I am going to be in New Orleans from April 5-9 for a conference. I am on my own for getting myself there, finding a place to sleep, and so on, though with some luck I’ll be reimbursed for most or all of my expenses. That said, I want to keep them as low as possible. Now, I don’t really have the money to spend on a hotel room, so I was thinking one of the hostels in New Orleans. The conference is in the convention center, so I want to be as close as possible–I’d even love to walk there and back if I could do so safely, but I wouldn’t mind grabbing public transit or even a taxi. I see four hostels listed on various websites but the one that looks the nicest is St. Vincent’s at 1507 Magazine St. and about 1.2 miles (probably shorter walking) away. Can anyone tell me about the area or other places that might be safe and fairly cheap to stay?
I’m flying in Monday; giving a talk on Tuesday and flying out that afternoon. I don’t know what my current plans are, but Monday night I’ll be looking for crayfish and oysters.
I’m staying at the Hotel New Orleans.
I don’t have anything practical to add, I could offer to share my room, but thats a bit creepy and I’m only there for the one night anyway.
Look me up; (send me an email) we can talk shop.
India Hostel! India Hostel India Hostel India Hostel. If you can change now, do it. I stay there whenever I go to New Orleans and have never had anything short of an amazing time. I’ve stayed in over twenty hostels in seven countries and it’s easily one of the best.
Actually, I was just about to post that in terms of location, the India House looks better. I should be able to catch either the Canal bus or the Canal streetcar down to one of the participating ACS hotels, where I can hop on the shuttle to the convention center. (For a guy who’s used public transit in a ton of cities, I don’t know why I didn’t think about New Orleans’ streetcars.) That said, at $45 a night, I’m starting to wonder about seeing what I could package in with my airfare. (Nothing against dorm-style, but I’ve got a presentation to make and hopefully job interviews to do, so I’ll need sleep.)
I’m mostly just looking for a place to crash for four nights. I intend to either be doing something touristy or at the conference during the days (and even pretty late at night.)
Okay, plane tickets are bought, conference registration is paid, so now all I need is a place to stay. The India House Hostel is looking better and better in terms of money and location, but I’d love to hear from a few more people before I go making a reservation if possible.
I’ve stayed there three separate times. One time there was a big party and the other two it was very relaxed with lots of people from around the world staying up all night trading stories, drinking, and telling jokes. It’s more about the culture around the place that makes it special. If you just want a bed, well, it’s nothing great.
The best intro to travelers I’ve found is talking about what sounds barnyard animals make in your home country. That always cracks me up.
I just was in New Orleans, and got a pretty decent rate at a nice hotel via priceline. I am sure I could have gotten cheaper if I hadn’t cared about being at a nicer place. Useful advice only if you’d like to try a traditional hotel but want to do it on the cheap.
I don’t know much about the hostels here, but if you stay at St. Vincent’s and decide to walk to the Convention Center, promise me you’ll walk down Magazine until you get past US 90. Please don’t go down to Tchoupitoulas and walk over - the neighborhoods you’ll go through aren’t great. St. Vincent’s itself isn’t in a bad place, but India House might be the most convenient. It does have a party reputation, but if there’s nothing big going on in the city, it should be fairly quiet.
You can take the Canal Streetcar to Convention Center Blvd. and walk to the Convention Center, or you could go further down and pick up the Riverfront Streetcar, which will drop you off at the Convention Center. Rides on both streetcars and buses are $1.25 each, exact change only, or you can get a 1-day unlimited pass for $5 or a three-day unlimited pass for $12.
Hope this helps.
I wish I could offer hostel advice, but that’s not come up since I’ve lived here.
You’ll find that the streetcars are rather irregular as to their schedule. Get to your stop early. Keep in mind that it’s early 20th Century mass transit technology and it’s slow and dependent on traffic lights, accidents, and rickety infrastructure. Judging from their location, budget an hour to get from the hostel to the Convention Center. I know that their website says 10 minutes, but that’s assuming you have a car or taxi.
The bus is more likely to run on time. If it’s raining, check to make sure your seat is dry before you sit down, or you risk getting a wet butt due to leaks. Yes, I know this from personal experience.
Both bus and streetcar modes are safe enough, with the streetcar safer than the bus and the bus safer than walking. You used to be able to get a three-day Visitour pass, but I haven’t looked into one of those since Katrina and I don’t know if they’re still available.
The hostel is in a dodgy area, safety-wise. Don’t go out on foot at night and, if possible, travel with a group after dark.
In New Orleans, cows go moux.
d&r
What’s Canal on the other side of I-10 like? Is it one of those things where you really have to be past Bourbon to be in a safe part of town? There’s a hotel for about the same price as the India House, but the reviews on that one is awful. (Honestly, if came down taking my chances with a hotel or with a hostel, I’d take the hostel. Better chance of a good story.) And another one even further down the street a couple blocks before Rampart but for not much more and with better reviews, though still mixed.
Go for the hostel. While the area near the India House is sketchy, but probably fine, the area near I-10 is rough.
As a general rule, Canal Street from the river up to Rampart Street is fine. From Rampart to the other side of I-10 is rough. Further out Canal it gets better, but there are pockets of less-than-nice.
Keep your wits about you and behave like you’re in an urban area and you’ll be fine.
Gotcha. I was already planning on no bags, no visible electronics, and so on before your post. (I’ve been in fairly bad parts of large cities both with and without bags in the past and I’ve always felt much safer with nothing visible.) That said, I will probably still be wearing a suit most every day while traveling to/from the convention center. No visible conference badge or anything, obviously, but it’s kinda hard to disguise the clothes. (If I was just in a pair of jeans and a T-shirt, again, I’d feel much more comfortable.) Any further tips on safe traveling (besides maybe paying for a cab after dark?)
I’d consider taking off the tie and draping your coat over your arm before moving around outside the C.Center / French Quarter areas of town after dark. Taking a cab isn’t a bad idea and it shouldn’t cost you too much, particularly if you walk from the C.Center to the foot of Canal Street before hailing the cab.
It probably wouldn’t hurt to email the India House and see what precautions they suggest. New Orleans is a collection of neighborhoods, each with its own personality. The hostel isn’t in my neighborhood, so my assessment won’t be as accurate as theirs.
This might sound dumb, but a few times I’ve carried, in addition to my “real” wallet, a cheap wallet with a little amount of cash in it (around $20.00) so that if I get mugged I can give up the cheap wallet and and hope that’ll satisfy the thug.
Good luck and enjoy your visit.
My ex-girlfriend’s mom is the perfect mark. She’s the stereotypical shorts with white tennis shoes, English speaking, confused and in a hurry American with a camera. Simply put, she gets mugged wherever she goes. She’s been mugged in over six countries–it’s routine now. She brings two fake wallets with old credit cards, library cards, and about $5 with her whenever she goes traveling–two in case she gets mugged–one time she got mugged twice in the same day.
So the fake wallet is definitely not a bad idea.
I haven’t been to NOLA in ages, and have always stayed at a nice hotel (save for the HOJO’s in a very sketchy part of town). I’m planning to go soon, and saw some surprisingly reasonable studio apartments in the French Quarter on www.vrbo.com. It’d be worth it for you to check it out, I think.