We would encourage you to try and explore locally, visit nearby places that have been there for a while and invest where you are staying. We were told by a local that The ByWater is a recent name change as this used to be a part of the 9th ward. The main advantage we saw was being about a 20 minute walk from Frenchmen Street. Since we were traveling the city mostly by foot and some by bus, trolley, etc, it would have made more sense for us to stay in the West side of town. But we would have missed out on learning more about the east side and it's history. Lauren's place was clean, bright, designed well and furnished with the essentials.