THE GOOD: This Airbnb is located in a classic New Orleans double shotgun house. In other words, this is the real deal. It is also in a great location, within easy walking distance of the French Quarter; the historic African American neighborhood, Treme; and Frenchman Street. It is also very close to one of the best spots for live jazz anywhere, Kermit's Tremé Mother-in-Law Lounge. If you just walk down Pauger Street, it turns into Bourbon Street. This makes it very easy to get back at night if you’ve had a few (or more than a few) drinks, and your phone has died!
THE BAD: As other reviewers have noted, the bathroom was somewhat gross.
THE UGLY: When we checked in, Roberto made several statements of a racist nature. He repeatedly tried to warn us to avoid walking in the area late at night or early in the morning, and suggested that we avoid certain areas near the location of the Airbnb. That’s fine advice as far as it goes, but as someone who has traveled to and lived in multiple cities and towns with poor neighborhoods, I’ve learned that these sort of concerns can tend to be exaggerated in a way that easily slips into racism. We walked to and from the Airbnb at all times of the day and night, and never felt threatened or bothered.
More concerning were statements he made about African American residents of the neighborhood and the surroundings. He referred to African American residents of New Orleans as “the blacks” and “the natives” multiple times. He also referred to a section of town just to the north of the Airbnb (which also has a heavily African American population) as “the jungle,” suggesting that we should avoid it. It goes without saying that this sort of language traffics in racist tropes and stereotypes that are deeply harmful. What is the most sad about this is that Roberto apparently believed that, because we were white, we wouldn’t be bothered with this sort of language. We were very bothered by it. It made us extremely uncomfortable. We wished we could go somewhere else, but we had prepaid for our stay (as Airbnb requires), and couldn’t afford to do so. This cast a negative light on our entire stay. People can change, and we hope that Roberto does so. That being said, we won’t be staying at Roberto’s Airbnb next time we come to New Orleans.