Sonesta ES Suites New Orleans Convention Center — Hotel in New Orleans

My family (wife, 3 kids) stayed in one of the three room suites (two bedrooms, living room, kitchenette, 1.5 baths) for 3 nights in mid-June. The layout of the facility is a repurposed c. 1920s warehouse/ factory which is a cool redevelopment. They offer a variety of room sizes based on whatever your needs are. There is a small pool (3-5ft), basketball court, gym, and outdoor lounge area, small business center with printer, and little dining area for the free daily breakfast. The location is reasonably priced, and quiet hours are good for those with kids. This is not party central and is far enough away from the French Quarter to be pretty tame. This property offers good value for the stay and location (the warehouse district). A few things to be aware of: This site has no dedicated parking. The only option through the hotel is the 40+$ a night valet service. There are nearby parking lots that you pay through an app which can range in price, but the nearest one that you could drive in and out of, was 30$ a night. The cleanliness- needs some improvement. Our bedroom ceiling fan had easily an inch of dust on it, and there was dust on most of the walls in our room and the hallways, plants, and windows of the atrium. The pool was also super busy, and could probably have used a deep clean. With that said, our linens appeared clean and the table tops, counters, bathroom, and fridge all were very well cleaned. Public trash cans, and trash on the ground, were generally cleaned up within any 8 hour period. The staff- most were generally friendly though some interactions gave us pause- they have a strict no party/ quiet hours policy- which I imagine can be a problem in the area, however, on arrival, you get read the riot act and have to sign their "no party" policy on arrival. It's a little accusatory / paternalistic at the first contact. I'm a 40 year old man- I don't need to be told about rules. I understand they exist, and I get why they do. Secondly, there was an interaction where my wife who was staying in one room asked for directions to another room where another family member was staying. The staff told her they couldn't tell her where it was "and you can't just wander around here!" (Very accusatory in nature- but had the staff bothered to ask, that we were a family group staying in several rooms, and my wife was a guest, who had the room number and wanted directions)my wife in response had choice words, But with a little more tact from the staffer- this could have been an opportunity where a good interaction could have happened- but didn't. Third- there were times where we called the front desk for items where they forgot, or I. The case of calling to have the valet pull our car (which were the directions we got when we checked in) the response was "yea, if I see them". 30 minutes later I came down for my car that wasn't there, and attitude from the valet for "not calling the front desk" Location- this spot is a significant distance from the downtown party area (1-1.3 miles). There are some nearby restaurants (shut down earlier on week nights) but no real location to get supplies. In the case of a family, I strongly recommend having a car as most places require a drive. Additionally, hit a Walmart or market for supplies in advance of coming here. The Valet- priced at 40$ a night, you can have access to your car but you might be waiting for 20+ minutes especially in high volume times. The driveway and pull in are tight. Again, in high volume times, you may be waiting for a while to get the valet to take your keys. There were several times the line was out into the road. Consider self parking in the lot down the block. It's 30$ a night but you can have access to your car whenever you want (there's not security and the lot is not lit but I was never really concerned about safety)

TLDR: a reasonably priced location with nice sized rooms outside of the party zone with some nice amenities. Some staff and policies might be unpalatable. Plan in advance for your daily needs and if traveling with a...

I’ve been staying at this property for the same dates with the same room setup—2 rooms for 2 nights—for the past 5 years. We’ve always loved this location and have never had any issues… until now.

Unfortunately, this stay was far from pleasant due to the neglectful and rude behavior of some of the front desk staff, particularly an agent named Chelse. Her lack of professionalism and unwillingness to assist was extremely disappointing. We were dealing with a broken AC unit in one of our rooms—on an 80-degree night in New Orleans, that’s unacceptable. The room was full of teenagers celebrating my little brother’s birthday, and because it was so hot, his nose actually started to bleed. I told the front desk girl this, and she still didn’t seem to care.

We initially asked for extra towels and were told none were available because housekeeping hadn’t washed them yet—something I found odd as someone who’s worked in hospitality for 5 years. When we brought up the broken AC again, we asked for fans or even a room switch. Chelse said the hotel was fully booked, offered no alternative, and showed zero concern—until much later when she offered to move us to the opposite side of the property (which wouldn’t work because we had two rooms across from each other). When I explained this and asked again for fans to get us through the night, she hung up in my face.

The entire experience with her was incredibly rude and unprofessional. Meanwhile, the maintenance technician, Toi, was excellent—he confirmed the AC couldn’t be fixed right away, brought five fans to help us stay comfortable, and truly went above and beyond. He was the only reason we didn’t leave.

To their credit, the hotel did eventually fix the AC unit the next day around noon, and they also sent up a bottle of champagne. While that gesture was appreciated, it didn’t make up for the stress, discomfort, and lack of service we experienced our first night.

Chelse’s dismissive attitude and inability to provide basic customer care does not reflect the Southern hospitality New Orleans is known for. It’s a shame, because this used to be a go-to property for us. She seemed more concerned with flirting with the valet staff than doing her job. Hospitality is about service—and unfortunately, she failed at every step.

I truly hope management addresses this, because the Sonesta brand usually stands for much better than what we experienced this...

I’ve been staying at this property for the same dates with the same room setup—2 rooms for 2 nights—for the past 5 years. We’ve always loved this location and have never had any issues… until now.||Unfortunately, this stay was far from pleasant due to the neglectful and rude behavior of some of the front desk staff, particularly an agent named Chelse. Her lack of professionalism and unwillingness to assist was extremely disappointing. We were dealing with a broken AC unit in one of our rooms—on an 80-degree night in New Orleans, that’s unacceptable. The room was full of teenagers celebrating my little brother’s birthday, and because it was so hot, his nose actually started to bleed. I told the front desk girl this, and she still didn’t seem to care.||We initially asked for extra towels and were told none were available because housekeeping hadn’t washed them yet—something I found odd as someone who’s worked in hospitality for 5 years. When we brought up the broken AC again, we asked for fans or even a room switch. Chelse said the hotel was fully booked, offered no alternative, and showed zero concern—until much later when she offered to move us to the opposite side of the property (which wouldn’t work because we had two rooms across from each other). When I explained this and asked again for fans to get us through the night, she hung up in my face.||The entire experience with her was incredibly rude and unprofessional. Meanwhile, the maintenance technician, Toi, was excellent—he confirmed the AC couldn’t be fixed right away, brought five fans to help us stay comfortable, and truly went above and beyond. He was the only reason we didn’t leave.||To their credit, the hotel did eventually fix the AC unit the next day around noon, and they also sent up a bottle of champagne. While that gesture was appreciated, it didn’t make up for the stress, discomfort, and lack of service we experienced our first night.||Chelse’s dismissive attitude and inability to provide basic customer care does not reflect the Southern hospitality New Orleans is known for. It’s a shame, because this used to be a go-to property for us. She seemed more concerned with flirting with the valet staff than doing her job. Hospitality is about service—and unfortunately, she failed at every step.||I truly hope management addresses this, because the Sonesta brand usually stands for much better than what we experienced this...