When I arrived I walked into the bar restaurant that is attached to the hotel. When I informed the bartender that I was a guest she YELLLED out the main entrance of the hotel and MY room codes to get in in front of a very full bar. A patron followed me out taunting me that he new the codes and kept on reciting them to me. The room was very dirty... there was someone else’s hair on my towels, sheets, and shower curtain. To get any hot water I had to run the shower and faucet for 15 minutes! What a waste of water!! Plus, the shower had the worst water pressure. The refrigerator and walls had all sorts of stains. There were so many wholes and gapes between the windows that all of the winter air kept on gushing in. I had no control over the heat and had to fight the maintenance man for a space heater. The staff were rude and I believe one lady was drunk when she replied to me over a text. Missing remote to the TV and no extra toilet paper. Don’t stay here!
MicknJoa
Our booking at the Balcony Guest House was for 2 nights prior to a cruise. Booked through bookings.com, we paid half up front with the rest being paid on check in. A few weeks before our stay, I called to double check things, left a voicemail, but got no response. Called again, left another VM with my email address so they could confirm things (they did already have this of course via our booking), but still no response. A week before our stay, I called the restaurant number instead, spoke to a barman who checked and confirmed our booking. We arrived fairly late at the hotel (8-8:30pm), but Kara (running the bar) showed us to our room. On entering, we the tiniest room with dirty towels on the floor and no bedding at all. Back downstairs to Kara who apologised, got us a drink and asked the porter (very helpful guy) to fix the room. Into the room for the second time and we now had clean towels and bedding. Being jetlagged, we didn't really 'look' at the room, we just slept. In the morning however, we 'looked'. The place was pretty filthy - long hairs everywhere, the soap dish had just been wiped so it was smeared with old soap residue around it, hair in the shower, on the floor .. literally everywhere. Time for a shower - no, there was no hot water. I should add that we had no luggage as BA had not put it on our flight from London. We had emergency kits from them with toiletries but had to go to Walmart to get other essentials. A shower would have been great (and needed), but no such luck. On our return from Walmart, Kara was just arriving for her shift. We told her about the hot water, or lack of it and she suggested to take our new stuff up to the room then come back down and she'd have a word with the owner. Back into the restaurant we went to find Kara telling a man (later identified as co-owner) about our plight - room not ready, dirty room, no hot water. Now it may just be us and our expectations, but we fully expected him to approach us and apologise. But nothing. He shouted to us from one end of the bar to the other that if we'd turned the taps on in the bathroom, the shower would have then been hot. Oh, how stupid we felt with such an obvious answer! Apparently the system they have is not one where it just flows with hot water - who'd have thought it eh?! Kara, I feel, sensing our annoyance at his lack of customer service and empathy suggested that she'd find us another room. Off she went, came back 5 mins later and gave us a much better room. It had hot water and it was clean! We made it very clear to this co-owner that it was only because of Kara, we had not demanded refunds etc. I'm not sure if he just doesn't understand customer service, or couldn't care less, but his whole attitude was very poor. Our next (and last) morning saw us having to turn the taps on in the bathroom to get hot water in the shower - so glad we knew the trick to it - but why not tell people this in a little welcome booklet? It's a simple thing. Location wise, it's great. 15-20 min walk to the main strip, a 25 min ride in a cab from/to the airport, depending on traffic and same to the cruise terminal if you need to go there. We didn't have big food in the restaurant, only something when our room wasn't ready and we had no time to go out. It was very nice though. All in all, the stay could have been much better with some level of customer service from the owner and some thought into 'what would I want if I were staying here'. A clean and made up room plus hot water is generally the basics! Wouldn't stay there again I'm afraid. If I could rate Kara and how she dealt with things, it would be 5, but unfortunately the b&b, aside from location was not a 5.
immia45
Staying at the Balcony Guesthouse has to be one of my most fun B&B stays. From arrival to departure, the people we dealt with were over the top in customer service. I almost gave it 4 stars because I made my reservation months in advance, but the only way to do so is by texting Zak,the innkeeper, who assured me I was booked. Fortunately for me, I needed to add a day to my stay a few days before I arrived but when I called to ask about the change, I was told I didn’t have a reservation. That being said, Zak made it right and all was well. His only response was “we get hundreds of calls and we’re just a Mom and Pop organization” My son in law had rented the entire top floor above the restaurant and had absolutely no problem. Zak emails the code to you prior to your stay and responds quickly to texts. Throughout the stay, the staff could not have been nicer or more accommodating (I was staying in the house next door which was also amazing. It was like going to visit your NOLA relatives! The neighborhood was authentic, walking distance to restaurants and safe and friendly. The stairs in my house were a little scary as they were tight and not of consistent heights so I would not recommend a large suitcase! The website posts a continental breakfast but we were told they no longer do that. If it’s still on their website, ask for a $10 voucher to the restaurant (or a bottle of wine) as that’s what they offered us.) You park on the street since it’s literally in a neighborhood, but we never had any trouble finding a spot. If you like cookie cutter chain hotels, this might not be your cup of tea. I travel a lot and always seek out a B&B. I will definitely return to this one.
