Waldorf Astoria Roosevelt New Orleans Review

Introduction

I had a friend’s wedding in New Orleans and while I originally was going to stay 3 nights at the Roosevelt, I decided to switch one night to the Hyatt since I had a free Chase Hyatt annual certificate that was about to expire.  Thus, I only stayed 2 nights here at the Waldorf Astoria.  This was my first time at a WA, and it was as gaudy as I imagined it to be (with the gold chandeliers,) but the room and the amenities did pleasantly surprise me.

Location

The hotel is about 2 blocks away from Bourbon Street and Canal Street, which is the start of “Bourbon Street.”  The location was adequate for our needs.  No complaints here.

Upgradeability

Before we got here, I had read that Gold members frequently got upgraded to a “suite.”  Now, when I checked in with my lowly Gold status, the clerk didn’t mention any room upgrade.  He did give me 2 drink vouchers worth $12 each at any of the 3 lounges.  He also gave me a coupon for a discount at the spa (which we did not use) as well as free 1K Hilton points.  When we got into the elevator, we noticed we did get the very top 12th floor.  When we exited the elevator and got to our room, we did get the last room on the floor.  I don’t really know if I was upgraded or not; you can decide for yourself by looking at the pictures.

Decor

Like I said, the decor in the lobby was all gold everywhere.  I thought this was a Trump hotel for a second.  Pictures won’t do it justice; you just have to see it and experience it for yourself.

Other tidbits

• The wifi was adequate; not blazing fast nor was it noticeably slow
• You got 2 free water bottles in your room
• The valet when you first get to the hotel offered us 2 small bottles of water, which we thought was nice.
• The curtains couldn’t fully close for full pitch black, and I had to use a sleep shade to put me back to sleep.
• We had a king sized bed, and my first night’s sleep was awesome.  I usually prefer firm beds, and this one was just firm enough.
• Speaking of a good night’s sleep, while the first night was heavenly, on the 2nd night, when we got back to our room at 2am, the thermostat was at 72 degrees, which was pretty hot.  I turned it down to 70 and went to sleep.  And all night, I was hot and cold.  You know what I mean right?  If I was under the down cover for too long, I was too hot.  But if I didn’t cover up, I was too cold.  I wish I had remembered what degree the thermostat was set at the first night because I wish they had set it the same the 2nd night.  I HATE hot and cold sleepless nights.
• It wasn’t too noisy but that’s because we were at the end of the hall.  Plus, I like to believe the clientele here aren’t the type to party all night on Bourbon street.
• The housekeeping didn’t clean my room until after 5pm on my 2nd night.  I can’t remember a time when my room hadn’t been cleaned by that time ever before.
• And they didn’t even give me new Salvatore Ferragamo soaps either (even after I hid the initial set so that they would know to replenish it.)  I’m not sure if the hotel was being cheap, and I’m sure they would have brought up a new set if I called to ask, but for a hotel of this caliber, I would have expected a replenishment without me asking.
• By the way, the Ferragamo soaps were just like any other hotel soap.  It didn’t feel better quality than Pantene soap.  It just smelled slightly better then the normal hotel soaps.  At least the Bvlgari soap at the Conrad Maldives spa FELT higher quality.
• At least the hotel offered free shoe shine, which I did take advantage of.  They came to pick up my shoes at midnight one night and called and dropped them off the next morning at 8am.  I thought that was a nice little perk for staying at the hotel.

Pictures