Patrick S.
Yelp
WARNING: THE QUEEN ANNE IS A DUMP AND THE CUSTOMER SERVICE IS HORRENDOUS!!! STAY AWAY.
I was recently in NOLA for my big birthday celebration. On July 16, 2014, my girlfriend and I checked into the Queen Anne, thinking based upon the internet pictures that we would be staying at a nice B&B in the Garden District. Driving up, we soon realized we'd probably been had. The hotel looks old and dilapidated in person when viewed from the outside. And it's in a really sketchy part of town. Yes, Delmonico is nearby and yes the trolley is near by. But unless you want to go to Delmonico's for each meal of your trip, a hotel in the French Quarter or Warehouse District (each within walking distance of tons of great restaurants and bars) might be a better bet. Staying at the Queen Anne is like going on an internet date only to discover that they look a LOT older and different in person. And like an ugly internet date, the Queen Anne just ends up wasting your time in this regard.
So, we drive up to the hotel, get out, and find the gate to the premises is locked. The directions on the gate say we have to go 2 blocks away to a SEPARATE site to check in. So we drive to this off-site check-in facility, where it so happens breakfast is also served. This facility is an absolute SHACK which is as far removed from the romantic version of NOLA you had in mind when you booked this place in the first place. I doubt there is a place you'd rather NOT have breakfast more in the Summer heat than this tool shed.
Anyways, my gf and I had specifically requested a non-smoking room as we both have smoke allergies. Well, after driving back to the hotel from the tool shed, we haul our luggage up to the Queen Anne and enter this hotel with so much supposed "character." We were given Room 153 (the Redrum room). Upon walking into the room, we were accosted with a reek so offensive I can only liken it to an ashtray. We felt like we were walking into an actual ashtray. It smelled horrible and was difficult to breathe in. PLUS there were stains on the bedspread (what could that have been??) and the bathroom was GROSS. I've read some of these other reviews here about updated bathrooms in the Queen Anne, and let me tell you, those reviews must have been written by the Queen Anne manager, Dori. Our bathroom was disgusting. Plus, there was no view save that for a dilapidated garage. Welcome to NOLA!!!! This room was a dud. Redrum...
Having lost all confidence in the Queen Anne and feeling somewhat duped, we decided to leave. We walked the two blocks back to the check-in/tool shed to inform the Queen Anne that we were going to leave, and would kindly like to leave free of charge. We were there all of two minutes in Room 153 after all. Dori, the manager, dismissed our complaints and tried to put us into a different room. I said look, thanks, but no thanks, we just want to go. Then she got hostile. She said I wasn't being reasonable because I wouldn't give her a chance to show me another room. I said wait a second, we asked for a non-smoking room and you put us in a furnace. Plus you had your chance to show us a good room; you chose to put us in a dud. I said please don't charge us and start our trip off badly, it was my birthday trip. I told her you obviously have vacancies, so it's not like we took someone's room. She informed me of the cancellation policy and said we would be charged for one night. I said please don't do that, you didn't give us what you promised. She said tough luck, then she ran my card (it processed) and then sarcastically said HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! with a smirk on her face. I have never witnessed a hotel manager act more unprofessionally. So disappointing, and a terrible start to a big trip. Thanks a lot, Dori.
Folks, there are lots of other great places to stay in NOLA, don't waste your time here. It's a dump and Dori is a terrible manager and provides atrocious customer service (read some of the other 1 and 2 star reviews). Plus, Dori, unlike any other manager I've ever encountered, routinely replies to any negative review from travel sites and shifts the blame to the customer (always in a very snide and dismissive manner) and absolves herself and the hotel of any responsibility. That's just bad business. Rather than refund my $137, she chose to laugh at me and the poor judgment I exhibited in trusting my trip to her hotel. I hope the $137 was worth it considering anyone that reads this review should (if they have any sense) run for the hills from the Queen Anne.
We love, love NOLA, and ended up finding a better place to stay (Hotel Olivier) that was actually cheaper than the Queen Anne. We also discovered some other great hotels for our next trip to NOLA - Hotel Monteleone, Royal Sonesta, the Omni...this list goes on an on!!
I could see the Queen Anne on a NOLA haunted house tour someday when it shut s down. But don't trust it for your vacation stay.