My Trip to New Orleans | Hotel Le Marais

Disclaimer: The hotel room was offered to me at a discounted media rate in exchange for an honest review.

During my food adventure to New Orleans, I stayed at the Hotel Le Marais, a super trendy and chic boutique hotel located right in the heart of the French Quarter, the prime tourist neighborhood in New Orleans. The hotel was voted one of the best in New Orleans in the Conde Nast Traveler's Reader's Choice in 2016 and it provided an absolutely lovely home for my short vacation to the Louisiana city. To read all about my stay, click.....

Hotel Le Marais New Orleans | Exterior

Located at 717 Conti Street, Hotel Le Marais was literally steps away from the bustling Bourbon Street and just about everything else in the French Quarter. However, despite being in the heart of the action, the portion of street the hotel resided was fairly quiet and calm, so we had no trouble getting a good night's rest. Purple was undoubtedly the theme color at the hotel and the lobby featured some stylish purple chairs that felt very modern and funky.

Hotel Le Marais New Orleans | Lobby

Just outside the lobby was a lovely brick-tiled patio sprinkled with lots of purple lounge chairs and purple couches. There was also a quaint little pool, which was a lot smaller than I expected but still cute and visually-pleasing. We had plans on taking a dip but during all three days we were there, it rained quite a bit during the evening time so we never got a chance.

Hotel Le Marais New Orleans | Pool

Because I was traveling with a friend, we stayed in one of Le Marais' Deluxe Double Double Room , which was a spacious two-bed room overlooking the hotel patio. The room decor felt a touch incongruent with the stylish and trendy vibe of the hotel lobby and patio, but it was still modern and clean.

Hotel Le Marais New Orleans | Deluxe Double Double Room

The comfort of the bed and pillows is one of the most important criteria for me when I'm staying at a hotel and Le Marais knocked it out of the park with their supportive yet luxurious pillow-topped mattress and soft but firm pillows. The room was also equipped with a small desk and a flat-screen TV. There was no mini-fridge in the room but there were free bottled waters that got resupplied daily.

Hotel Le Marais New Orleans | Deluxe Double Double Room

The Deluxe Double Double Room bathroom was pretty standard. There was a large walk-in shower equipped with a strong shower head. The nozzle was unfortunately not extendable but that seemed pretty standard as only one of the hotels I've visited in the past few years had that oh-so-desirable feature.

There was a nice extendable light-up mirror for makeup application and the complimentary toiletries were surprisingly good!

Hotel Le Marais New Orleans | Bathroom

Hotel Le Marais New Orleans | Gym

Because my trip involved a lot of eating, I made sure to visit the hotel gym every night, which was nothing dazzling but well-equipped with two treadmills, an elliptical machine, a stationary bike, a full set of free weights, and a pretty snazzy weights machine that I had a little too much fun trying out.
One of the highlights of my stay at Hotel Le Marais was undoubtedly the free continental breakfast. Usually, continental breakfast equates to a couple of toasts and cereals but Le Marais also had eggs, bacon, sausages, french toast, and Greek yogurt, in addition to the standard offerings. I don't know if a full breakfast buffet is a standard practice in New Orleans hotels but this was definitely the best free continental breakfast I've ever had!

Hotel Le Marais New Orleans | Continental Breakfast

For those that want a little booze but would rather not to brave the rowdy bars of Bourbon Street, Vive! Lounge is a chic little bar area right inside the lobby that offered a wide selection of cocktails, beers, and wines. On the last night of our stay, we ended up grabbing a couple of fruity cocktails and enjoyed the relaxing atmosphere before heading off to bed.

Hotel Le Marais New Orleans | Vive! Lounge

Despite its hip and trendy vibe, Hotel Le Marais was unpretentious and incredibly welcoming, the clientele was very diverse as I saw young groups, big families, and older couples. Every staff member we encountered was friendly and eager to help with any of our travel needs. While checking out, I had a lovely chat with one of the concierge staff who turns out will be visiting Vancouver in the upcoming months!

All in all, I had an overwhelmingly positive experience at Hotel Le Marais. If you are looking for a hip and comfortable (and surprisingly affordable) place to stay in the French Quarter while visiting New Orleans, definitely check this place out!

About Hotel Le Marais:
Hotel Le Marais is part of the New Orleans Hotel Collection, to learn about the accommodation and to book a stay, click here.