Just got back last night from a weekend stay at the Chateau. Bobby at the front desk does look a bit gruff, but I think he's just misunderstood :-) Once engaged in conversation, he is very helpful. The only bellman is really a jack of all trades... he's moving bags, hailing cabs, serving the coffe and danish, taking people to their rooms and who knows what else!. Poor guy works 16 hrs a day on the weekends, but always said hello and goodbye and how's eveything. Our room, on the street side, was small but very nice and clean. Our king size bed was comfy and the pillows were very fluffy! Not a roach in sight. I will say that Sunday am when the garbage truck AND street cleaner came past there was a rumble, but Chartres is a few blocks from Bourbon, so that's the only noise we heard. We did get a newspaper each day at our door. The free continental breakfast consists of danish, muffins, coffee and juice. Sitting in the couryard enjoying the morning is a nice way to start your day. The Ritz it ain't... it is a very quaint hotel that we would have no trouble going back to.

My husband and I stayed at this hotel for two nights in early-March of 2007. I was eight months pregnant and it was our last chance to travel for a while so we thought we would get away to New Orleans for the weekend. I have family there so we go several times a year, so we aren't traditional tourists...we know our way around pretty well. The location of this hotel was wonderful, just a couple of blocks from the market and Cafe Du Monde. Unfortunately that was the only thing it had going for it. There were two men who alternated the front desk position, and neither of them were friendly. Trying to get our car out of the garage was a huge hassle, even though we asked their policy when we checked in, and called and gave them plenty of notice they were very rude about it. Our room was very disappointing. Run down and the only window was in the door, and the blinds didn't fully cover it so you felt like anyone could look in at any minute. However, the worst part would be the roaches; we killed several huge ones. I woke up to find one on my pillow! When my husband went to talk to the man at the front desk, he basically said it's a historic property and to get over it..there was nothing they could do. I feel like they use this "historic property" excuse to tourists but I don't buy it. That's why you should have a pest service. Needless to say we won't be going back.

Four of us stayed here for the Mardi Gras Marathon weekend (the weekend after Mardi Gras). What a perfect location! You are just two blocks from Jackson Square, two blocks from Bourbon St, and three blocks from the Outdoor Market. The hotel is in a quiet section, but plenty of restaurants and bars within a few blocks.
This is an older hotel with a true New Orleans touch. (If you want super clean, new, plush - this isn't it.)
We had a room on the ground floor facing the courtyard. Our two friends were upstairs in a room facing the street with a little balcony. They said there was some street noise, but not enough to wake you.
Our room was comfortable, king bed (lots of pillows), love seat, and desk with chair. Bathroom is pretty small with a (no kidding) 21/2 foot tub. Weird. Shower was ok, but the hot water is not steady. A small closet is in the bathroom. The tv is old, but worked fine. A small refrigerator was under the desk.
The courtyard area outside the room was wonderful. The breakfast is served at a bar in the courtyard in the morining. It was so nice to sit at the little tables and read the local paper (provided on the doorstep quite early), and sip coffe. The breakfast is just coffee, juice, and pastries, but was adequate to get me going. The pool is lovely for a quick dip, but not big enough to actually swim. It was clean and cool.
The courtyard has an exit/entrance to the street so you don't have to come/go through the lobby. That was nice. They secure the gate at night, so very safe.
A BIG PLUS with this hotel besides the location is the FREE parking! It's in a gate secured lot across the street. We went in and out several times very easily. The other good thing is the help. All very friendly, easy to talk to, great with maps and suggestions for meals.
We had booked the hotel through AAA, and there was a mixup with the room, but was very quickly fixed by the staff. No complaints there.
We will definatelly stay here again.

Me and 2 girlfriends traveled in to New Orleans from Lafayette (2 hours away) to catch a Mardi Gras parade. We did not have a room but after the Hilton gave us a list of hotels to call (because they were booked) we lucked out by finding the Chateau Motor. Lillian was very helpful in giving us directions to get there and even stepped out to the road to flag us down. This was the only good part about our stay at the chateau motor. The bellman/valet guy had to take our keys (as they do with all of the guests) while we left our car on the sidewalk because someone had blocked the entrance to the parking lot. He assured me that my keys would be secured in the office, hanging on a board. I never thought twice about it. After we checked in, he then grabbed our bags to help us up to our room (the penthouse 2). On our way up the staircase, he begins making comments about whether or not the place is haunted. This was a horrible joke because we were only three girls. This scared us very much. He then lets us into our room which could be considered very charming but after what he told us, we were freaked out. It also had a terrible feeling and smell of "grandma's attic." there was one small window at the end of a dormar and a greasy handprint on the wall. It was all just a weird experience. The battery in the smoke detector was going out because it was beeping. On our way down to dinner, we asked Lillian to see about it. After going out to dinner, we returned to our room to sleep where we found that she had "forgotten" to send someone to change the battery. None of us were able to sleep because the bed was very uncomfortable and because of the vibe that the bellman gave us, we were scared. When morning came, we felt a little better in the day light. Went downstairs for some breakfast but apparently the guy who is the valet guy and the bellman is also the chef because he was out parking cars so we walked a couple of blocks down to Decatur where we found a little cafe. When we got back to the hotel, we told the VERY unfriendly man at the front desk that we would be coming to check out in about 20 minutes, to get our car ready. While in our room, the phone rings and in a very gruff tone, the front desk guy asked me if I had taken my keys. I replied with "no". he then said "do u have an extra set?" i replied with "no" and before I could ask him if he lost my keys he said "see me when you come down" and he hung up the phone. i ran downstairs to find out that my keys had been "misplaced".... the guy at the front desk was so carefree, like it wasnt a big deal and he was not the least bit concerned about who might have had my keys or about the safety of my car. He was also not concerned that any of us would have to work the next day; which we all did!!! He offered for us to stay another night for free because we had no where to go. I then went out to the parking lot to check on my car where there was no one guarding it and it was UNLOCKED! I took out all that i needed and locked it. we went back to our room, went out to dinner and when we returned, Lillian was back at the front desk where she accused us of a "SCAM"???? much to her surprise, one of the employees found my keys in their personal vehicles a few hours later. We left first thing the next morning, extremely disappointed with our stay. This was by far the worst hotel I have ever stayed in.