I found Le Richelieu on the internet at a bargain basement "run of the house" price. I didn't even know what that meant, but I was told it was we had to take whatever was available. I neededa king size bed and I couldn't take a chance on getting something smaller because my wife and I were travelling with our little boy. So, the woman happily told me she would get me a king size bed at the same price.. on Christmas, no less! I had read varying reviews from about how charming the hotel was and how nice it was to how old and disappointing it was. I didn't know what to expect. Upon arrival, it was indeed an old hotel. One of the oldest in the city as a matter of fact. The floors in the hallways were uneven, the elevator ancient and smelled like axle grease. The wall paper in the elevator lobby was peeled off the wall as it was being repaired. I was a little nervous about it until we entered our room. It was fantastic. A wonderful surprise. We were booked in a suite! There was a full living room, a kitchen (the stove and oven were disabled for safety), a seperated bedroom with walk-in closet, a bathroom with a closet and a coat closet upon entry into the suite. We also had a private balcony. The room was very nicely decorated and we were elated! We paid much more for far inferior rooms on this trip. The staff was very nice. You do have to turn your key in to the front desk if you leave because they are real keys, not the key cards newer hotels have and they don't want you to lose them. Fair enough, since most people go to Borbon Street and do well to find their way back, let alone keep up with a key! The hotel is located close enough to anything in the French Quarter to walk to, about 2 blocks to the French Market and a nice walk up the river or to the Quarter and Bourbon Street. We walked all over without any problems. I highly recomment this gem! True, it's not a new, modern Hilton, but it is very nice for a change of pace. I loved being in the "charming" atmosphere and we will stay there without even considering anyplace else next time we travel to New Orleans!

Tamara, the manager will go the extra mile to help you out and you don't find that in other big city hotels. The location is perfect if you want Old New Orleans. The room was very comfortable and it had access to the wrap around balcony. Look,you can nick pic a place to death but this hotel has charm,style,a great location,comfortable clean rooms and a great staff. You will NOT find a better deal in New Orleans if you want to walk to all the places that matter.

I wouldn't normally choose a hotel in the French Quarter, but Le Richelieu is on the far Eastern end of the Quarter and you have the feeling almost of being in its own village. There is not much street noise. We were fortunate to be in a suite, but it was by no means luxurious, the furniture was a little shopworn, but the bedroom was nicely furnished and the king size bed very comfortable. It is a little short on amenities, for example room service is only on weekends and limited to breakfast. It does have a bar off the lobby which is small but OK for a late-night drink. My one complaint is that the walls are paper thin. I actually had to walk two doors down to ask a party of women to keep their noise down--I could almost hear everthing they were saying replete with loud chortling. I can't speak to the parking as others have, because we did not rent a car and were mostly walking the Quarter.

I always consult the Trip Advisor hotel ratings when I am visiting a city for the first time. I generally disregard the best and worst reviews and stick with the overall impressions. Never before have I ever completely disagreed with the general consensus before I stayed here. There is no way that this hotel should be rated four stars - it's not even close. It would take too long to describe my experience here so I will try to simplify it. First, the staff. While there were some very nice and helpful front desk employees, I had one of my worst hotel experiences EVER with one of the front desk workers here. Rude, disrespectful and nasty. There are no coffeemakers in the room and no coffee station in the lobby and the breakfast room doesn't open until 7 a.m which includes room service. If you are an early riser and like coffee be prepared to have to leave the premises. The bathroom in our room was very old and not well cleaned. The bed linens are of the old school variety. Now that so many hotels have switched to the bed coverings that are washed after every guest, the old style comforters just seem unclean now. You should plan to bring your own hair dryer if that's important to you because the ones in the room are inadequate.

On a positive note, the location in the French quarter is nice although rooms on the Barracks Street side have a lot of street noise. The breakfast room staff was very polite and accommodating. There is convenient parking on site for a fee.