St Charles Guest House

New renovations and new management by the owners’ daughter. But still has the gravitas and history of being the oldest B&B in one of the country’s oldest cities. Definitely a charming garden district alternative to the cookie cutter boxes to be found 30 stories up in the CBD. Reminds me of upscale European establishments when I lived and traveled in Europe. Also has a great library of rare books!

I have stayed here the last three times I was in New Orleans. It has down-​at-​heels charm, low prices, and full bookshelves distributed around the property, which comprises three nineteenth century houses in a row. It is in a quaint old neighborhood and is near the antique but useful St. Charles streetcar line. It is not at all fancy but has been comfortable and clean. The owner, Mr. Hilton, is very friendly and helpful, and so has been the staff. I used the free WiFi and did not miss there being no TV in my room.

I love this place! It is dripping with character and charm. The outdoor pool and patio is lovely and little breakfast room adorble.
There is a beautiful old mirror over the mantel in my room. This place is such a great deal. Two large beds and breakfast snacks and pool for less then half what others charge.
Now it it is very casual and well worn and far from pristine and I like it that way. Think of it as staying at an interesting Uncles house not as a hotel. It is true New Orleans character.

stayed here for one night. its awesome if you like a place with real character and don’t want to pay a ridiculous amount of money to stay in the heart of the city. if you are a stickler about minor things like aging wallpaper or old electrical outlets, you may want to consider a chain hotel on the outskirts of town. all I need when I go to see a city is to have a safe, clean place to sleep and bathe. the rooms are in 3 houses they have loosely connected and then converted the rooms into guest rooms. there are no phones or TVs in the rooms, but there is wifi. I didn’t see any roaches, or any kind of bugs at all. the bed was comfy. they don’t take plastic and actually prefer paypal. I plan on coming here in the future when I visit nola again.

This is a very old, quaint guest house. The people here could not be friendlier. It went way beyond «hotel hospitality». I left feeling as though I had made new friends. It was described as clean but shabby, and it is. I had a very comfortable room, B7. Breakfast is muffins, cereal, toast and juice. They are very accomodating, and I truly felt like a guest. There is no smoking in the building because of its age, but they have a nice patio where smoking is allowed. If I am ever lucky enough to visit New Orleans again, I will definitely stay here. It is the cheapest I could find, and therefore I could stay longer in tantalizing city.

You get what you pay for and this place even offers a bit more. I had several friends that worked in this establishment and for the price and location its hard to beat if all you need is a place to sleep and keep your stuff. This is more of a hostel type environment than a bed & breakfast except you get the option of private rooms. Everything is really basic here and there are no TV’s or telephones in the room (if you’re visiting New Orleans why would you need those things anyway?). Compared to most other hotels and guesthouses this place is a good value but it certainly isn’t anything fancy. They have a small pool and usually there’s an interesting cast of characters around to make friends with.

Worst… Bed & Breakfast… Ever…
Collapsing building, no housekeeping, no fresh towels, cockroaches, no modern electrical outlets, peeling wallpaper, crappy furniture, broken tiles and much more. It is run down and falling apart. If you ate drunk the whole time you’re in New Orleans then maybe you won’t notice what a complete shin hole this is. I have never written a review this bad about any place or anything in my life. There is nothing good about this place other than the nice young man who checked us in.

So here is the deal with the St. Charles Guest House:
Yes, the bed is way too soft and the whole place smells a little like natural gas due to the very old built-​in-​wall heaters many of the bathrooms are equipped with*…okay so the pool is not heated and there’s no central air, just pleasantly humming window units (which guests are kindly asked not to use while not in the room).
*CAUTION: these are NOT self-​lighting so don’t just go cranking them on as it will do nothing but fill the room with natural gas (can you tell we found out the hard way?)!!!
All that said, I have now stayed here twice and at the end of each stay I find myself thinking, «there’s something about this place.»
Both times I have stayed here it has been clean, no cobwebs and clearly given a thorough once over, albeit over often cracked paint and splintered wood. :) I am not doubting the previous reviewers experience with roaches, but I did not personally encounter any here on either visit. You will find your room will be pleasantly tidied daily and you’ll receive fresh towels too, which is more than I can say for a couple of chain hotels I’ve had the fine pleasure of inhabiting for those lovely work trips.
The first time we stayed here it was with a fairly large group of friends (6 – 8 people) and we had an absolute blast. Yeah, we were all in our twenties/​thirties and it was pre-​Katrina so we were pretty «footloose and fancy free» to say the least.
The second time was just this month; needless to say, my husband and I are in a totally different time of life now. My older step-​son is at Tulane so we were down for «Parents’ Weekend» and decided to stay in our old haunt for kicks.
When we first arrived, not having remembered the somewhat shabby appearance of the place, I think we were both a little disappointed.
However, over the course of the weekend, we began to remember what we’d loved about it so much. It’s old and shabby for sure but the owner (Dennis) who I concur, is somewhat «spacey,» is such a loveable guy. You will truly feel as though you are staying in his very own home. It got to the point that I actually did not even have to tell him my name when I called. He would just say, «is this Emily?» or «Hi, Emily,» and he was full of helpful suggestions and ideas.
Not only that, due to our flights being bumped, he actually allowed us to completely change the dates of our trip (pre-​booked and pre-​paid) with NO notice. Kind of hard to explain but having been bumped from our plane, we arrived a day late and were initially issued a credit for the night we missed, which we were happy with. Then upon departure, we were bumped from our flight again. Even though we had already checked out, I called and Dennis from the airport and he just said, «well c’mon back!» He not only allowed us to return, he let us use our «credit» from the first night and we walked right back into our room as though we had never left. I don’t know of any chain hotel that would have allowed such a thing.
Now, you may argue that many hotels would also not require prepayment to secure booking (as the St. Charles does) but they would probably also not let you just come back after having checked out and waltz right on back into your room (which had been re-​tidied despite the absence of the housekeeper, btw).
Plus, being on Pyrtania, the St. Charles is basically a block or two from the streetcar line of the same name. Situated in the lower Garden District, you can be in either to Uptown or the Quarter within a matter of about 15 minutes. We had no trouble getting a car and it was just as easy to get to Tulane as it was to Bourbon street. Not to mention the hotel is 1 block from the Avenue Pub, a personal favorite of ours (I’ll save that for another review but try the Bloody Mary). The shops on Magazine are also close by and I had a scavengerific time exploring the boutiques and their wares. So despite our initial rush judgement, it ended up being a win-​win.
We are undecided about staying there next time just because at this point in our lives, we want something a little more luxurious but if you want something that is centrally located, clean and where you will be treated like family, the St. Charles Guest House is the place for you.

