Hotel Monteleone

d out great for our guests enjoying the open bar! (No one ever had to wait too long) One major problem occurred, however, when the hotel did not reserve a spot in the front of the hotel for the limo for the bridesmaids (as they promised they would). The limo instead had to circle the block, which made the entire wedding party late to the wedding. We had to rush pictures after the ceremony at the church because of it.

for Bride/bridesmaids prep and Truman Capote suite for groom/groomsmen prep. Both suites were very spacious and absolutely gorgeous. Our reception was one of a kind!!! Cynthia was a life saver! We didn't need to hire a wedding planner - we had Cynthia! She made sure our vision came to life!!! We were in the La Nouvelle Ballroom. We used uplighting to light the walls our colors - red and purple. The Christmas trees were an unexpected but wonderful accent. On the Wednesday before, we brought all of our "stuff" for the reception and had a sit down with Cynthia to explain everything we had in mind. She exceed our every expectation. I cannot say enough about her. She even took some pictures of set up and us leaving on our carriage (photographer was already at church) and texted me the next morning! Another great thing about Monteleone was that once we arrived for the reception, they took my husband and I to take photos on the roof and have a private meal time/champagne. It was a beautiful moment I'll never forget. Getting married at the Monteleone was a dream come true!!!!!!!!!!!!

amily so everyone could stay together; I think everyone had a good time there! However, the planning of the welcome party was just so-so. They did work with us to get us exactly what we wanted (wine + dessert) but offered little in terms of set-up or tear-down. It was pricier than I would've liked, but I guess hotels are just going to be that way. Generally, we didn't get the sense that they wanted to go above and beyond to make our day awesome like some of our other vendors. Every extra thing we asked for, we were presented with either a "no we can't do that" or an offer to do that for a high upcharge (for example, getting a TV to show a slideshow). Overall, since it was a great location, beautiful hotel for our guests, and nice room for the party, I'd say it was a solid option and definitely helped with the weekend affairs.

s through the planning process leading up to our stay and was always responsive to our special requests. We also hosted brunch at the hotel the morning after the wedding and guests commented on how great the food was. Cynthia, the catering manager, was very easy to work with. Our guests and us also had a great time at the Carousel Bar the night before the wedding and the wedding night. We loved our stay at the hotel and couldn't have asked for a better experience. We even had a special treat from the hotel on our wedding night! Thank you for making our wedding stay special!

3pm) and still cleaned the room, and from the doorman to the managers they made sure getting ready went off without a hitch. I would highly suggest having your room blocks here. No fee if you don't book out and will block off I believe it is up to 20 rooms. No where else in the quarter I called offered this. It's such a beautiful hotel and a great location (with an amazing bar) why wouldn't you stay here!

the charm of the hotel, its relatively moderate prices,and its proximity to the church and venue. Darlene was great about informing us of which of our guests had registered in the weeks leading up to the event. She was accommodating to us in every way. During the days we were there for the wedding, the staff was so helpful to us and to all our guests. The hotel itself is so comfortable and has an historic feel. Of course the famous Carousel bar is a great place for before or after the festivities. The location is great--even a few steps from a Walgreen's in case you forget something. A very good selection for a hotel block.

our guests. We were EXTREMELY disappointed. We arrived and checked in and were given the smallest room I have ever seen. It barely fit my husband and I, never mind a bride who planned to get ready in the room with hair/makeup artists, photographer, videographer. I was shocked that they would put a bride and groom in such a terrible room, and was bummed to see that my family members also had the same tiny rooms. I begged everyone in the staff I could contact for an upgrade, but was told the hotel was booked with other wedding parties. We had this room block in place for 8 months at this point, and I would think a bride who is bringing the hotel 25 room bookings would get preferred accommodations. I wasted a ridiculous amount of time over the next few days talking to the front desk and group sales to try to get another room. We were finally moved into a room that was a little more spacious on Saturday, May 10th, but it was still far from adequate to accommodate a bridal party. We were uncomfortably crammed into a very small room the day of the wedding and I was beyond disappointed. I had also arranged for our second-line after our wedding to end back at the hotel, and months before the wedding I had left repeated messages and emails for the person in charge to discuss this. He never called me back, and I was finally connected to him by group sales who had arranged the room block. I was told that we would have a designated area for our guests when we arrived after the wedding. I brought 70 people to the bar, and there was no place designated for our group. We were all scattered around the bar, as if I had never put the effort in to arrange anything beforehand. Lastly, upon checking in my sister (and MOH) waited at the carosel bat for her room to be ready and checked her luggage in the luggage room. When the it was finally ready, a bellcap brought up her bags. Her garment bag, which contained thousands of dollars worth of clothing (including her MOH dress) was not brought up with the rest of her bags. When she realized this later that evening, she immediately contacted the front desk and the baggage room, and her garment bag was not there. We spent the entire weekend hunting for the lost bag, with little help from management. We were sent from person to person, with no apologies, and were never able to view the security tapes which may have helped us track it down. Clearly, it was either given to the wrong hotel guest or stolen. The hotel claimed zero liability and was NO help in retrieving her belongings. Rather than enjoying time with our wedding guests that had flown in in from all over the country, we spent the day before the wedding running around the French Quarter to find (and spend more money) on a new Maid of Honor dress. There was no assistance from the staff, no compensation for the missing bag, or even sympathy. The entire situation was unacceptable. After spending thousands of dollars and bringing so much business to your hotel, we left feeling like our stay here ruined our wedding weekend. I have contacted management to discuss our stay several times over a span of months and my calls/email were not retured. If I had to do it all over again I would never have brought my guests to a place with such a lack of customer service or concern.

ie Hagstette was fabulous, she was quick to respond, thinks outside the box to solve a problem, and has EVERYTHING under control. I did my ceremony and reception at the Monteleone and I couldn't imagine doing it any differently. The wedding was an extravaganza; a fairytale. The hotel package included (just to name a few things) my cake, my linens, the food, the alcohol, chairs and many other necessities that you don't always think about. The wedding package was amazing and far better than what I saw with other venues. I highly recommend this to any bride who wants a unique New Orleans Wedding. The staff and Joel take your night very seriously, and they do everything they can to make it perfect. Did I mention the food was out of this world?!

arsal dinner. The hotel lobby and carousel bar are stunning. Even our private room for the dinner was gorgeous. And the food. I wanted to eat EVERYTHING! Overall, a wonderful venue for a fun party!