Mardi Gras Manor I

Stayed here the winter before Katrina. We checked in late on Saturday, having come from Nashville. No one around, someone told us the combo to the gate. Had to call the manager to get combo to unit door. Took a chance and parked two or three blocks away until better arrangements could be made.

The "action" part of Bourbon Street is several blocks away. French Market and the riverfront are a little closer. The pool is decorative only. Units are quirky but adequate, especially considering that one doesn't go to New Orleans to hang out in a condo.

Verti Mart, up the street on the corner, has great carry-out food if you don't feel like going too far.

November 2007 Update: Went past Verti Mart and it looked closed. Too bad.

Two things about this unit stuck out as positives: the air-conditioning was exceptionally good (a real plus for NO in July), and the unit itself was pest and bug free and quite clean.

Be prepared, however, for the "rusticity" of this venue. It is not luxurious, like some of the resorts we have stayed in, but some of the site's quirks add somewhat to its charms. The location is excellent, out of the center of the French Quarter. The units are small and probably all different because the resort is made up of a number of old buildings put together. The kitchen was well equipped, the living room was comfortable, but the bedroom, closets, and especially the bathroom were quite small.

The pool is not an indoor pool, but a small outdoor pool in the courtyard. It was not inviting.

One huge warning: read the check-in materials carefully. There is no manager in residence on the premises. When they say check-in is at 4, they mean AT 4, not anytime after 4 on your day of arrival. Another resident let us and our suitcases through the locked gate into the courtyard. We had to call the emergency number and wait for the manager to call us back with the code to access our unit. If you're going to be later (or earlier) than 4, call ahead to make special arrangements.