THE WESTIN NEW ORLEANS ^{* * * *}

Great location, as most hotels down here are, if you want to be near the river, easy access to food, sights, music, beignets, trolleys, and valet parking. Excellent views from the upper floors.

The good: central location, most of the staff were nice and helpful, bed was comfortable.

The bad: do not stay here if you are a light sleeper. Seriously. Between the trolley and train right outside the hotel sounding their whistles at all hours of the night and traffic noise, I barely got any sleep the entire week we were there. We were on the 26th floor and we may as well have been on the ground level for how noisy it was some nights. I'm surprised more people don't mention this in their reviews. We had a couple poor experiences with the front desk and lounge, and while both times senior staff stepped in and made things right but it still caused frustration when we should have been enjoying our vacation. The hotel lobby is quite nice, but the rooms are in need of a makeover and a good clean. Finally, this is a Viking cruise destination and some of the days we were there were insanely busy, so much so that it was impossible to ever get a table in the lounge or get onto an elevator. One day we were forced to walk down 15 flights so we didn't miss our tour.

UPDATE: It has been 4 months since this nightmare from the Westin Hotel and Marriott Bonvoy Company, (parent company of Westin).
I have yet to receive a legitimate response concerning my stay. Think twice about staying here. It seems like, (from the “selected” reviews), they are a 5 star hotel. It is far from that. I challenge you to investigate further and read the negative reviews. There are many negative reviews with similar complaints. My experience is as follows:
I decided to valet park my car thinking it would be safer than parking in an open public parking lot. They boast about the parking garage being a safe and secure environment, 24 hour cameras, and security guards to protect your car. My car was broken into and damaged in an attempt to steal my car. There was very little to no help from the parking company, security company nor the hotel. Everyone pointed fingers of responsibility to someone else. So many outright lies from them made it impossible to make a police report. With the exception of a doorman, not a single person with the any of theses companies would help me. TWO DAYS later I had a complete breakdown in the lobby after begging the front desk to give me a few garbage bags and tape so I could cover the windows that were broken out. Really? This is supposed to be a nice hotel that prides itself on taking care of their guest. I don’t think a few garbage bags and tape was impossible!!! There was also a large fresh, dent and scrape on the front bumper of my car that I suspect valet services caused parking my car. Car insurance will not cover the repair. The only thing the hotel did was help me get home, (I did not live in New Orleans), and gave me three vouchers for drinks at the bar. I am responsible for the costs of insurance deductible, my costs to repair the damage valet caused, paying for travel to and from work, grocery store etc. I am the main care giver for my mother. The cost for transportation to her doctor appointments are expensive. I will NEVER stay at another Westin Hotel, or any officiates of the Westin.

I totally enjoyed my pet friendly stay! This is a GREAT location and convenient to everything. However....Let me start this novel off by saying the hotel tried to help by offering a food voucher and comping the very little room service that I had. I am only holding back a perfect score because of a fire alarm incident in the connecting shopping center that also activated the alarm on a few floors in the hotel. I was in my room on the 29th floor when the alarm sounded, and I went down all 29 flights, thinking there was a fire. There was no fire, thankfully, but my legs were jello the remainder of my trip. For the next 4 hours, the alarm continued to sound sporadically, although there was no fire. No sleep for hours and hanging out in the lobby with an anxious pooch was no fun. But again... great hotel, bad incident.

Everything was perfect