Kimpton Hotel Fontenot — Hotel in New Orleans

If you are looking for a place to stay in New Orleans that is not on Bourbon Street, look no further than The Hotel Fontenot. We were visiting New Orleans in August 2023. (yes, August in New Orleans-not recommended). We wanted to find somewhere within walking distance to local attractions and away from the craziness of the French Quarter. After much vacillation and review reads, The Hotel Fontenot was the perfect choice. We arrived late at night and were greeted by a very kind and helpful night desk clerk. The process was simple and quick. The desk had a sign in which you could request a plant "friend" to be delivered to your room during your stay. Being the plant lover I am, I wish I could have had 20 delivered. A very nice program, I had never thought of before, but a very nice touch. The Lobby was very clean and had an intoxicating smell which was very calming. We were told the hotel had two restaurant/bars and a coffee spot for the morning, convenience indeed. Before we even made it to the elevator, we were stopped in our tracks by the most luxurious and opulent room. The Peacock room transports you into a Victorian/Nouveau era lounge, adorned with lavish seating, stuffed peacocks, the most brilliant color blue and many curious trinkets. It was definitely going to be somewhere we were going to visit while staying at the hotel. During our stay we visited all three of the food venues and we were impressed by them all. The small coffee shoppe was very convenient and the drinks and food were great. Every morning we ate breakfast that The King, another great designed space. The service was phenomenal. The hostess, Cara was very friendly and became our go to source for things to do around the city. She recommended hopping on the streetcar and really enjoying the areas outside of downtown and the French Quarter. The servers, especially Danielle, were very attentive and kind. After the second morning, they greeted us as if we were regulars (which we soon became). Everything on the menu was fantastic and we tried almost everything. Our experience at The Peacock Room, which we had been looking forward to since our arrival, was equally as great. We sat at the bar, as we normally do when we go out, and it was definitely the right choice. Besides the food and drinks being delicious, the service was beyond compare. Adam, one of the bartenders, was very inviting and friendly. While managing all the other drink orders of the venue, he still had time to chat and also gave us recommendations of things to do around the city. He was a libation expert. We like when bartenders know what they are doing and can work off the menu and provide a unique drink and conversation. We went back the second night just for apps and a few drinks before we went out to meet our friends for dinner. The following evening the Peacock Room was not open, so we decided to try out The King (our breakfast go-to) for dinner. Again, we sat at the bar, where we found yet another great staff member. Michael was great from the first moment we sat down. Just as engaging as the bartender in the Peacock Room and also just as talented in mixing drinks. The entire dining and drinking experience was above and beyond any other hotel I had ever stayed at. Any time we consulted the staff at the front desk, we were not disappointed. Marvin was helpful with any question we had during our stay. The hotel is a short walk to the French Quarter, the Aquarium, the casino, and many other attractions. The streetcar stop is a few short blocks and very convenient way to get around the city in a unique way. Overall, our stay at The Hotel Fontenot was beyond magnificent. The accommodation was great, the design was beautiful, but the staff was the icing on the cake; they were remarkably helpful and inviting. There were times we would not have even left the hotel, if we had not had other obligations with our friends during our visit to New Orleans. We do not have any real need to go back to visit the city again but would consider it if we were just going to stay...

