Because October in New Orleans is gorgeous and wonderful (following the oppressiveness of summer) places tend to fill up quickly. So we suggest figuring out where you are going to stay and booking it sooner rather than later. The wedding is Saturday, October 23, 2010.
First, a bit of geography. We live in Bywater, just on the edge, near the Marigny. The wedding will be here, in our back yard, which is known in these parts as “The Truck Farm.” There will also be a Sunday breakfast in the French Quarter at the Hotel Monteleone, and a Friday get-together at a bar, probably in the Marigny (stay tuned to the blog for details!) These three neighborhoods -- Bywater, Marigny, French Quarter -- are all in a row, all along the Mississippi River, all historic and beautiful, and we recommend staying in one of them. You can easily bike from our house into the Marigny or the Quarter. Roughly, from our house, you can walk to the Quarter in 25 minutes, bike there in 10, and drive in 5. Biking and walking to the Marigny is even closer. Other nearby areas are Treme and Esplanade Ridge; parts of Mid-City are also close and quite lovely. Nothing here is that far away. For map references, our address is 3030 Saint Claude Avenue.
A bit on transportation:
On the day of the wedding, there will be a bus bringing folks back and forth from the Hotel Monteleone, in the French Quarter. Cabs are abundant and inexpensive. That said, we HIGHLY recommend renting or borrowing bikes while you’re here, if you’re into that sort of thing. Biking here is fun and easy (if you manage to avoid the potholes) and a great way to soak in the gorgeousness of New Orleans.
If you B&B/hotel doesn’t have bikes, here are some options for BIKE RENTALS:
Our favorite bike repair shop plans to be renting bikes come fall, so it's worth a try. These guys are so nice.
Gerken's Bike Shop
2703 Saint Claude Avenue
504.373.6924
This place delivers:
Confederacy of Cruisers
http://confederacyofcruisers.com/bicycle-rentals
504.400.5468
They are conveniently located at Frenchmen and Royal Streets, but they are closed on Sundays:
Bicycle Michael's
622 Frenchmen Street
http://www.bicyclemichaels.com/
504.945.9505
This place delivers:
Joy Ride Bike Rentals
http://www.joyridebikerentals.com/
504.982.1617
PLACES TO STAY:
BYWATER
There aren’t a lot of places to stay in our neighborhood. Our friend Shawn Hall is currently renting two bedrooms and a third room (which has no door and leads to one of the bedrooms) in her house. There are four beds in all. Prices are negotiable -- something like $65/room or $125/all. This is about four blocks from our house and across the street from one of our favorite cafes. Email Shawn at shall@pietystreet.com if you’re interested.
MARIGNY
The Marigny is between Bywater and the French Quarter, and we live on the edge of it. Plus, it has a LOT of places to stay. With the thought that part of the fun will be visiting not only us but also others journeying to New Orleans, we’ve reserved a few bed & breakfasts in their entirety. All of them are in the Marigny, and therefore all of them are within walking distance – though some are slightly more of a walk than others.
Sweet Olive
2460 North Rampart Street
You can see the place and the rooms at http://www.sweetolive.com/ but you need to call David at 504-947-4332 or 877-470-5323 to book a room because they’re all blocked to online registration for us. The rooms will be held until September 1. There are 6 of them. Mention that you’re booking for Eve Abrams and Greg Schatz’s wedding.
Royal Street Courtyard Bed and Breakfast
2438 Royal Street
Some of their rooms were already booked by the time we got to them, but there are sill 6 left for folks coming to our wedding. Check them out at http://royalstcourtyard.com/default.aspx but call Phillip at 504-943-6818 to reserve, for the same reason as above. Mention our wedding! These rooms will be held until June 15. This place is super close to a bunch of cafes we love.
E l y s i a n F i e l d s I n n
9 3 0 E l y s i a n F i e l d s A v e n u e , N e w O r l e a n s , L A
The innkeeper here, Leigh, couldn’t be nicer. She’s offering a 15% discount to our guests. Just say you’re with the Eve and Schatzy wedding: 5 0 4 -9 4 8 - 9 4 2 0.
There are 8 rooms, all really nice. The rooms will be held until September 1, and again you need to call. This place is a little further from us than the two above.
Check out the place here: http://www.elysianfieldsinn.com/
Also noteworthy is the Lions Inn Bed and Breakfast. They wouldn’t reserve the place for us, but right now no one has booked for that weekend. The location is GREAT, there’s a pool and a hot tub, and there are 10 rooms total, some with shared baths (which are cheaper) and some with private baths. Call 800-485-6846 or 504-945-2339 or reserve online: http://www.lionsinn.com/
There are many more, smaller and quite lovely B&Bs in the Marigny (as well as other neighborhoods!) Check them out at http://www.bbnola.com
FRENCH QUARTER
Most family will be staying at the Hotel Monteleone. This is a big and lovely, family owned hotel where we’ve reserved 30 rooms. After September 21 any unbooked rooms in our block will be released to the general public, but if you want to stay there, you are encouraged to book early (in case we need more rooms than we’ve reserved).
Rooms for two people (either two double beds or a king bed) are $159 plus tax ($2 plus 13%). Rooms can accommodate up to 4 people; the rate for 3 people is $184 and for 4 people $209. A two night stay is required.
When reserving rooms refer to the Abrams and Schatz wedding. Reserve by calling 800-217-2033 or 504-523-3341, by faxing 504-528-1019 or go to
http://hotelmonteleone.com/
Of course, there are MANY places to stay in the French Quarter, which you can find online. One lovely and pricey option is the Cornstalk Hotel. Check it out: http://www.cornstalkhotel.com/index.html
FREE
Finally, we have a small number of very generous friends who are lucky enough to have guest bedrooms, and would like to offer them to you all. Two are in the Bywater, one is in the Marigny, and a few others – in Mid City and another part of the Ninth Ward – may be available depending on roommate situations. Let us know if this is an option you want to explore.
PLEASE call or write us with ANY questions. We want to help in any way we can.
Once again, feel encouraged to come for as long as you can! A good resource for finding a more long term rental is Craigslist.com for New Orleans.
And finally, please let us know where you end up deciding to stay – especially if it’s one of the B&Bs we reserved (we don’t want them to get screwed.)
Much love,
Eve and Greg
