St. Vincent's Guest House

09/09/08

Do Not go to this place

by whyterabbit79 at Citysearch

I was here two weeks - living and working. Would have been gone sooner, but I stayed there through Gustav.

Do NOT give them a credit card - they will charge as many bogus fees that they can get away with. Go to google and search for other reviews of this place and see how many people were ripped off and are fighting the charges.

Part of my TRAINING involved judging how much I thought we could get out of a person who walked in off of the street and telling people on the phone ONE rate, then charging another rate when they arrived. "Keep them confused and don't let them argue with you" seems to be the way they run things.

a restaurant was just built, and that guy seems to be trying hard to keep it going. the "sitting area" is always under construction and closed. The website also boasts games and books..lies! no games. i put some books and cards there and one of the recently released prisoners stole them. St. V has "arrangements" for men just out of rehab or jail to stay and "work" there, but they mainly hang out and sell druugs.

The building was once beautiful and it's a damn shame what has happened to it. The pool has been green and out of order since i had my first job interview in early august and some exchange students that live in the hostel there told me it's been out of order for months. and if anyone asks, Lance sadly tells them that the pool guy was supposed to show up "today" and will be fixed "tomorrow"

I believe there are maybe 25 microwaves, tvs and mini fridges in the building and they move them from room to room whenever they overcharge certain guests, so that it seems like they're doing them a favor)

There is cable, and a large screen tv in the usually closed sitting room, but the screen has crayon scribble all over it.

elevator has apparently been broken since Katrina and is never going to be fixed

the floors are disgusting - carpet never shampooed and tile mopped with one of two filthy, nasty smelling mops.

• Pros: location
• Cons: horribly managed

01/02/08

Do not stay here

by roverbabe at Citysearch

I have stayed at the St. Vincent's Guest House twice it the past 8 months. Both times as a volunteer working to rebuild New Orleans after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.

The accommodations are sub-par to say the least. When we were there in May '07 our shower head did not work. Which was alright seeing as how we were in New Orleans to work not lounge around. And we just used a cup and the tub faucet and we were fine. There was at least one domestic disturbance that took place outside the front of the guest house and did wake up some of our fellow volunteers. Also, an insect ran across my face while I was sleeping. You definitely had the feeling you should keep your shoes on in the room.

Our organization felt it was a decent enough place to stay on our return trip in December. We again had 17 people and several vehicles and St. Vincent's could accommodate all of us at a reasonable price (lower than the advertised price). When we arrived the staff had little knowledge that we were coming and had to scramble to put rooms together for us. (Not all room have heating, A/C). The first full day of our trip rained and we were not able to do the volunteer work we were scheduled to do for homeowners in the area. Since we had nothing to do we offered our services to St. Vincent's. They happily agreed to have us paint a guest room and several pieces of furniture. And we were happy to feel useful. Thinking we had established a great relationship with St. Vincent's we were shocked to be asked to leave one night early. You see it was New Years Eve and the day before the Sugar Bowl so they could get more money for the rooms. Mind you, we had booked through the first but apparently that was not good enough for them. We then had to find new accommodations on the busiest night of the year in New Orleans. Nice way to treat those who are trying to help you out.

• Pros: Not far from French Quarter
• Cons: Poor treatment of those trying to help rebuild the city

03/06/07

Makes Bates Motel look appealing

by nola_girl76 at Citysearch

I am very familiar w/New Orleans hotels and my advice is to stay away from St. Vincent's. I'm not one of those people who's picky, or expecting the Four Seasons, I just want a place to sleep/shower. But this place fell below even my low standards. The hotel is 100% misrepresented on the web sites, looks charming, european atmosphere.

First some general problems: The neighborhood is sketchy at night and the hotel has little, if any security; the pool is not maintained;customer service nonexistent;no organization, no maid service.i booked online prepaid through travelocity and got the wrong room (1 bed instead of 2) and they were overbooked but wouldn't give any help or refund, told me to call travelocity. one of my friends hadn't prepaid, but had made a reservation, but there were no rooms left! this is mardi gras, you can't just find some other place. so 6 people crammed in a room. when asked to speak to mgr they said to come back later but he never seemed to be around...

A rundown of the room: chain lock broken;presence of tv insulting since it's totally nonfunctional, not even rabbit ears;one paper thin towel;cigarette burns everywhere; tub literally full of mud;furniture is wicker and falling apart;no heater;walls painfully thin;king bed made w nasty queen sheets;shower no pressure and either scalding or freezing; can feel each coil in mattress pressing in your back;everything dirty, trash from last guest under the bed attracting insects. In short, it's a dump. Which wouldn't be a problem, really, if it wasn't so expensive. "you get what you pay for," but not here! I paid more to stay here than I did at the hilton w/priceline, and st vincent's barely meets hostel standards.

also check profile w/business bureau (many unresolved complaints) and reviews on tripadvisor. St. Vincent's may be cheap but it's so awful that I'd rather sleep in my car next time! For $10 or $20 more you can stay in a real hotel in a way better location, so it's not worth it!

• Cons: dumpy, dirty, overpriced, neighborhood bad, misrepresented

12/04/02

You can do better

by asu1994 at Citysearch

Don't be fooled like we were by what you see on the website. The rooms are glorified walk-in closets, and with your door closed you can still easily hear any conversation that your neighbors across the hall may be having.

The neighborhood is not very desirable either, and any too far (and dangerous) for walking to the French Quarter. Do yourself a favor...go call the Quality Inn Suites on Okeefe. Same money, and it's like the Taj Mahal by comparison.

• Pros: Friendly Staff, Good on the outside
• Cons: Tiny rooms, Ugly neighborhood, Ultra-thin walls