New Orleans is a fun unique city full of cool things to see and do. Ben and I hadn’t been since college and were excited for some fun activities and awesome food.
Getting There
Our visit to New Orleans was part of a larger road trip. We arrived late afternoon after a 3 hour drive from Orange Beach, AL. After our 3-night stay in New Orleans, we drove to our next stop near Austin, TX (Around 8 hours away) From Nashville, New Orleans is right at that edge of deciding whether it’s better to fly or drive. A quick flight could make this a nice quick weekend trip but 8 hours is also a slightly long but manageable distance for a long weekend. You could also copy part of our trip and mix it with another trip to one of the Gulf beaches, a close 3 hours away.
Hotel: Hyatt Regency New Orleans
We stayed at the Hyatt Regency New Orleans. Hyatt is our favorite brand, and there were quite a few choices in Bourbon Street, The French Quarter and around the city. This hotel struck a good balance of distance from the loud crazies while being still centrally located for our activities. We were about a mile from Bourbon Street which could have been a walkable distance if we didn’t have kids. It was an easy 5-minute drive to and from the french quarter and parking was reasonable by the river. The hotel was also walking distance to a grocery store and a few restaurants nearby that we didn’t get to explore. Our parking at the hotel was free due to the status but is usually $40/night.
How We Paid For Our Stay
We booked a standard room for the discounted price of $109/night. Because of our Hyatt Globalist status, we were upgraded to a suite. We earned the hotel status through a combo of promotions and credit card bonuses. I also booked 1 room at 12,000 points/night for some family members. You can earn Hyatt points from Hyatt stays, the Hyatt credit card, and Chase points which can be transferred to Hyatt. Learn more about points here.
Room: Our room was upgraded to a suite, and we were able to book another standard room that connected to ours. The room was not overly large but still gave us a little space and privacy for sleeping. Read more about the benefits of suites for sleeping here. The kids shared the couch (and built forts) and we had a small separate space with a king bed on the other side of a divider wall.
Facilities: The kids absolutely loved the glass elevators with the smart buttons… In the lobby, you could select which floor you wanted to go to and the system would tell you which elevator to take. There was a pleasant rooftop pool that was open with a bar and a very large fitness center near the top of the hotel with more than 20 machines,.
Restaurants On-Site
There is usually a special club on-site for Globalist members. These clubs are more common internationally although we visited a club during our visit to Maui. During our stay in New Orleans, the club was closed due to Covid precautions. As compensation, the hotel gave us a $40/day room and dining credit that we used for breakfast, crawfish omelets and sausage and fruits. The kids love omelet bars and the restaurant at the hotel had numerous options including crawfish! We were glad to not have to pay cash for breakfast. We also used some of the dining credit for a few late night drinks and pizza. The prices were expensive so I don’t think we would have dined here if we didn’t have the credit. There was also a Starbucks on-site for early morning coffee pick-me-ups.
New Orleans Activities
For more on what we did in New Orleans, read more here.
