Royal Sonesta New Orleans

As someone who has walked through this hotel many times getting lobby and courtyard footage to share, I was excited about having a staycation here. Unfortunately, I was left pretty disappointed. I'll be honest and say my grievances are rather minor, but because of the customer service, I left feeling let down. As a local, I decided to have a little staycation to experience a hotel I’ve genuinely enjoyed passing through. I picked a room based on a photo on the Royal Sonesta website—I'll come back to that shortly. We arrived at the 4 PM check-in time since we had no particular plans. Upon checking in, we were told the room was not ready and that we'd get a call. This was the first disappointment, not only because it wasn't ready on time, but because the front desk didn't seem to care. The two ladies seemed more interested in their own conversation and didn't offer a simple apology. They said they would call once it was ready, so we waited in their lovely courtyard. After 20 minutes with no call, I went back to ask for an estimate. She checked and simply said, "Oh yeah, the room is ready now." Good thing I went up to check. Annoying, but I wasn't going to let it ruin the stay. When we got to the room, it was clean, bed bug-free, and had a comfy bed. However, the website photo of a jacuzzi-like tub by the balcony is very misleading. That image makes it look like a romantic getaway room, but that feature isn't in the room at all. After searching online, the only match I found was from 16 years ago before current renovations. I didn't make a fuss and let it go. Before heading out, we ate at the hotel's restaurant, Desire Oyster Bar, which was underwhelming. The first red flag was the hostess continuing her texting conversation before taking her sweet time to seat us. Our waitress was wonderful and sweet, but the food was just okay. My husband ordered the jambalaya, and I got a cup of chicken and sausage gumbo with charbroiled oysters. The jambalaya was probably the worst either of us has had—tasting old and unseasoned. When my husband mentioned he wasn't enjoying it, our waitress didn't seem surprised and offered a replacement. He swapped to red beans, which he enjoyed. My gumbo and oysters weren't bad, but for better quality at a slightly lower price, walk over to MRB's instead. After a lovely night out, we returned, and I looked forward to using the jetted tub in the bathroom. Unluckily, the jets didn't work. I called the front desk twice with no answer. When I went downstairs, the two front desk workers were just hanging out chatting. Whether they were ignoring the phone or it wasn't ringing, it was frustrating, and they seemed completely indifferent when I mentioned the tub. We tried watching TV to relax, but they use an antenna rather than cable, and most channels showed "no signal." If you need Wi-Fi, good luck—no login info was provided in the room or at check-in, and calls to the desk went unanswered again. The next morning, an alarm we didn't set kept going off every 5 minutes, so we decided to check out. To be fair, it was probably the previous guest who set it, but still annoying nonetheless. The morning front desk agent was a total breath of fresh air. She was friendly, apologized, said she'd submit a refund request through Expedia, and thanked me for reporting the tub. That proved the evening staff didn't even log the issue. Small disappointments add up, and basic customer service would have gone a long way instead of making us feel dismissed. Reading other reviews, front desk service seems to be an ongoing issue here. The doormen, bellhops, and other staff were pleasant, but the front desk fell short. If you're just here to party, need a clean room with a comfy bed, and don't care about amenities or service, you'll be fine. If you're looking for more value for your money, I'd book elsewhere.

I am a wedding florist and I had a wedding this weekend. My bride and her groom each had a suite at Royal Sonesta so I had to drop off their personal florals to their rooms (bouquets, boutonnières, etc.) I always get a little bit of anxiety with this area of delivery because I have to ask valet (whatever hotel I’m dropping off at) to stay parked in the front for a few minutes while I run up to bring the bouquets. I know they get aggravated because I’m messing up their limited street spots. With that being said, I rarely take the time to leave reviews but I hurried up and put this man’s name in my notes on my phone so I wouldn’t forget his name for a review. Mr. BERT at the valet of the Royal Sonesta… I just pray this man gets paid well and that he’s the head of the entire valet, and if he’s not then he needs to be. I can’t even put into words the kindness this man showed me. He could tell when I pulled up and got out that I was stressed. I kept promising him I’d be quick and he finally grabbed my hands and told me not to worry, I could take as long as I needed, make sure I lock and close my doors once I got everything, and he’d help me carry or bring anything I needed. Once I was finished I didn’t have any cash on me but felt I HAD to tip this man for his generosity so I asked him if he had a Venmo or some way I could electronically tip him and he told me absolutely not he didn’t want a tip from me. That was Saturday, today is Monday and I’m still thinking about this man’s kindness and generosity. It may not seem like much, but with a lot going on in my personal life, paired with the work anxiety in that moment, his calm demeanor and sincere smile calmed me down and gave me what I needed to get through that day. Thank you so much to Mr. Bert, you’re amazing.

