International House Hotel — Restaurant in New Orleans

Our Anniversary Stay Was an Adventure – Just Not the Kind We Planned

My husband booked a stay at the International House Hotel in New Orleans for our 10th anniversary. We were hoping for romance, but what we got felt more like a “choose your own inconvenience” adventure.

It started off fine. The location is great, and the lobby has a chic, artsy vibe that says, “We’re cool and trendy, and you’re lucky to be here.” We got to our first room on the 4th floor, and despite being a bit snug, it seemed nice – until I stepped onto the carpet and felt a squish. Multiple wet spots. Not exactly the sensory experience I had in mind. So, we packed up and moved to the 6th floor, where the room was larger and actually pretty nice. I thought, “Okay, maybe things are looking up.”

Cut to the next day. We came back from a long tour, ready to freshen up, only to find the elevator was broken. With my bum knee, six flights of stairs weren’t happening, so we just had to roll into our next activity looking like we’d survived a humidity test – which, honestly, we kind of had.

Later, as we were finally getting dressed for a nice anniversary dinner, the phone rang. A burst pipe between the 5th and 6th floors meant we had to move again – this time to their sister property, Loft 523, a 1/2 block away. Not bad but still inconvenient. No offer of a free drink for the trouble, no “Hey, sorry for the inconvenience,” just a brisk “You need to pack up and move. Now.” Because nothing says “romantic evening” like dragging your luggage through the streets of New Orleans.

Finding Loft 523 felt like a scene out of a spy movie. The building had no visible signage, just tiny writing on a window – a subtle touch for the discerning guest who enjoys feeling like they’re breaking into a speakeasy. Once inside, it was a ghost town – no one at the front desk, a bar that looked like it hadn’t seen a bartender since Mardi Gras 2005, and a vibe that screamed, “We don’t actually expect anyone to stay here.”

Our room was interesting – tall ceilings, concrete floors, dramatic lighting, and a massive bathroom with a soaking tub that I mistakenly thought might salvage the night. Spoiler alert: it didn’t. After soaking, I discovered gallons of water had flooded the bathroom floor. It took about 15 towels to soak it up, with only the overnight desk clerk from the International House available to help – a very nice guy but clearly more familiar with check-ins than plumbing.

After that, I thought, “At least there’s coffee in the morning.” But the coffee maker was missing the basket – the one thing you actually need to brew coffee. At this point, I half expected a raccoon to wander in and make itself at home.

By checkout, we felt like we’d survived a reality show challenge. We dragged our bags back to the International House for our car, because despite being part of the same hotel group, they couldn’t manage to bring the car to us.

Look, New Orleans is a fantastic city, and we’ll definitely be back – just not to this hotel. If you like playing musical rooms and prefer your coffee imaginary, this place is for you. Otherwise, you might want to...

Terrible place to stay. Staff was rude, and looked down on us and other guests. They lied about our stay, overcharged us by $1200, and room was nothing like advertised. Over priced and not worth it. Stay at a holiday Inn or something where you at least get free breakfast for a reasonable price.

My wife and I booked a corner king suite a year in advance for the Taylor Swift Eras tour concert. We called the hotel and booked direct. We got no confirmation email since booking but I still somehow got marketing emails. I called once a month until we checked in to make sure our room was still being held since I never received any kind of confirmation email but was given our confirmation number. That was a big red flag.

Once we checked in, the front desk took my credit card to charge what the front desk swore was only $60 for incidentals. My credit card declined three times and I gave them my bank card thinking it was declined because we were traveling. They charged us $1200 PLUS incidentals. I only realized it after walking to the elevator to go to our room when my credit card company texted that they blocked the charges due to a possible fraudulent amount of $1260 being charged. I checked my bank account and yep..$1260 charged.

I tried to fight them on that but they swore we only paid for night 1 to reserve all 3 nights and the $1200 was for nights 2 and 3. None of that was explained when we booked a year out and we were told the whole stay was paid in full.

The 4th floor where we stayed had a constant high pitched keening sound throughout the entire floor and our room for the whole weekend stay. We tried to bring that up to the front desk but they acted like we were bothering them and blew us off.

Our "Corner King Suite" was NOT a corner room. It looked like it used to be and they decided to turn the corner room into two different rooms and we were the outside part of the corner.

The elevators were on the edge of breaking down, and took about 5 minutes to get to the lobby from the 4th floor or up, there were only 2 elevators for the whole hotel and no accessible stairs to use instead.

For what we paid the hotel room was dingy, the carpet was so dirty that I had to wear socks or shoes the whole time, and there was no breakfast offered. At least I can get a contental breakfast at a holiday inn for half the price of this place. Hell, even the 4 star intercontinental in Kansas City MO gave us breakfast with our stay.

This hotel is the main reason I have No intention of ever returning to New Orleans. I've never felt more unwelcome and screwed over at any other hotel.

Dont waste your money here. It's honestly not worth the Hassle.

The only positive thing about the hotel was it's location and proximity to...

Here we go. This one is particularly saddening. I'm working now with Expedia. Yes, Expedia to have them removed from the platform. Expedia recently promoted my account to VIP Platinum. With that being said, I'm offered some properties that don't get offered to everyone.

Huge over site here on their part, and they refunded me for that night from hell immediately. I'm an open book, and here you go. I was attacked not only once on the property but a second time at their entrance as i was leaving, and no one helped. Including the manager, a door guy, and the owner of the hotel.

Prior to my negative experience, they had made a rather stupid judgment about who i was based on a temporary hire I had made for thus trip. I can't afford to bring along my full-time associates always and utilize local people or part-time drivers from my origin destinations. Needless to say, they gave this temporary associate of mine free rain to my account, my car key, and all within the time I was sleeping. So when this rogue temporary employee robbed me. I immediately tried to correct the course with the front desk associate and was given no help.

They have no security, and when the contents of my wallet were taken by the alleged associate, there was nothing I could do on property. So, as I was exiting the hotel and trying to load my car at a 4 - or 5-star hotel. I was attacked by the same individual. I travel with luxury handbags as I sell luxury handbags, and when the gentlemen made an attempt to steal a suitcase with contents totaling over $100,000. I, of course, protected my assets. They did nothing. An elderly woman from the hotel was the only one who did. The owner of the hotel drove up. Watched. Filmed. I thought hey i may need that footage one day as he exited his car and proceeded to ask me, and the man attacking me not to do that at his hotel." "Do what," im thinking. Get attacked at your hotel. Please, God, I would love not to do that. Stay away, I promise you, you'll thank me. A $600 dollar a night room with no food or beverage offerings for clients at all from at least 11 pm until 4 pm. Not even a vending machine or a bottle of water. I promise you it's deplorable at the way I was...