Knoxdeej1910
Wonderful old accommodations over a terrific restaurant. Thank you for being slightly off the 'beaten path' and for being a great alternative location to stay (and eat!). We stayed in a comfortable second floor room with great bedding and a comfortable, spacious room. Five stars!
Bijoux404
Stayed 5 nights in the "pied-à-terre" unit. Zac was kind enough to let us rent it when he was otherwise full, even though it was still being renovated and not quite ready for rental. The apartment is a walk up (interior stairs) on the second story, and has one lovely large bedroom with private balcony overlooking a small courtyard, a separate sitting room with an apartment sized fridge and a coffee maker, and two bathrooms, including a nice tub. Bed was comfy, linens were clean and nice, overall it was lovely despite still being under construction and needing a bit of cardboard/coffee cup trash removal. We were a little confused by where our room was because we got door codes to enter the building and had to find it. Once we went in the "front" door, we had to go out the back door and down a short brick corridor to reach the front door of our apartment. Afterwards, we were happy to find the narrow corridor that leads from the street directly to the courtyard so that we did not have to take our luggage up and down stairs through the other building. The locked gate to that corridor is marked St Roch 13, and we parked right beside it on the street. There is plenty of street parking. Although there was a small snafu about employees wanting to get into the office/kitchen that is accessed by the same door as the apartment, we felt safe in the apartment and in general. One note about the apartment- this is probably not a good fit for small children because the interior stairs could be a falling hazard. I mentioned to Zac's assistant that there is a bad TA review (a $ issue through a booking site) and he said that they don't always seem to get advance notice when the place is booked indirectly but that they made it right. We booked through AirBnB and had no issue. My general sense is that they may be a bit disorganized at times but that they are running an honest business and want their guests to be comfortable. They were very kind and accommodating to us and we greatly appreciated it. Neighborhood: The Guest House is in the Marigny, about a half a block from Mimi's and a block from the Mardi Gras Zone Grocery. We walked to and from those at night; there were lots of neighbors out on the streets and we felt safe (although we are city dwellers so that is relative, I guess). We enjoyed the nearby N.O. Cake Cafe, too. For a larger grocery run, we took Zac's advice and went to the nearby Robert's, which was a nice large store. We also took our mountain bikes and easily rode to St Roch Market, around the Marigny, and into the Quarter. Many streets are deeply rutted and patched (a street bike would not fare well), and there are few bike racks to lock to. There is lots of street parking for cars; we were careful not to leave anything in the car to tempt anyone.
When I arrived I walked into the bar restaurant that is attached to the hotel. When I informed the bartender that I was a guest she YELLLED out the main entrance of the hotel and MY room codes to get in in front of a very full bar. A patron followed me out taunting me that he new the codes and kept on reciting them to me. The room was very dirty... there was someone else’s hair on my towels, sheets, and shower curtain. To get any hot water I had to run the shower and faucet for 15 minutes! What a waste of water!! Plus, the shower had the worst water pressure. The refrigerator and walls had all sorts of stains. There were so many wholes and gapes between the windows that all of the winter air kept on gushing in. I had no control over the heat and had to fight the maintenance man for a space heater. The staff were rude and I believe one lady was drunk when she replied to me over a text. Missing remote to the TV and no extra toilet paper. Don’t stay here!
Our booking at the Balcony Guest House was for 2 nights prior to a cruise. Booked through bookings.com, we paid half up front with the rest being paid on check in. A few weeks before our stay, I called to double check things, left a voicemail, but got no response. Called again, left another VM with my email address so they could confirm things (they did already have this of course via our booking), but still no response. A week before our stay, I called the restaurant number instead, spoke to a barman who checked and confirmed our booking. We arrived fairly late at the hotel (8-8:30pm), but Kara (running the bar) showed us to our room. On entering, we the tiniest room with dirty towels on the floor and no bedding at all. Back downstairs to Kara who apologised, got us a drink and asked the porter (very helpful guy) to fix the room. Into the room for the second time and we now had clean towels and bedding. Being jetlagged, we didn't really 'look' at the room, we just slept. In the morning however, we 'looked'. The place was pretty filthy - long hairs everywhere, the soap dish had just been wiped so it was smeared with old soap residue around it, hair in the shower, on the floor .. literally everywhere. Time for a shower - no, there was no hot water. I should add that we had no luggage as BA had not put it on our flight from London. We had emergency kits from them with toiletries but had to go to Walmart to get other essentials. A shower would have been great (and needed), but no such luck. On our return from Walmart, Kara was just arriving for her shift. We told her about the hot water, or lack of it and she suggested to take our new stuff up to the room then come back down and she'd have a word with the owner. Back into the restaurant we went to find Kara telling a man (later identified as co-owner) about our plight - room not ready, dirty room, no hot water. Now it may just be us and our expectations, but we fully expected him to approach us and apologise. But nothing. He shouted to us from one end of the bar to the other that if we'd turned the taps on in the bathroom, the shower would have then been hot. Oh, how stupid we felt with such an obvious answer! Apparently the system they have is not one where it just flows with hot water - who'd have thought it eh?! Kara, I feel, sensing our annoyance at his lack of customer service and empathy suggested that she'd find us another room. Off she went, came back 5 mins later and gave us a much better room. It had hot water and it was clean! We made it very clear to this co-owner that it was only because of Kara, we had not demanded refunds etc. I'm not sure if he just doesn't understand customer service, or couldn't care less, but his whole attitude was very poor. Our next (and last) morning saw us having to turn the taps on in the bathroom to get hot water in the shower - so glad we knew the trick to it - but why not tell people this in a little welcome booklet? It's a simple thing. Location wise, it's great. 15-20 min walk to the main strip, a 25 min ride in a cab from/to the airport, depending on traffic and same to the cruise terminal if you need to go there. We didn't have big food in the restaurant, only something when our room wasn't ready and we had no time to go out. It was very nice though. All in all, the stay could have been much better with some level of customer service from the owner and some thought into 'what would I want if I were staying here'. A clean and made up room plus hot water is generally the basics! Wouldn't stay there again I'm afraid. If I could rate Kara and how she dealt with things, it would be 5, but unfortunately the b&b, aside from location was not a 5.