Extremely Disappointing Experience at the Royal Sonesta My experience at the Royal Sonesta was absolutely unacceptable. From the staff’s attitude to the condition of the room, this stay was a complete disappointment. The Jacuzzi tub in our room did not work, which was a major issue considering that this was an amenity we specifically paid for. When I tried calling the front desk to report the problem, the phone line was busy. So, I went downstairs in person, only to find the front desk staff standing around and joking with each other instead of providing the kind of service you would expect from a hotel of this caliber. When I finally got someone to address the issue, the first suggestion was to send maintenance to my room at nearly midnight. Seriously? After that, they offered to move us to another room with a working Jacuzzi tub, but it was potentially a downgrade from the room we had originally paid for. Essentially, they were willing to give us a different room with the same type of tub but not necessarily the same room category we had purchased. What bothered me most was the complete lack of concern from the staff. Nobody seemed to genuinely care about the inconvenience, the fact that we weren't receiving what we paid for, or the frustration of having to deal with this so late at night. There was no sense of urgency, no genuine apology, and no effort to make the situation right without potentially compromising the room we had paid for. For a hotel like the Royal Sonesta, I expected much better service, working amenities, and staff who actually cared about their guests' experiences. Instead, I felt ignored, inconvenienced, and treated as though my concerns were a bother. **I would not recommend this hotel based on this experience.** When guests pay for a particular room and its amenities, they should receive what they paid for. And when something goes wrong, the least a hotel can do is have staff who take the problem seriously and treat their guests with respect.

The Royal Sonesta hotel is located on Bourbon St. It's a great location if you want to be in the middle of the "party" that is Bourbon St. As for the hotel itself, it's nice, but they really need to monitor trash. We walked by the same two empty cans for two days. We got two standard rooms with two queen size beds. Rooms were clean(ish). Nothing fancy. The room facing Bourbon St. had lots of street noise and music, but that's expected. The room facing the courtyard was quiet. However, it didn't matter which room you were in, there was always noise from people in the hallways. If your goal is to hit the bars on Bourbon St., this is your hotel otherwise you may want to stay elsewhere.

Great people. Perfect location

They refused to discuss any refund or partial-refund options after my travel was disrupted by a hurricane. Despite the circumstances and efforts to work through the issue, the hotel was completely inflexible. Very disappointing customer service.

The property is in a prime location, the rooms are comfortable and clean, the pool is solid, but the front desk staff is where I had an issue. My friends and I were in town late August for our yearly fantasy football draft. We collectively spent a lot of money across the property, occupying 3 guest rooms and a top tier suite. After enjoying a nice dinner we decided to hit the open market for some gifts for our families. I picked up some nice things for my little girls. Considering I didn't want to be walking through the streets of NOLA with these items I returned to the Royal Sonesta to drop them off. The room(s) not being in my name presented a challenge that would typically be easily overcome. I asked the front desk manager to kindly drop them in my room (obviously nobody was in there, otherwise I would have done so myself). I provided clear room details to this individual. I returned to the room late that evening to find my items were not there. I immediately ran downstairs to speak to the front desk team only to discover the individual was gone for the night. After another attempt in the morning, and several phone calls upon my arrival home, I was informed the manager on duty delivered my items to the wrong room - - which was occupied by someone else who was physically present and accepted them. I was told I would be reimbursed in the form of a check for the items that were lost, but I've yet to receive anything over a month later. Will not be returning or recommending this property to anyone else.

Wow! We are not used to being so well taken care of! This hotel was amazing from start to finish. We were celebrating our 30th anniversary, and the staff truly went out of their way to make it extra special. The location is perfect, right in the middle of all the action on Bourbon Street. The rooms are beautifully updated, and the bed was incredible! The valet service with Jeff and Christian was top-notch. Our car was safely parked underground, and they gave us great recommendations for local must-see and must-do things. We were greeted by Burt, the doorman, who was so friendly and welcoming. Chante at the front desk was amazingly accommodating, and Wilbert even took the time to give us a tour of the room. Malcolm also went above and beyond for us. Everyone made us feel so welcome and helped make our 30th anniversary stay one we’ll remember. If you want to experience Bourbon Street and be right in the middle of everything while still staying somewhere classy, and comfortable, this is an A+ place to stay. We would absolutely stay here again! Thanks to all the great staff for a real memory making night!