New Orleans: Kimpton Hotel Fontenot

 November 2021, weekday, 1-night, king suite 808

View from bedroom window in suite 808 Kimpton Hotel Fontenot

Pre-arrival and mishap with first airport hotel reservation 

This hotel reservation was an unplanned booking for us. We had originally planned to stay at the DoubleTree MSY airport, as our flight was not arriving until evening. We were staying just the one night, and had planned to get a ride from the airport to the cruise port in the morning. About 7 weeks before our stay at the DoubleTree, we found out our reservation had been cancelled. We were NOT notified of the cancellation, even though the Hilton website stated that a cancellation notice had been sent. I knew about the damages from Hurricane Ida, so I had been checking our reservation periodically to make sure all was well. One day when I checked, I saw the reservation had been cancelled. This may have happened as much as a week before I discovered it, as I was only checking every few days. I checked all my SPAM and trash folders after I saw the cancellation on their website, to make sure I had not missed a notification, and there was nothing I had missed. I then wrote a letter to Hilton expressing my disappointment with the way the cancellation had been handled. As a diamond member, I expected they would at least rebook a room in a similar location for a similar price. Apparently, I have too high of expectations! The reply from Hilton (3 weeks after I submitted it) basically just told me to call customer service to make a new reservation. Another Hilton diamond disappointment. I am slowly realizing the unappreciated loyalty I have been giving to this hotel chain. 

After the cancellation, I considered Hilton properties at the airport and downtown, before deciding to forgo Hilton and go with Kimpton Hotel Fontenot, an IHG property. This was our first stay at a Kimpton Hotel, and this stay won me over as a loyal guest! Since we were not arriving until evening, I contacted the hotel beforehand via email with our expected arrival time, and a few questions. The immediate reply I received said we had been upgraded to a suite, and that we would receive "a bit of lagniappe," since we were going to miss the evening social hour.

Amenity in our suite in Kimpton Hotel Fontenot 

Check-in and platinum perks

I had reserved a king guestroom with points, and as I already mentioned, we were upgraded to a suite. When we arrived, it took a few minutes to check-in at the front desk, and our amenity was in the suite.

Suite #808

The guestroom was clean, spacious, and comfortable. Even though we were not on the top floor (my usual preference), we did not hear any noise overhead. 

Kimpton Hotel Fontenot wardrobe closet in suite 808

The suite entrance from the hall opened into the living area, which was quite spacious. Other than the amenity and wardrobe photos above, I forgot to take photos of this room. Furnishings I recall included: a large desk with plenty of outlets, desk chair, sofa, coffee table, large flatscreen TV, cabinet under the TV, small table and chairs (in front of window, partially visible in amenity photo), and a padded suitcase bench.

I loved the luxurious bathrobes in the wardrobe closet. A small fridge is located behind the door under the ice bucket. The door between the living area and bedroom could be closed.

Bedroom in suite 808 in Kimpton Hotel Fontenot

The bed and pillows were super comfy, and the bedsheets were good quality. We had a fabulous night's sleep. 

Bathroom in suite 808 Kimpton Hotel Fontenot

Good quality bath amenities were provided in the bathroom shower and on the vanity. The towels were luxurious. Everything about this hotel was top-notch. My husband and I both liked the walk-in tile shower with deluxe shower head.

Food & beverage

We stayed Thanksgiving eve, and fortunately the cafe was open for breakfast in the morning. There were a couple of different kinds of breakfast tacos, which were listed on the menu with two per order. We each ordered one menu item, although we could have shared just one order, if we had thought this through before ordering. Complimentary coffee was available in the lobby; however, this was not supplied in the guestroom. When I looked at the hotel app in the morning, I realized we could have requested a coffeemaker the night before. I would have done this, if I had been more alert when we arrived. We did not visit the Peacock Room, as it was quite busy when we arrived. There were promotional materials in the suite for Happy Hour specials.  

Misc. and overall

Overall, we had a fabulous stay at this hotel. Clean, comfortable, good quality accommodations with service-minded staff. We would definitely choose this hotel again.

I receive a monthly Uber credit, so we had planned to take an Uber from MSY to the hotel when we arrived. We did not end up doing that because the Uber cost was $64.40, and the driver was 3 minutes away. A cab in the airport with no line had a set rate of only $36 (for 1 to 2 people). This hotel is not very far from the cruise port, and we had initially planned to walk there from the hotel, like we had done when we stayed in the Crowne Plaza in 2014. We ended up using our Uber credit the next day instead.  

Safe travels everyone ~ Let me know if you have any questions!