Four Seasons Hotel New Orleans

The Four Seasons New Orleans is probably the place to stay in the Big Easy. It’s away enough from the uniqueness of Bourbon Street, where a cacophony of smells and sights are pervasive, yet close enough to all of the sights that most attractions are walkable. For the picky traveler (and let’s face it, if you’re staying at the Four Seasons you probably are), you should know that the New Orleans property isn’t quite as buttoned-up as other Four Seasons properties. There was lots of confusion and many varied answers to the same questions about different policies and, when a boil order occurred in the city, it was hours before guests were notified - after they conceivably would have used the water subject to the boil order. Outside of that niche circumstance, the property is lovely. The saltwater pool is beautiful and there’s even a bit of green space on the first level. I do wish guests could go to the locker room anytime they use the fitness center, but the locker room is only available from 9 to 6.

We had a very uneven experience here recently. Loved the location and how modern and fresh the hotel is, especially compared with some of the other hotels in Nola. Room service experience was perfect and the food was terrific. The spa services were among the best we've ever experienced. And we loved the layout and how spacious our suite was (once we finally were allowed in). However, they have some major service issues here, which are really embarrassing to the Four Seasons brand and not reflective of my many other experiences with other locations. Firstly, when we checked in, the woman at the front desk kept referring to our "beautiful executive suite". Since I had booked a one bedroom deluxe suite, I was confused but just assumed she had misspoken. After all, I had an email confirmation that clearly stated what kind of room I had reserved. As an aside, even though I had reserved through the Amex FHR program, no upgrade was offered or discussed. That's fine, I thought, I'm getting a great suite anyways. Imagine our surprise when we walked into a smaller suite that clearly wasn't what I had reserved. I always book a suite with a second bathroom. It's what I do. And I make sure I see a floor plan before I bok. This one clearly did not have a powder room. Not only that, but the one bathroom had disgusting and excessive public hair all over the floor. I immediately called the front desk and was rudely told that I hadn't reserved the Suite that I actually had reserved. I asked to speak to a manager, named Tiffany Schmidt, who told me that I was wrong and that I didn't reserve the Deluxe Suite, even after I informed her that I had an email confirmation and was looking at the floor plan of the suite that I had reserved. I angrily told her that I wanted the room I actually reserved. She curtly asked me to email her my confirmation and said "I'll see what we can do ". After I emailed her the confirmation, she called back and said she would give me a Deluxe Suite "at no extra charge". Huh? But it needed to be cleaned first. At 5:00 pm? What luxury hotel doesn't have its suites ready so late in the day? And wasn't this one supposed to be booked? This one apparently. Fine, we'll go get a drink at the bar. After about an hour I get a call telling me our room is ready and that soneone will meet us at our old room with the new keys. Go to the room, our bags are gone (ok) but no one shows up with the keys. We waited about 15 minutes, and finally go back down to the front desk. Lady tells me that "you must have just missed him. He's on his way ". Go to the new suite (the Deluxe Suite I had reserved) and tell my wife to come down, assuming that someone gave her the keys. Nope, no one showed up. Interestingly, my wife had to move the welcome piece of cake for our anniversary they had delivered to us previously, herself. Finally, Ms. Schmidt showed up to the new suite with the keys and apologized. Very sweet. But was honestly expecting that there would be some offer of compensation or a gesture to make things right for us. Nothing was ever offered. Now to the housekeeping. While I have a lot of appreciation for all the hard work these women do day after day, there is no no excuse for how poorly trained the staff was at this hotel. When I put the do not disturb sign on in a hotel, that typically means I do not want to be disturbed. It's not a " since the doorbell doesn't work now, please go ahead and knock ten times", sign. This happened repeatedly. So much so that I just started yelling at them through the door to go away. The last day of our stay, soneone actually rang the bell (forgot to put on the do not disturb sign) at 8:00 am. On a Sunday morning. On our checkout day. I'm sure they were out for revenge. All this 5 star treatment for $1300 a night. Finally, when I checked out, the man at the front desk looked pained when I complained, but just apologized and said "hope to see you again". Honestly, I'm not so sure I will return.

Stayed at FS New Orleans to attend a business conference. Hotel was clean and what you would expect from FS. The best part of my stay was meeting one the banquet bartenders named Leslie. Leslie was not only extremely friendly and helpful, but also made the BEST Old Fashioned cocktail. Cheers.

My Wife and I stayed at this hotel as a mini-moon from our recent wedding. Hesitant with some reviews speaking to poor experiences and boy they were all accurate. At check in, we asked for a hair brush. This was never delivered- until the next day when we asked for it again. Next, we were told that room service was going to surprise us with some champagne for the occasion, which was wonderful and unexpected. Except room service never showed up. Breakfast at this hotel should be a delight, and it was one of the worst dining experiences with below average food, especially New Orleans. We waited 5 minutes to be seated and there were maybe 20 tables or so occupied. We never received a menu, asked the waitress for a menu, and still it never came. We then just got up to the buffet after 15 minutes of waiting. You could instantly tell food was stagnant and sitting for quite some time. Finally we were offered some coffee, though since still no menu no other specialty coffee or alcoholic beverages were offered. Cream took 15 minutes to reach the table after coffee. Just awful. Ordered an omelette and when it finally came, half of the ingredients were missing. With so many great restaurants in New Orleans and “Mothers” just down the street, we were very unhappy. Ultimate the bill for this came and it was $130!!!! Just asinine. Chandelier bar was a cluster. 2 bar tenders, one busting his tail to pick up orders from the restaurant and the other was just molasses. Took 30 minutes to get two espresso martinis. We proceeded to proactively order another round and were told “we ran out” This was quite insulting as a bar just doesn’t run out of espresso martinis. Especially at the 4 seasons but, the bar tender had no desire to make any more so he just flat out said yea, we ran out. I ordered a Michters 10yr which was also on the menu, they too were out. So we left. Getting back to the room, minibar water and soda was not restocked.and it was now 1030pm! I called to have water sent up 3 diet cocked. Water was thankfully free but, the 3 cans of Diet Coke were $30bucks. Just outrageous. I wouldn’t waste your time staying here or even going to the “world class” champagne bar. Service fell completely short and disappointing for high price point. The upcharge on breakfast and other amenities here does not correlate with the service expected from a 4 seasons. Although we’ve stayed at other 4 seasons in the US and around the world, I’d consider looking elsewhere based on lack of consistency.

New Orleans is one of our favourite cities in the world - and we’ve spent a fair amount of time there. But this trip, we only had two days and wanted to be in walking distance to the Superdome. So we stayed here, rather than a nice French Quarter NOLA original - which is what I would still recommend for a first time visit…but…we loved the Four Seasons! The room was fabulous with a great river view on the 18th floor. The bathroom was huge, bed insanely comfortable and the service was great. The position is also really good for all the NOLA must see places - everything is a walk away - and even though it was late November we got to use the pool and my wife had a massage that she said was ‘amazing’. The only real let down was the poor service and limited quality of breakfast - I really expected better to be honest. More like a Hampton Inn than a Four Seasons. But that’s just one concern for an otherwise excellent hotel.