Our experience at Birdie's place echos those of the others who have visited - calm and sweet. By "clean" I agree, it feels like care is taken that everything feels new and up to date. The bed was so comfortable I am pretty sure we slept in a bit too much :) I also was there on a work/vacation trip and the island was good for me to work on (and very necessary). The bathroom was lovely and the hot water in the shower lasts and is delightful. It is well equipped for a long term stay if you desired, and we felt absolute privacy. The A/C also works great :)

The street car is about a 10 minute walk and from the streetcar it is about 20-35 minutes to get downtown (the French Q) depending on time of day - sometimes it stops a lot and sometimes not. I don't know if there were stores close by - we weren't really looking but I also didn't see any - if that is a consideration. But, by close I mean outside the door :) I'm sure within a 10-15 min walk there is a store of some sort for supplies - Freret St is nearby and has everything. We didn't have a car and it was just fine, BUT...if you are planning on entirely being downtown the whole time or doing the museums etc you WILL be walking a LOT. Where my conference was (in uptown, same area) I had to walk to street car, take it, then get off and walk about another 25 minutes - 30 easily to get to where I needed to be (don't forget your walking shoes!). I enjoy walking and had one moment of wanting to take a cab after a long day - so keep it in mind that you will be walking those places :)
It is $33 flat to go from Airport to uptown (and back) regardless where you are staying. We called United cab to take us back to airport and they were on time and great.