our group arrived at the hotel around 3:00 in the afternoon, check-in time. There was a bit of confusion because there wasn’t a circle drive, a parking lot…anything. We pulled up to the door and I had to get out and ask around for directions for how we should park. A hotel employee told me that we could just unload “there”…in the middle of the street…. literally in a lane of traffic. A couple of other cars joined us and we blocked a lane of traffic and cars changed lanes and went around us. Little scary! I am an awesome worrier!
After we unloaded our belongings, we were given a ticket and told to leave our car there. Remember, we are parked in the street, with our keys in the ignition…and the large luggage that we were leaving in the car for the cruise. For those of you who do not know me, I am a worrier, a HUGE worrier. So, I was a little freaked out but determined to “pretend to be chill”. Can you tell that I don’t stay at downtown hotels too often? And when I do, I am usually just getting dropped off in a cab or Uber.
Taking a Look at The Saint Hotel for our Pre-Cruise Hotel
We walked into the hotel and wow! It’s really cool. There was white floor to ceiling drapery area dividers, a full bar, a pool table, a restaurant area and a few photo opp. locations. We went to check in but were told that our rooms were not yet ready (nearly 4 p.m.). So we filled over an hour (our room was ready at nearly 5:00) grabbing a beer, the boys played pool and we just “hung out” in the lobby.
It was a little frustrating that our room wasn’t ready after our long drive but the staff was extremely warm and full of southern hospitality. Once it was ready the room was lovely, clean and comfortable. And as previously mentioned, the location was ideal for walking and exploring. If our budget could have supported it, I would have enjoyed staying here for a couple of days but…. between the hotel room and parking we were banging on the door of $400, OUCH! I think I’ll stick to getting on the cruise ship.
All things being equal, the cost of this particular hotel was in line with other pre-cruise hotels we have stayed at in popular cities. We stayed at a great hotel in Seattle right near the pier and it was over $300 as was the modest Holiday Inn Express in Fort Lauderdale that we always stay at pre-cruising out of Port Everglades.
The only difference in NOLA was the cost of parking our cars. So, to be fair, I can’t argue with the cost of The Saint Hotel, Autograph Collection. It was spectacular, the staff was very kind and the location was spot on! I love that we were able to walk to Bourbon street and have dinner. Read about our “wild” night out in NOLA here.
If I make it back to this hotel, I definitely want to check out the live music they have in the bar area. Unfortunately, we all fell asleep before show time. Road trips wear us out!
Have you been to The Saint Hotel or to New Orleans? What is your experience with a pre-cruise hotel? I’d love to hear from you. Comment below.
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Happy Travels!
Jillian