Welcome to N'awlins Babay!
I was provided media rate at the Omni Royal Orleans Hotel in exchange for my review. All opinions are my own.
Boy did I have the time of my life in New Orleans; it brought me back to my younger years when I use to party! It was fun spending time with my family, especially my siblings I haven't seen in years. I've been to New Orleans a couple of times before but this trip was my favorite one.
The reason for my travels there was because my father was celebrating his 50th birthday and threw a big party down on Bourbon St.
I was minus my girls on this trip so it was a weekend getaway for Mr. M and I. It has been years that we took a trip without our daughters so it was fun to have some time together without them but I was missing them the whole time because you all know my girls are my sidekicks and always with me. My girls spent their time with their grandmother and I checked in on them throughout our trip.
We left Atlanta about 2pm EST and got to New Orleans around 9pm CST. It was Saturday evening and my father's party was in full swing so Mr. M and I arrived fashionably late. Before we attended the party we checked into our hotel at the historic Omni Royal Orleans hotel. The hotel is located close enough to Bourbon St. but far enough to be away from all the ruckus.
The Omni Royal Orleans is one of the most stunning hotels I've ever stayed in! Marble floors and walls, gold trimmings, sparkling chandeliers, beautiful French style structure, I felt like I stepped into a palace and I was the belle of the ball. I love how well they decorated for the holiday season.
Our hotel is known as "the place to see and be seen". They've hosted top leading people like presidents, top leaders, and several celebrities. Rated a four-diamond luxury hotel, the Omni Royal is one of just three New Orleans hotels recognized on the National Trust for Historic Preservation's Historic Hotels of America Registry. The 345-room, seven-story hotel recently underwent a $15 million renovation that incorporates modern amenities with its classic design.
Valet gave us a warm welcome and quickly got our luggage out of our car for us, they offered to have our bags taken to our room but we declined since we didn't have many bags to carry. Front desk got us checked in within minutes and told us we would be on the second floor with a room that had a balcony and queen size bed. Customer service at this hotel is phenomenal, great southern hospitality!
Our room was roomy, clean, and I love our bed spread, it went really well with the decor. Our room was facing St. Louis St. and we had a nice view of the street. There weren’t a lot of people walking up and down the street which was perfect because I felt safe and didn't have to worry about strange people going in and out of our hotel.
The highlight of this hotel is their roof top pool overlooking the river and streets. The pool bar was closed for the season but will open back up for the New Year’s Eve celebration.
The Omni Royal is located in the heart of New Orleans, walking distance of everything! You can walk to the river, various galleries are nearby, visit the St. Louis Cathedral, many restaurants to choose from, and of course Bourbon St and much, much more!
Mr. M and I put down our luggage, freshened up and headed up the block to Bourbon St. Once we got to Bourbon it was barbaric out there! Drunks, different Santa Clauses doing things that had me clutching my pearls (Santa needs to be adding himself on the naughty list), strippers wearing nothing but strings and leaving nothing for the imagination, homeless people with signs begging for money that had adult content on it that I won't share the picture here to keep my blog family friendly, and a group of people from a church huddled around praying for all of our sins. I would not recommend Bourbon St. at all for children, not even during the day time.
We got to the party and my family were already eating, drinking and having a great time. My dad had a balcony suite overlooking Bourbon and we got to throw beads to people. It was great to see my siblings after all these years; they live in my home state California so I never really get to see them so it was a bit of a family reunion.
After playing catch up with my family, Mr. M and I, my siblings and a few cousins decided to walk to Canal St. and go to the night club in the Harrah’s Casino. I tell ya, I haven't partied like that in years! I'm so reserved so letting loose on the dance floor with my family was so much fun, this will be a time I'll always remember! Mr. M was in shock I knew every word to the ratchet songs the DJ was playing, LOL!
We left the night club when it ended at 3am and started walking to Cafe Du Monde to try out some beignets, a fried powder fritters that resembles powdered donuts. Before we got there, we made a pit stop at Coyote Ugly bar for more drinks. Now, I already was drinking at the night club so once I started drinking again I was pretty much hammered. Here I am walking the streets and stumbling- thank goodness there are no pictures of that.
It quickly became 5am, we ate our beignets and went back to the Omni for a peaceful night rest and my family returned to their hotel.
Around noon, my family started leaving to go home and one of my brothers stayed behind for a few hours since his flight left later in the day, so he hung out with Mr. M and I. My head was spinning and my stomach was hurting from the night before so I wasn't really feeling well when we started walking the streets together. We found a spot to have lunch called ACME Oyster house and I'm so glad we went there because they have some of the best oysters I've ever tasted! If you ever go to New Orleans get their charbroiled garlic oysters, you will not be disappointed. Their Seafood Etouffe was scrumptious but I took two bites and my stomach just couldn't take it due to the alcohol that hadn't wore off yet, so I gave my dish to Mr. M- you know you can't let good food go to waste. I sat there watching Mr. M and my brother eat while I was filling myself with water to rehydrate.
Once lunch was done, we walked around and visited a couple of bars to listen to the live bands play. I was done having drinks for the rest of the trip but Mr. M and my brother kept chugging them down like water.
The time had arrived that my brother had to start leaving so we took him to the airport and wished him farewell. Mr. M and I were all alone in the Big Easy and we decided to visit a movie theater to watch Top 5 ( terrible movie ) and return back to walking the streets of New Orleans.
It wasn't the same without my family there. There were less people on the streets because it was Sunday. We both found ourselves back at Harrah’s, this time to grab a burger and then walk back to our hotel for the night.
Monday quickly came and I hated to say goodbye to our hotel. If we're ever in the French Quarters again The Omni Royal Orleans would be our hotel of choice for sure! The hotel is 4 stars but it seriously needs to be 5!
Although New Orleans is known for their nightlife, there are things to do for a family with children like the New Orleans Museum of Arts, Audubon Aquarium, Audubon Zoo, Audubon Butterfly Garden and Insectarium, and take a paddlewheel boat tour along the Mississippi River. The Omni is also family friendly hotel and kids get a gift pack of goodies and served milk and cookies during their stay.
Omni Royal Orleans is offering a holiday "Stocking Stuffer" package, available for stays of two-nights or more through Dec. 30, 2014, which is a 15 percent discount off regular room rates plus a "surprise" gift- a $10 gift card to Starbucks, iTunes or Omni Hotels & Resorts. If you do visit New Orleans this holiday season make sure to visit Omni's The Rib Room which is serving a special Reveillon Dinner Menu.
Have you ever taken a trip to New Orleans?
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