Checked in on a Saturday afternoon and the front of desk man was very helpful and made sure our room was ready, they had only booked the room for my husband so I guess they changed from the room that was intended for him. The room was spacious but please be prepared these are old houses and do not come with all mod cons. As many of these guest houses downtown, there is only a curtain between the bedroom and bathroom so if modesty is a problem this is not the place for you. One of the beds appeared to have a blow up mattress on top of another mattress! A word of warning if you intend to partake of the breakfast be aware that there is not an unlimited supply, so if you come down at 0930 there may be little or none left.

I really wanted to like this place. We got to our room on the first floor. One giant dead roach under the table next to the bed, and another couple in the bathroom. We left and found another place. We were told by the innkeeper that it’s normal to have roaches in the rooms if you «live below sea level». I live in Amsterdam, we do not have roaches like that at every hotel and apartments first floor. –Sorry. Clean the place up a little because it really could have been great.

its basic and very reasonable, even during Mardi Gras. The rooms are funky, but clean, and all the windows in this old house are trapezoidal, and you need to be aware of the slope in the floor, but that all seems part of the charm. No phone or TV in the room (but they do have WiFi), but the bed is comfortable and its a well kept house with books everywhere. The staff will help you get settled and is a good resource if you need anything. Be warned, that since Katrina they do not accept credit cards, so its cash or personal checks. They even have a pool (unheated). Update: My friends Bill and Sue recently stayed here and they complained that roaches in the room, be warned!

Very very dirty. Do not sleep on the sheets — there was set in blood stains on mine. Do not touch the shower head, they fall off. Lastly, wear socks or shoes at all times. Sorry, I’m not trying to mean, but we left early because it was gross.

This is a great place for the budget-​conscious traveller, who also likes to
— hang out and meet other people (like a hostel)
— stay in more interesting places than just a hotel room at Day’s Inn
— see more of New Orleans than just French Quarters
The St Charles Guest house has plenty of rooms available from shared hostel rooms, single rooms, doubles, both shared and private baths.
They are kind of old-​fashioned (understatement), which is cute. Because I called ahead to make reservations and they were like, well I am sure we’ll have *something* for you when you get here.
Hold on, I said, you mean you can’t guarantee me a room?
He said, NOTHING IN LIFE IS CERTAIN.
I found that so funny that I’m like ok, this is where we’re staying. I was kind of nervous/​excited.
They only take cash or checks so be prepared. Call ahead if you’re going to arrive later than 9. Its just a good idea to call ahead a few times and chat with them, make sure they remember/​know you’re coming. I doubt they have a computerized system or even a log book that they consistently update. They have a couple of staffers who seem to all not know what the others are doing. It makes me smile.
We got a double room with bathroom, that is sooo quaint. Reminds me of my grandmother’s house. The carpet is shabby, the desk is tilted. Its not like the Marriot but its decently clean. Like its not pristine and sparkly but theres no dust cobwebs.
They provide clean sheets and towels. Bring your own shampoo and toiletries.
WIFI is a BIG PLUS. However old-​fashioned this place may be, they have free WIFI. They also provide continental breakfast and all day tea/​coffee in the breakfast room. There is a pool and a large deck with a fire pit.
The guesthouse is between the St. Charles Streetcar line and the Magazine St Bus route so it is easy to get to downtown french quarters. Magazine St itself is a street filled with cute boutiques and vintage stores and cute coffee shops.
The owner Dennis and his staff are all friendly but mind you can be absent-​minded sometimes so you have to work with them.
ALSO I can see how this place is great for larger groups.
Overall I had a pleasant stay in NOLA and I would stay here again in the future.

always stay here. perfectly situated near the street car, the avenue pub, st charles tavern, circle bar etc. the place is pretty clean, the staff has a lot of personality and its cheap. i love this place. UPDATED: need to update since some of the reviewers do not seem to grasp the sort of place the guest house is. It is a better sort of HOSTEL, really. It is NOT an upscale bed and breakfast. This distinction is crucial. Also, big ass palmetto bugs are a fact of life in New Orleans and are nearly inescapable. Basically, if you have any sort of bourgeois expectations, you will likely not have them met.

It’s been 3 years since I stayed here so my memory’s a little foggy. I stayed here when I was visiting Tulane and it happened to be the Feb. or March after Katrina. The place was in pretty good shape considering that the hurricane passed just months before.
This is not the Ritz. If you came here expecting the Ritz, you’ll be sorely disappointed. It is, however, a perfectly adequate place to stay. It’s a bit older than what I’m used to, but that can hardly be blamed on them. It’s an older building as pretty much all the buildings in the area are, but it’s also a fairly charming place with a friendly staff.
The price was decent and everything that needed to work did. Continental breakfast was provided and, again, perfectly adequate. If I was going back to New Orleans, I wouldn’t mind staying here again.