New Orleans Hotel Review: Magnolia Mansion
The Magnolia Mansion is a 150-year old mansion that now serves as a hotel just one block from the St. Charles streetcar line in the Garden District of New Orleans. The hotel offers free parking and onsite entertainment for guests on Thursday nights.
Booking
When I first booked at Magnolia Mansion, I booked a basic courtyard room for $157 after taxes. I later decided to add a second night. The room I had booked for Friday was unavailable for Thursday. A room switch with an additional night was going to be an average of $171 after taxes for the cheapest available room. I did have an option of picking from three of their fancier rooms for an average of $186 per night. I decided to upgrade to the Moulin Rouge room.
One day before arrival I received a phone call from the hotel asking for an estimated time of arrival. I told them I expected to arrive around 5pm.
Parking
One positive about staying in the Garden District is many hotels offer free parking. In the Downtown-French Quarter area you will pay at least $20/night for parking. At most places it’ll be $30-50 valet parking.
When I arrived on Thursday, I had no problem parking on the street. There weren’t many cars there on Friday either. I would’ve had no problem leaving and coming back on Friday. Saturday when I checked out, the street was full and I had to wiggle out of my parking space to leave.
Check-In
I would be very careful booking this hotel if you have problems with stairs. You have to get up this flight of stairs. If you book a room that’s on the second floor you have to get up a more challenging flight of stairs.
I happened to check-in when they were getting set up for their Thursday night show. Before the show and during breaks they had a piano player in the hallway. At the end of the hall they’re setting up the bar.
Next to that bar is the staircase to the second floor. That is the office door below the staircase where you will check-in. The box next to the door is a key drop box you can use in the event the office is closed when you check-out.
This is a look down the staircase. I would normally bring my suitcase to the room for one last packing check, but under the circumstances, I did that in the parking garage on embarkation day.
I once stayed in a suite in the French Quarter that had a loft room with stairs similar to these. In the morning I came down the stairs in socks and slipped. Be very careful on these stairs.
Room
Upstairs there are three rooms on the left and three rooms on the right. Mine was the middle room on the left.
The room has old school keys. Don’t make the mistake I made my first day and my neighbors made on their first day by leaving the key in the door.
This is the room they call the Moulin Rouge room.
The TV had standard cable with 50 channels.
It looks a little out of place but they do have a refrigerator in the room. I loaded it with water so I stayed hydrated.
If you need to do any hanging or ironing, they have a place for that.
This is a look out the window.
The bathtub is also a hot tub. It takes a really high step to get into this bathtub. That’s another thing you want to look at when picking a room. The original courtyard room I booked had a walk-in shower.
I wish they would’ve told me this when I checked in but the thermostat in the room does nothing.
There’s a thermostat in the hallway that controls the three rooms on that side of the hallway. I like my room cool so I had it in the 65-68 range. I didn’t get a neighbor until the last night. They turned it up to 75 early in the morning but it was still only up to 69 when I checked out so it didn’t bother me.
Public Spaces
When you first walk in there are three rooms on the left. These are the most expensive and difficult to get.
On the right is the room where they have concerts on Thursday nights.
The next room has a sitting area. It was mostly used to store equipment for the show when I was there.
The next room is the dining room.
To the right they have several types of coffee you can make in the morning.
To the left they have a microwave.
Then up the stairs is the public restroom if you come here for a show and don’t have a room in the hotel.
Outside is a fountain and some seating. I believe those are the courtyard rooms down below but I didn’t get a tour of this area.
Entertainment
The hotel hosts a show in this room each Thursday night. The opener is usually Kermit Ruffins. The headliner is usually Cyril Neville, the youngest of the Neville brothers. He is typically joined by Grammy winning trumpet player Irvin Mayfield.
The night I was there Neville and Mayfield were not there. They were replaced by Cyril Neville’s son, Omari Neville and his band.
This was the bar they setup in the hallway for the show. They did have a cocktail server and two bartenders.
Kermit Ruffins put on a good show.
Kermit had a couple of guest singers like James Winfield.
Omari Neville & The Fuel
Checkout
Checking out was easy. The office was closed so I dropped my key in the box and left. I did have to wiggle out of my parking spot because the cars parked in front and behind me were pretty close but I got out without issue.
Conclusion
I’m not a big boutique hotel person. I definitely prefer a modern, luxury hotel. I didn’t expect to come out of this loving the accommodations. I did enjoy the show and it was convenient having a room there.
If I booked here again I would prefer to get one of the first floor rooms, but I would first check into other area hotels and possibly just come to the show as an outside guest. The Pontchartrain Hotel and the Hotel Indigo were both just a couple blocks away.
