I recently traveled to New Orleans and stayed at the Avenue Plaza Hotel and spa. We had a one and two bedroom suites, both with full kitchen. This was a great addition, the kitchen was stocked with pots and pans and utensils, great addition when traveling. The hotel and our rooms were clean. We enjoyed the pool and rooftop whirlpool and sundeck. It may not be the newest hotel(but many in new orleans are not) but it was kept up and clean. Dont pay to park we always found street parking nearby. Great location, right on the streetcar line, and close to everything. The best part is the price we stayed for 75$ a night during the French Quarter Festival, it was one of the best prices around, and for a suite that is great. I will try to stay here next time I travel to New Orleans.

My son stayed at this hotel with the Bands of America to perform in the Sugar Bowl. He put his brand new Game Boy on charge when he left the room. When he came back, the room had been cleaned-- of dirt and of his Game Boy. The manager gave me every indication that they would try to compensate him in some way but then never did and would not respond to my calls or emails. They also did not respond in any way to the Better Business Bureau complaint.

We were guest on March 22 & 23. Like others, I was concerned about our choice of this hotel. I traveled with our 11 year old daughter and the reviews I read after booking the hotel ranged from good to terrible.
The hotel must have two personalities. Luckily, we had an excellent experience. We stayed in room 1222. Our room was very large, clean, no smells, nice decor and pleasant staff. We were not contacted about the time share. The room's kitchenette allowed my daughter to have oatmeal for breakfast each morning, and we popped corn in the microwave to feed to the ducks at city park. The location is great. We used the trolley to the zoo and back to Canal street. Took the AAA self guided tour of the garden district which starts within a block of the hotel.

Our experience was great. I would go back there again..but I would want the same room.

We stayed here March 11, 12 and 13, 2004. Location was great: easy access to streetcar, away from French Quarter "noise" and large room with full refigerator, microwave and stove-top elements and next door to the famous Pontchartrain Hotel.

We stayed on the top floor - easy access to rooftop jacuzzi and views (not used but looked clean/enjoyable), no waiting for elevators (a potential problem for lower floors as hotel was busy) and good city views from our room. Downside: paint was peeling on ceiling (not noticed on lower floor rooms we happened to see) and a musty "smell" on floor though not in the room. May have been a smoking room (not sure but something was there - okay to us non-smokers but nevertheless something was there).

Found rooms to be of a good size and generally comfortable. We had a double queen with adjoining bathroom and make-up room. Conversations in the adjoining room could be heard through a connecting door in the make-up room but were not objectionable (the fact we had a separate make-up room was a plus). One of the queen beds was slightly broken (we heard this was the same thing in the adjoining room!) but this didn't interfere with our sleep etc.

Had no pressure whatsoever from time share sales and in fact would not have known this was also a timeshare destination if not for trip advisor and the fact that a noticeable number of "tours" were being conducted of the hotel.

We booked through the hotel's own website and received a discounted room for a multiple night stay (US$75/night plus tax for 2 adults and 1 child though rates could be double+ this for other nights). We did have a room rate "problem" that was ultimately resolved to our satisfaction.
We had booked two nights on-line and then called the hotel directly to extend this for an extra night. When we checked mid-stay they were charging us $150/night and based on initial discussions with the Manager this was going to be a "big" problem to correct as they had us recorded at a $150/night rate by a "third party" reservation agency (yes, the same one their own web site referred us to!) and could do nothing about this. Luckily, I had printed out the confirmation receipt and was able to show that the rate was $150 for two nights, not one!
After that, no problems but we could see how this would have been difficult without evidence!

We ate a Copeland's Cheesecake - good food though a long wait to get in. St Paddy's Day parade was within a block of the hotel (a real plus and a key point for our five year old who enjoyed this and the 20 pounds of necklaces etc. we collected immensely - watch out for the flying cabbages though!)

Without question we would stay again at this hotel for the rate quoted.
As a family, we would have liked even an extra night to see everything as this was not possible - Zoo and Aquarium worth a visit and of course the French Quarter. The Visitour transit passes (available nearby) made everything easy to get to though were probably not a big saving in the end (consider getting these for a day rather than 3 day block we did as there was no extra savings). Martin Wine Store was a few streetcar stops away (just off of St. Charles) and worth the trip.

We did not make it to the Children's Museum and the nearby Lafayette cemetery was closed during our Sunday visit. Good restaurants nearby (including a Houston's, plus Copeland's and fast food/Subway etc.) as well as a large Walgreens's pharmacy etc. French Quarter easily accessible by streetcar (we ate at Buba Gump's Seafood which was fun and good value for your money as the portions were huge).

No safety/security issues noted.

All in all, a very good place to stay!