Hotel Monteleone - a Sophisticated Hotel in New Orleans' French Quarter

Hotel Monteleone, located at 214 Rue Royale in New Orleans, Louisiana, is a true gem in the heart of the French Quarter. Located one block off Bourbon Street and close to many other hip restaurants and bars, Hotel Monteleone caters to every guest. I was incredibly pleased with my stay during this past week.

To plan I booked my trip through Priceline.com, which offered me a great package deal of airline plus hotel booking for $450 a person. Granted, I was only traveling for three nights and my trip was during the week, but this was still a fantastic deal. I compared this price with other popular travel sites and found this to be the best deal, so I booked it readily. This proved to be an excellent experience, and I had no hassles with this package.

Upon arriving at Hotel Monteleone, my boyfriend and I were greeted by one of the friendly doormen. He helped us with our luggage and directed us to the front desk. Now, we had booked an early flight out of Chicago without realizing that the hotel check-in wasn't until three in the afternoon. As it was noon, we figured that we would end up storing our bags and walking around the city; however, the friendly front desk worker checked us in with no problems. We were presented with a key to a room on the 10h floor, which we headed up to immediately.

Although a bit small, our room was very comfortable and cozy. The walls were yellow and white striped, festively adorned by bright lamps. Some of the in-room amenities included bathrobes, a minuscule dryer (seriously, plan to bring your own from home - I laughed when I saw the in-room selection), cable Internet (which requires a $10 per day payment), pay-per-view movies and video games, and an extremely comfortable king-sized bed.

Dining and entertainment in the hotel proved to be quite the experience. Hotel Monteleone has two restaurants, The Hunt Room and Le Café, and there is also the Carousel Bar and Lounge. Sadly, the Hunt Room was closed for renovations during my stay, so I was not able to experience the fine-dining steakhouse. However, I did dine at Le Café for breakfast twice and was pleased with the selection. The restaurant offers a breakfast buffet for $15 per person, which includes traditional breakfast fare, along with exciting Cajun and Creole dishes. My boyfriend raved about a Cajun sausage dish for the rest of the day. We also stopped by the Carousel Bar, which is a slowly-spinning bar with a lot of character. We stayed for drinks and did two revolutions around the room, which was about a half an hour of time.

Like most locations in New Orleans, Hotel Monteleone does have hauntings and spirits attached to it. According to the hotel's website, the ghosts include previous workers, a guest who died inside the hotel, and a young child who haunts the hallways. For those who are interested in hauntings, the hotel offers a haunted weekend, which will fall on October 31 - November 2. Though I didn't experience any ghosts, I wouldn't be surprised to hear stores of those who did.

Hotel Monteleone really does cater to a guest's potential needs. There is a concierge desk set up in the middle of the lobby, and the concierge can help travelers book trips, suggest restaurants, find a new hot spot, and so forth. The Hotel allows pets, which is also a perk if you are traveling with your pet. Some additional amenities include an attached parking garage (with the rate of $30 per night for parking), a spa on the second floor, a rooftop pool that offers a great view of the city, complimentary newspapers, and a decent fitness center. These amenities really do bring the comforts of home to your stay.

When I had to check-out, the process could not have been easier. All I had to do was fill out a card with my billing information and drop it by the front desk; this was very quick. Upon leaving, the doorman noticed we needed a cab, so he hailed one for us. I couldn't be more pleased with the service! I would recommend that any travelers planning to visit New Orleans should try Hotel Monteleone - it's lovely, affordable, and preserves that cultural charm that the city is known for.