The Astor Crowne Plaza Hotel: In The Middle Of New Orleans Culture

Review of Astor Crowne Plaza New Orleans French Quarter, Corner of Bourbon and Canal | 739 Canal St. @ Bourbon
Astor Crowne Plaza New Orleans French Quarter, Corner of Bourbon and Canal
  • Trip101 Review
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Kurt
Kurt 
Updated
| 3 min read

For visitors coming to New Orleans to immerse themselves in all the fun this city has to offer it’s hard to beat the Astor Crowne Plaza Hotel. Recently renovated, Astor Crowne Plaza Hotel is on the corner of Canal Street and Bourbon Street offering great food and entertainment just steps away.

Tons of amenities

Double queen bed room

Choose from 693 guestrooms and suites in two towers: the Alexa or Astor. Maybe you want a room with a view over Bourbon Street to see and hear street performers from the comfort of your room? Some guests will prefer a quieter room for peace and quiet after a night on the town, and the Astor Crowne Plaza has you covered for either type of room.

All rooms provide comfort and convenience with executive work desks, free Wi-Fi, albeit a bit slow, foam and feather pillows, individual climate controls, in-room safes, 24 hour in-room dining, coffee makers, plush custom-made mattresses, and refrigerators. The mattresses are on the firm side, but newer and comfortable for most guests. The 49 inch/124 cm HDTV offers gobs of channels to choose from and the channel guide is easy to find in front of the TV screen on top of the dresser.

I found my room to be clean but not spotless. There was a small toothpaste smudge on the edge of my sink. Water pressure was great in the shower with plenty of hot water. Soap, conditioner and body wash pump bottles are easy to reach in the shower. The Astor Crowne Plaza has done away with the small single-use plastic bottle toiletries in favor of the more environmentally friendly large size.

Meeting spaces with a view

View of Bourbon St from the meeting rooms on the second floor

Other amenities of note are the business center, state of the art fitness center, outdoor pool, and one of the best restaurants in the area — Bourbon House — is attached to the hotel with an entrance in the lobby. The hotel staff seems to be well-trained and able to handle most requests. I was upgraded to a room with a view at check in when my reserved room wasn’t available when I arrived at 12:15 p.m. The bellman staff were quite efficient and were always happy to help with directions or a taxi when I left the hotel. There were always two to four of the bellman staff ready and waiting at the door and curb area.

The meeting space is huge and will fit groups large or small in their 32,000 sq. ft/2,973 sq. m facilities. One of the meeting room areas has a balcony on two sides offering good views of Bourbon Street from above. This is a great place to watch some of the action of musicians, street performers and the crowd with a drink or camera in your hand. Several elevators keep things moving at peak use times by meeting rooms and there are escalators also.

In the area

Front of hotel with a street car going by

The location is one of the best features of this four diamond AAA Motorclub rated hotel. Within ten minutes’ walk, guests can get to most of Bourbon Street’s clubs, restaurants and shops. The River Walk is only ten to fifteen minutes’ walk from the hotel’s entrance on Canal Street as is Harrah’s Casino. Take a stroll along this famous waterway and see both paddle boats and huge ships pass by this popular port. Cruise ships also depart from this port area.

If you don’t want to walk, it is easy to catch a taxi, pedi-cab, or vintage streetcar on the Canal Street side of the hotel. Both pedi-cabs and the vintage streetcars are my recommended way to get around. A 3 USD one-day pass for the streetcar is available for purchase steps away from the hotel in Walgreens pharmacy. Take one of four streetcar lines for a ride to the garden district, cemeteries, National World War ll Museum, and other popular sites to see the town in style.

Great food awaits

Flash broiled oysters at Bourbon House

If you love good food, you have come to the right place. Inside the Astor Crowne Plaza Hotel is Bourbon House Restaurant. Dickie Brennan, from the famous Brennan family of restaurants, opened his bourbon themed restaurant and bar that is a must visit restaurant. They serve around 250 types of bourbon, oysters, seafood, beer and wine. Choose either the classy dining room decorated in wood tones, glass and black wrought iron railed balconies above the main dining room, or the vibrant bar area surrounded by bourbon.

Be sure and try the flash broiled oysters on the half shell in a Creole bordelaise butter and a side of bread to sop up the tasty sauce. Bourbon flights are popular and they even have a Bourbon Club you can join.

Other notable restaurants in the area are Palace Café, Café du Monde, GW Fins, and Redfish Grill to name a few.

In closing

Whether you come to the Astor Crowne Plaza Hotel for business or pleasure, a great time awaits you in the Crescent City. Let the good times roll!

Disclosure: Trip101 selects the listings in our articles independently. Some of the listings in this article contain affiliate links.

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Astor Crowne Plaza New Orleans French Quarter, Corner of Bourbon and Canal
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