Staying at Maria's place was really great. The flat was bigger than we expected and very clean. Although we never met her, Maria was a good host letting us know about restaurants around, festival going on etc...
The flat was about 25mins away for the French Quarter via street car. There is a stop just in front of the house. It is was very convenient to discover the city and to stay out late as street car runs very late at night. I definitely recommend Maria's place