Staying at the Balcony Guesthouse has to be one of my most fun B&B stays. From arrival to departure, the people we dealt with were over the top in customer service. I almost gave it 4 stars because I made my reservation months in advance, but the only way to do so is by texting Zak,the innkeeper, who assured me I was booked. Fortunately for me, I needed to add a day to my stay a few days before I arrived but when I called to ask about the change, I was told I didn’t have a reservation. That being said, Zak made it right and all was well. His only response was “we get hundreds of calls and we’re just a Mom and Pop organization” My son in law had rented the entire top floor above the restaurant and had absolutely no problem. Zak emails the code to you prior to your stay and responds quickly to texts. Throughout the stay, the staff could not have been nicer or more accommodating (I was staying in the house next door which was also amazing. It was like going to visit your NOLA relatives! The neighborhood was authentic, walking distance to restaurants and safe and friendly. The stairs in my house were a little scary as they were tight and not of consistent heights so I would not recommend a large suitcase! The website posts a continental breakfast but we were told they no longer do that. If it’s still on their website, ask for a $10 voucher to the restaurant (or a bottle of wine) as that’s what they offered us.) You park on the street since it’s literally in a neighborhood, but we never had any trouble finding a spot. If you like cookie cutter chain hotels, this might not be your cup of tea. I travel a lot and always seek out a B&B. I will definitely return to this one.
Wonderful old accommodations over a terrific restaurant. Thank you for being slightly off the 'beaten path' and for being a great alternative location to stay (and eat!). We stayed in a comfortable second floor room with great bedding and a comfortable, spacious room. Five stars!
Stayed 5 nights in the "pied-à-terre" unit. Zac was kind enough to let us rent it when he was otherwise full, even though it was still being renovated and not quite ready for rental. The apartment is a walk up (interior stairs) on the second story, and has one lovely large bedroom with private balcony overlooking a small courtyard, a separate sitting room with an apartment sized fridge and a coffee maker, and two bathrooms, including a nice tub. Bed was comfy, linens were clean and nice, overall it was lovely despite still being under construction and needing a bit of cardboard/coffee cup trash removal. We were a little confused by where our room was because we got door codes to enter the building and had to find it. Once we went in the "front" door, we had to go out the back door and down a short brick corridor to reach the front door of our apartment. Afterwards, we were happy to find the narrow corridor that leads from the street directly to the courtyard so that we did not have to take our luggage up and down stairs through the other building. The locked gate to that corridor is marked St Roch 13, and we parked right beside it on the street. There is plenty of street parking. Although there was a small snafu about employees wanting to get into the office/kitchen that is accessed by the same door as the apartment, we felt safe in the apartment and in general. One note about the apartment- this is probably not a good fit for small children because the interior stairs could be a falling hazard. I mentioned to Zac's assistant that there is a bad TA review (a $ issue through a booking site) and he said that they don't always seem to get advance notice when the place is booked indirectly but that they made it right. We booked through AirBnB and had no issue. My general sense is that they may be a bit disorganized at times but that they are running an honest business and want their guests to be comfortable. They were very kind and accommodating to us and we greatly appreciated it. Neighborhood: The Guest House is in the Marigny, about a half a block from Mimi's and a block from the Mardi Gras Zone Grocery. We walked to and from those at night; there were lots of neighbors out on the streets and we felt safe (although we are city dwellers so that is relative, I guess). We enjoyed the nearby N.O. Cake Cafe, too. For a larger grocery run, we took Zac's advice and went to the nearby Robert's, which was a nice large store. We also took our mountain bikes and easily rode to St Roch Market, around the Marigny, and into the Quarter. Many streets are deeply rutted and patched (a street bike would not fare well), and there are few bike racks to lock to. There is lots of street parking for cars; we were careful not to leave anything in the car to tempt anyone.
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