Excellent. We chose this hotel to celebrate a birthday and to reunite with a friend we hadn’t seen for nearly 20 years. We couldn’t have made a better choice! We simply can’t wait to come back! Even our friend, who stayed at a neighboring property, said how she wished she had chosen this property; next time I bet she will! Upon check in, we were thanked for our loyalty and offered either a $10 Food & Beverage Credit or 600 welcome amenity points. Our room was upgraded, and a 4pm checkout was proactively offered for our tier of loyalty. The social password was good for a spin of the wheel (like wheel of fortune); we ‘won’ a small bottle of wine; how nice. In addition to the staff checking in on us once we had arrived, Dixie, the assistant general manager, checked in on us via text from home, a delightful and unexpected surprise. A “VIP Inner Circle Amenity” was present in the room. We felt genuinely valued at this property. Melvin, the valet, greeted us warmly and was a model employee. From the moment we pulled up, we felt that we were in good hands. He helped us load the luggage cart, offered to help us up to the room, and to park the car. Kathy, at the reception, checked us into the property, and she was thorough yet efficient. We arrived late, just before the overnight shift change, and just after Kathy left for the evening, we got to meet Maya. What an asset to the company! Engaging and eager to please, she, Melvin, and Kathy set the tone for a wonderful stay. Dixie, with whom we had communicated before our arrival, helped us arrange for a cake and some flowers, for our birthday celebration. Erica, who we met the following day, addressed us by name all throughout the stay, just like Maya and Dixie. We met Jesseca, the General manager, on our last day, and she too knew about the birthday, making it a special point to ensure our stay was going well. We will rave about the staff at this property for some time. The “1 Bedroom Spa Suite” we were assigned was perfect for the occasion. It was exactly as advertised. The bed was comfortable, the pillows were fluffy; even our cat couldn’t resist finding his way down into and under the covers!! The soaking tub was large, and the shower had both an overhead and handheld nozzle. The six panel doors kept it classy. We loved, loved, loved, this room type. Because housekeeping service is suspended, ensuring we had all the toiletries we might need was a priority for the housekeepers. All toiletries, such as shampoo, conditioner, soap, toilet paper, etc., were all provided in a supply adequate for the length of our stay. A gym is available for use. Gospel Coffee & Boozy Treats offered complementary coffee for hotel guests in the morning, and pastries and breakfast sandwiches were available until 2pm. The Peacock room, the other venue, offered tasty appetizers, classy adult beverages, and live music on select evenings. It was a wildly popular place, and the staff was attentive, even when super busy. Although the full-service, 3-course restaurant (that will be in building 2) was not yet operating, the Peacock room offered a handful of entrees, which we were even able to sample in our room, since the bar was completely sold out on the nights we were there; no reservations were available. The food was exceptional. We tried the Steak Frites & the Chicken and Eggplant fricassee, along with a Pot de Crème dessert. Perfection! We’ll come back just for the food! A laundry bag and pricing sheet was present in the closet; pricing was appropriate. While there was no iron or ironing board in the room, the front desk will surely bring one to you if requested. WiFi was strong throughout the hotel, and streaming was smooth and uninterrupted. Other- We somehow got lucky and were present for the ribbon cutting and grand opening of the property; what a fun experience, getting to see the staff and hotel executives celebrate with the...

If the goal was to feel as unwelcome as possible, management met it. To preface: I currently live in near Seattle. I booked this trip to make it back to my hometown to surprise my Mom for her 65th birthday. I used Costco Travel, because it was recommended to me on my last visit. Since I’m from south Louisiana , I thought it’d also be good time to have a mini girls trip with one of my best friends since we’d both be in the area for the week. For a 4.5 star hotel, the customer service exhibited by management was unacceptable.

The only people at this establishment that we feel bothered to help us out during our stay here were the amazing valet, the maintenance engineer, and Peacock Room staff. These people didn’t move mountains, they simply did their job and treated us like human beings.

at 7:40am, we attempted to take a shower only to find that the tub was not draining properly and that within a minute the water was filling up past our ankles. At 7:53am, I informed the front desk of this and they told me they were sending an engineer up to fix the issue and that they would be there shortly. After 45 minutes, I followed up when no one had come to check on our room nor follow-up to see if the engineer had arrived. I sent another text, and the agent called me at 8:49am. At 9:04am, the front desk agent informed me that the engineer had to stop with by her to get more clarity on the issue. She then offered us a minimal $30 entertainment credit that we ended up declining. This amount was negligible considering that there were two of us traveling and this wouldn’t have even covered drinks for us at the restaurant downstairs. A few more minutes passed and the engineer showed up. The engineer spent about an hour trying to resolve the issue, he informed us that they were large, clumps of hair, blocking the drainage, and that he’d have to replace parts of the stopper. The issue was resolved around 10am. Because of this, my friend had to reschedule two work meetings to accommodate for the engineers presence considering he had to use loud tools to complete the task. We’d like to take this time to commend the engineer for really trying to resolve the issue; going out of his way and having to come back and forth to our room to try and make sure we could shower. The next day, on November 20, we received a text from a staff member named Marvin asking me to rate my experience so far. We informed them of the issues we’d been having since arriving. Marvin apologized for our grievances and asked how they could make things better. We made three suggestions: that my parking be compensated (the valet is $45 a night), that I receive a refund for the first night, OR a room upgrade. Marvin clarified that they would only compensate my first night of parking and nothing more. At this point, we’d had such an unpleasant experience, we didn’t see the point in trying justify our grievances anymore. I then asked Marvin to cancel the rest of our stay, with our checkout being at 11:00am on Tuesday, November 21 and they agreed. On Tuesday, November 21, at 6:21am, I received an email saying that our reservation ended, and that we had checked out. When we went downstairs to check out at 9am, we got a printed receipt showing a zero dollar balance. By the time I walked out the front doors to the valet, I saw a charge on my card from the Kimpton hotel for $234. When I walked back inside to see what this charge was for since it wasn’t on my receipt and I paid in full beforehand, the front desk attendant told me it was for “room and taxes”; and that I’d have to contact Costco travel to get it...