I stayed at this hotel for one night during shoulder season in late May for a quick birthday trip with my family. We also had our advisor, who is a preferred partner, book us our stay which gave us access to their perks. This is the only hotel I'll stay at on any future trips to New Orleans. The amenities, rooms, and location are arguably the best out of any of the higher end hotels in the city. And some things, like the pool, aren't even arguable, they're clearly the best in the city, and even in the state of Louisiana itself. There are a few notes on the service, but it was mostly great and even the slightly negative things didn't detract from the overall experience at all.
Pre-Arrival:
This was our first time staying at any Four Seasons property, and I was very impressed by how ahead they are in terms of pre-arrival. The app is convenient and any questions or requests you have are answered quickly through the in-app chat. We set up all our restaurant reservations and activities with the help of the concierge, who was very warm. They also helped us get into the fully booked Brennan's. The itinerary feature is great and I wish more brands displayed it like the Four Seasons does. We let them know it was a birthday and that we would need an early check-in due to our mode of travel, both of which were recognized. We had a small issue with the concierge setting up a reservation for us at Miss River, then someone from Miss River called me a few days later and said they didn't know how I made a reservation for the restaurant when it was closed for a private event. This wasn't a super big deal though. We did want to try Miss River, but we will certainly be back to this hotel again, so we'll try it then.
The Hotel Location & Amenities:
The Four Seasons Hotel New Orleans is located at the very start of
Canal Street, and is situated along the Mississippi River in the Central Business District of NOLA. Compared to the other 5-star hotels in the city, like the Ritz or Roosevelt, the Four Seasons is in a much safer area. Being where Canal Street begins, you're away from all the questionable characters hanging around further down the street. Caesars Casino is right across the street, the Riverwalk Outlets and Audubon Aquarium are on either side of the hotel, and Jackson Square and the rest of the French Quarter is around a 15 minute walk away. There's also a trolley stop in front of the hotel for easy access to further away attractions, like the National WW2 Museum.
This hotel's amenities are the best in the city. There's a landmark bar and lounge, a garden, two impeccably designed restaurants, a nice spa, large fitness area, and a huge pool area with river views. This hotel also offers 24 hour room service, 24 hour concierge service, and a complimentary house car available Thursday - Sunday from 4 - 10 PM. It has quite a small range at only a 1/2 mile, but they do make exceptions if they aren't busy.
Upon entering the lobby from the fully staffed porte-cochere, you're greeted with the Chandelier Bar, the centerpiece of the property. This space is incredibly luxe yet comfortable, intimate, and inviting. It manages to be cozy while still being quite grand. The staff here were always so kind and attentive, and they make excellent drinks. There's also live music on Thursdays. I've visited this bar before on my last trip to NOLA and the service was so good it inspired me to stay at this hotel on this trip. We booked with our travel advisor to secure early check-in since we were coming down on a train, and were able to check-in at 10:30 AM. The lady who checked us in was truly a stand out staff member, she was so friendly and had a great sense of humor. Really everyone at the reception and concierge desks looked so happy to help and be there, it was a great tone to start our stay. Also in the lobby was Miss River, a restaurant open for brunch and dinner. The lobby is bright and airy, but it can feel a little cramped, especially by the main entrance since there's not much room to navigate when there's a lot of people around.
The rest of the hotel is on the 5th floor, Chemin à la Mer, the spa and 24 hour fitness center, and the pool. We didn't use the spa, but the gym entrance is inside it. The gym is full of top of the line equipment, chilled towels, plenty of water along with gatorade, ear buds, and they offer personal trainers (for a fee). The gym overlooks the river, and is cooled to a great temperature. The pool is the highlight of the property. It's open until 10 PM. There's a pool bar, poolside dining from Chemin à la Mer, a fully staffed desk with soft towels, sunscreen and tanning oil, pool floats, and goggles. The pool is 75 feet long and heated, though not deep, and there's a pretty sizable hot tub next to it. The whole deck is lined with a lot of planters and dark stone, and there's plenty of lounge chairs and umbrellas. There's also couches and seating areas around with comfortable cushions and pillows. The pool is surrounded by speakers playing music, and there's also some TVs by the pool bar. Truly the best pool in New Orleans.
The Dining:
We tried Chemin à la Mer for breakfast and had a room service lunch. We had a $100 credit from our advisor left over after having to cancel Miss River, so we decided to use it for room service. Room service here was very good. You can order through the Four Seasons app on your phone, or through the in-room iPad or phone. It takes around 45 minutes to come. We had 2 angus burgers and 2 club sandwiches, along with sides of fries, fruit, and salads. It came out to around $130 including the service charge and delivery fee. The dressing on the salad was particularly really good, as were the tiny jars of condiments. It arrived exactly when promised. The white linen is such a classic, and there was a nice set of tableware that the server asked to set up for us.
Our breakfast at Chemin à la Mer was also really good. We had free breakfast, again from our advisor, which gave us another spending credit of $96. The restaurant is beautiful with a terrace and river views. Service was quick and friendly, and the food came out fresh and speedy. We had a yogurt parfait, fruit plate, breakfast potatoes, the southern, and the breakfast casserole. All of which were great. It was around $100. I do feel like breakfast wasn't as good a value as lunch was.
The Room:
We booked a Deluxe City View Double with their "Rhythm of the City" package, which gave us 20% off our room rate and a treat from their pastry team. In total our room for one night was $430. Our advisor upgraded us to a Premier City View Double on the 14th floor. We had room 1437. It was a fantastic room. It was a very good size for NOLA standards. The design is clean and modern with some subtle hints of New Orleans, like the headboards above the bed, which was my favorite feature of the room. The lighting is also impressive with several sources of light, all of which can be dimmed from the bedside touch controls. The drapery is also controlled from there. The beds are incredibly soft with fine linen and nice pillows. The room also had a chaise by the window and a dining table for two. The beverage and minibar area had plenty of tea and coffee options, with a Nespresso and a very nice kettle. Plenty of free water along with other soft drinks and alcohol live in the fridge. There’s no space for your own items though. Glassware felt very premium and was arranged nicely in the drawer and above shelf.
The bathroom is the best part of the room. Our room had a standing tub in front of the window with a wand, as well as a separate shower and another wand. A separate toilet room and a double vanity completes the classic luxury hotel bathroom. The lighting again is great here around the mirror, plus there's a makeup mirror attached to the wall. The toiletries are L'Occitane and smelled insanely good. There isn't much in terms of smaller amenity kits, you'll need to request those from the iPad. The robes are terrycloth, so they feel like soft towels and are extra water absorbent. Towels were nice and fluffy. Slippers were just okay. Everything was also very clean and polished.
Turndown service was a bit lackluster, but we did arrange ours for 9 PM while we were out, so that was probably on us. They tidied up the room and refilled anything we had used like the dirty glassware and the used Nespresso pods. They also put out the slippers and arranged glasses and water on the bedside table. They didn't close the curtains or put any chocolates down on the pillows like elsewhere. This wasn't a negative though, the main thing was tidying up the room which they did perfectly.
Final Thoughts:
Overall this is a great luxury option in New Orleans, arguably the best. The hard product is as good as it can possibly get, and thats a huge advantage when so much of your competition is behind on renovations. The service isn't perfect, but nothing ever stood out as a negative or even a real annoyance. I feel like reviews on this hotel are rather harsh, some things could have been better, but we will certainly be back again.
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