My boyfriend and I visited NOLA for a long weekend. The city itself is pretty much at its bare bones-which having been there during hectic times, I enjoyed. We chose to book the Magnolia because of its location and its reviews. Immediately upon arrival we stated marking little things down to write our own.
PROS: - obviously the location. Minutes walking from bourbon street and down to the water without the hectic chaos whilst winding down and relaxing at the end of the day.
- the staff always is pretty welcoming upon entrance to the building and most of the offered up suggestions of their favorite places in the city without being prompt. A nice gesture on their end.
- the beds are extremely comfortable
- the TV comes with the ability to stream apps off of your phone. One of the biggest downside to hotel stays for me is that the TVs are always blacked out, not allowing you to hook up a steaming device. Having Netflix was a big plus.
- the price is low, but you get what you pay for
CONS: - all of the pillows are THICK. I used a balled up sweatshirt halfway through the night when I woke up uncomfortable.
- there is no refrigerator or microwave. A real downside considering a lot of what there is to do right now is try all the amazing food. We had to resist the temptation to box up leftovers.
- the temperature is not yours to be regulated. The box on the wall is just for show to make you think you can adjust it. Had ours set to 60 (the lowest it will go) with the fan on “high.” High, low, auto, whatever that air moves when they tell it to, not you. A significant increase in temperature at all times from the hallway into our room.
- there is no fan anywhere. If you, like me, need some white noise to be able to sleep-especially in a city- this is NOT THE PLACE FOR YOU. Not even the bathroom has a fan. It has the vent in the ceiling, but no switch. (also causing for showers to be mildly annoying we considering had to wait for the mirror to unfog on its own before we could use it.)
- the restaurant is not open and there are zero vending machines. I know it isn’t advertised anywhere as such, but considering there is no mention of it being closed we just assumed it would be open, at least for serving drinks since there are none to purchase.
- the historical fee. Obviously we want to preserve any history, not complaining that it exists but as an extra charge on my credit card days after checkout was slightly alarming and it should just be included in the initial cost of the rooms
3/5 stars. Location is perfect and if you know what to expect when you get there, then the price is perfect too. Next time we will spend more money for more accommodations.