The city of New Orleans is legendary for its jazz and deep-fried food, its Mardi Gras parades and above-ground cemeteries, its free-flowing alcohol (especially on Bourbon Street) – and, of course, for the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Most tourists visiting the city now would hardly notice hurricane damage, as the French Quarter (the most popular part of the city for tourists) was relatively unscathed. But if you are looking for cheap hotels in New Orleans, you are likely to have to look outside the famous French Quarter.
While New Orleans is quite a large city, there are just a couple of areas which are generally of interest to visitors, so you want to make sure you are staying close to what you want to see and do. As mentioned, cheap hotels in New Orleans may be harder to find in the French Quarter, but there are other nearby areas of the city which offer more economical choices and are still close enough to make it easy to spend most of your time in the French Quarter. Public transit is pretty good in the city, although some of it is still not totally back on line yet after the 2005 hurricanes.
In addition to the selection of cheap hotels in New Orleans, this city has a long list of bed and breakfast properties, small boutique hotels and old-fashioned inns as well – many of which may offer a budget choice over the big and impersonal chain hotels which you will find in the Central Business District (CBD). The residents of New Orleans are famous for their hospitality, so it is not surprising that these more interactive styles of accommodation are popular and plentiful here. As an added bonus, they are often housed in historic buildings that only add to the charm.
Some of the cheap hotels in New Orleans which you should consider for your trip are the Historic French Market Inn (reasonable rates in the French Quarter, romantic setting in 19th century building, garden courtyards, WiFi available, walking distance to Jackson Square), Embassy Suites New Orleans (in the Central Business District, 347 suites and 25 regular rooms, free breakfast and evening cocktails, on-site restaurant), Hilton St. Charles Hotel (in the Central Business District, 4 blocks from French Quarter, close to Harrah’s casino, 250 rooms, on-site restaurant, internet available, fitness center and pool), Elysian Fields Inn (in the Faubourg Marigny district next to French Quarter, 8 rooms, internet and WiFi available, breakfast included), and Maison St. Charles Hotel (in Uptown New Orleans, on streetcar line, 130 rooms, 5 minutes from French Quarter, free breakfast, free internet access, outdoor pool).