Hilton Riverside

New Orleans, LA

(504) 561 0500; 2 Poydras Street 70140

Date of last visit:    20 May 2007

Category:              Hotel Only

Overall rating:        You Could Suck Worse.

Wi-fi rating:           You Suck!

Fitness rating:         You Could Suck Worse.

Pool rating:            You Rock!

Safety rating:          You Rock!

Price:                     You Suck!

 

Description of room:

Fairly standard hotel room, so not much to say.  They think they cater to business people, so it's set up that way with an emphasis on the desk in the room.  Separate sink outside the bathroom in the dressing area.  They give you coffee, which always makes me smile.  Lovely views of the river.  Last time I stayed here, I had a tower room and woke up every morning and drank my coffee looking at the river and listening to the news.  This time I'm in the riverside building with a view of a wall ... that's what I get for booking at the discounted poker room rate.  On the second day of my visit, housekeeping didn't bother to service the room.

               

Sleep Conditions:

Earplugs are a must.  The noise starts early (about 7-8 a.m.) and its from the hotel staff!  They shout to each other in the halls and move heavy equipment.  The curtains do not sufficiently block the light coming in, so I was awakened at the crack of dawn anyway.  Overall, these are horrid sleeping conditions.  Be prepared to do without a lot of sleep if you are staying here. 

Description of wi-fi:

$12 dollars a day for wi-fi?  Why are you charging for this, anyway?  It's not like you aren't already overcharging for the room. 

Description of fitness room:

They say it's nice, but I wouldn't know.  I'm only in town three days so why pay the $12 a day?  I mean, really, how fat could I possibly get in 3 days?  As an aside though, I'm a firm believer in providing this to your guest for free.  I should just stay at Fairfield Inns ... I'd be a lot happier 'cause they give you all this crap for free.

Description of pool:

Very nice ... just big enough for laps and you get to watch the tops of ships go by on the river as you swim (if you use the riverside building pool, as I did).  Saturday and Sunday you can listen to the music from the jazz brunch as you swim, which is extraordinarily pleasant and makes you feel like you are on a relaxing vacation.  They also have an easy listening station piped into the pool deck.  Probably as clean as an outdoor pool can be, but it'd be nice if they'd start the day with someone getting the gunk out of it.  No whirlpool.

Safety:

The riverwalk area is safe, the garage is pretty safe, the hotel itself is fine.  The casino is across the street and there's no reason to feel uncomfortable going back and forth.  In the early morning when it's dark and I'm leaving the casino, my tip is to wait for other people to leave too and walk across the street in a small group.

Price:

Horrid if you are not getting the poker room rate ($79 a night).  Regularly, they charge around $200 a night for the weekends.

Additional Information and Links:

The hotel is located directly across the street from Harrah's casino, so you'll be walking back and forth.  Also, they charge you $25 a day to park your car there.  This time, the lady who checked me in forgot to ask whether I parked in the garage (so she could add the $25 a day to my hotel bill & give me a pass to go in & out without additional charge).  This wasn't a problem since I stayed parked at the hotel for all three days of my visit.  Unfortunately, I lost my parking pass.  So when I left, I had to pay $25 for a lost ticket instead of the $75 for three days.

Restaurants:  River Blends Cafe, Kabby's Sports Edition, Le Croissant, Drago's Seafood