Be Aware of Bed Bugs

I just wanted others to be aware of the poor sanitary and service conditions that I experienced at the St. James in New orleans. At first the room appeared to be clean though after further inspection I found that there was hair all over the bathroom area. I stayed four nights and spent little time in the room though when I used it, soap, towels and the bath mat was never replaced. They failed to program my key correctly twice requiring me to return to the lobby using their incredibly slow elevator. On the fourth night I found bed bugs in the bed. I requested that a hotel employee take a look and they did not so I left. I then returned and spoke to the general manager. I asked for a refund or some compensation for just the fourth night and was told that since they did not find anything they would not refund my money. I would definitely not recommend using this hotel if you plan to stay in New Orleans.

Nice -until checkout

Spent three days in St. James in Aug 2003. Purchased our reservations at a discount rate on-line through a travel service at an all-inclusive rate. Until checkout, we were pleased with our stay.

Upon checkout, the hotel charged us a $4.95 per day charge for "communication access." We escaped a $2.95/day charge for the safe because our safe was broken. Hotel would not back out the communication access fee even though we had not used the hotel phone. We called our on-line travel service toll free number to complain on the hotel pay phone. The on-line travel agency graciously refunded $5/day on their end.

While we were waiting for our airport pickup, a hotel guest was checking in. He was asked to initial the approval of the excess fees.

Apparently the night shift overlooked this on our check-in. We were charged anyway.

The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

Just spent a long weekend in the St. James (August 15-18, 2003). Have mixed feelings.The Good - The hotel is quaint and nicely decorated. The day staff was friendly and courteous. The rooms were large and the location is good - not a long walk to the French Quarters, Harrah's, Riverwalk, etc.The Bad - The night staff was less than helpful - acted as if you were bothering them if you had a question. The elevator broke and when called to ask about it I was told "Don't know if it's broken or not - just take the stairs". Never got a straight answer from anyone that worked at night.The Ugly - While the rooms are large and nicely decorated they are not clean, especially the bathroom. There was mold and mildew around the tub and around the top of the room. The mini refrigerator did not work. There were light bulbs missing from both the bath and the bedroom. The room safe did not work. The sidewalk in front of the hotel was torn up making it difficult to enter and exit the building. Housekeeping is not doing what is required and management either doesn't check of just doesn't care.I would not stay at the St. James again and would strongly recommend that friends not stay there.

Good Secret!!

I hate to even brag how much I love St. James Hotel because I don't want to have my favorite place start to book up when I want to visit. However, I have to share this elegant hide-away. I was at its sister property (Hotel Le Cirque) which was not finished remodeling 2 christmas ago. It was horrible, and I made sure they knew I was unhappy....so, they decided to send me to ST. JAMES HOTEL. I was astonished at the difference. The place is CLEAN, ELEGANT, QUAINT the staff was very nice and accomidating to my every need. I think this place could easily be a 5 star hotel. I am on my way back this August 2003 for my birthday weekend after spending two Christmas seasons there already.

I'd stay again only if I HAD to!

My roommates and I stayed at the St. James Memorial Day Weekend 02'.

The location is great, not far from the action - but the hotel itself is another story! Luckily, we had a great hotel deal & managed to make the best of things. The room was dark & musty, the carpet was damp the entire time. I felt like I was pulling germs up over my head everytime I got into bed. The patio attached to our room was in TERRIBLE condition. The fountain was dry, rusty, & full of leaves. The patio furniture was dirty - what was the point in even having an attached patio? The beautiful swimming pool advertised on their website was down for renovations (on one of the busiest weekends of the year!) I felt bad however because I didn't tip the bellman until after the fact, but heck the way I see it - they should've paid me for staying there!

Could've been worse though I guess...I had fun anyway - I was in NEW ORLEANS!!!!

St. James: for a shoe-less vacation

Do NOT stay at the St. James. Unless you'd like your shoes stolen, or perhaps your shirt, right out of your suitcase in your room. And if you'd like the hotel management to care about this, stay somewhere else. The front desk staff, especially on the weekend, lacked any remote interest in their customers. The way this incident was handled was appalling. There was a severe lack of sufficient action to try to resolve this matter. If you would like customer service, stay somewhere else. Watch out! a shoe-less vacation awaits you at the St. James.

Quaint, CLEAN! Worth the short walk to the Quarter

Clean, elegant hotel. Great value and worth the short walk to the Quarter!

Beware of this place

Well to begin there was a terrible smell in the room after waiting 1 1/2 hours for staff they said it was the old mini wet bar, that don't work anymore. Staff said it smelled like a dead rat inside, they only give you robes if you ask took 1 hour to bring them to the room. Had to repair the coffee maker was tired of waiting for room service. Forget to leave coffee two mornings out of four. Spoke to Mananger and they would disclipine somebody proably the dead rat. Staff was lazy and to concerned making personal phones calls then to help you. Hidden charges on safe and phone even if you don't use them. Beware spend the money elsewhere, would not even discount the room after all this trouble. NEVER AGAIN !

Great, quaint hotel

We stayed at the St. James last December, just after Christmas. What a wonderful little hotel! The rooms were nicely-sized and very quaint, it felt like staying in Europe. The bathrooms were nice (but not 5-star level) but the room was superb. The restaurant in the hotel -- Cuvee -- is top-notch, we ate there that night and while we rang up quite a large bill, it was worth it. We've stayed in most of the top hotels in New Orleans and highly recommend the St. James. You can often find good bargains on this hotel on their website.

Great Value

I stayed at the Royal St. James in October 2002. I plan on going back this year and will definately stay there again. It's a great value for the price. It's only a short walk to the FQ and the Casino. While the rooms aren't huge, they have everything you need. Free breakfast, bar, and the trolley stops right next to the hotel. Great value!