I stayed at the Hilton Riverside for 6 nights in late August 2007 during a convention being held there. Upon arrival you get a choice of valet or self serve parking. They are located next to each other, and if I had it to do over again I would choose the self serve due to the valet being 31 a night, and self serve being 25 a night. I never saw my car again after it was parked until I left. I was advised there are few areas where you can park free and not have your car towed and get a fine. I decided to stay on the safe side and pay at the Hilton. My room was 99 plus tax and fees which took it to around 115 plus the parking fee per day.
The restaurant was high on the buffets. 19 for breakfast and 26 for dinner. There is a small cafe next door that serves bagels and muffins and Starbucks coffee and drinks which is a lot easier on the pocketbook. The Riverside Mall is attached to the rear and offers many shopping stores and other places to eat.
They have Mexican, Chinese, Sushi, Italian, Cajun and more which are also easy on the wallet. The Aquarium is next door, and there is also a Zoo in the Garden District. You can get a ride on one of two cruises nearby, with or without dinner or lunch. I took a tour bus to Oak Alley Plantation and returned for a view of the Garden District. I only paid for the plantation tour and got the city tour on the way back for free, which I tipped the driver for since it was an additional forty dollar value. They were actually filming a movie in the Garden Districk when we came through.
The French Quarter is still the same to me as it was prior to the hurricane. We ate at a few of the restaurants there and enjoyed the food where ever we ate. The trolley runs from the front door of the Hilton all day and night and they will get you where you want to go most of the time. The trolleys to the Garden District were not running while i was there, but you can take a cab or a bus. The Garden District was beautiful to me with the historic homes, and the French Quarters have a stinky smell, but then, it has always stunk to me. I do recommend you get a good pair of walking shoes for the cobble stone streets and the long walks. There is high end shopping still available there. There is a beautiful old cemetary with gravestones dating back into the 1800's that you can tour also. The concierge at the Hilton will help you a lot. They do not have room safes, but a central vault downstairs where you can stash valuables free of charge. You can get late check out for 25-50 dollars up to 6 p.m., with a free place to stow you luggage if you prefer to leave
the room earlier. The rooms were clean, fresh and attended properly on a daily basis, with pillow top bedding and each bed has four plush pillows. Our view of Harrah's Casino located across the street and the city and river was beautiful. Harrah's has sandwiches and burgers at a reasonable price also. If you get thirsty a lot I would recommend you bring your own bottled water and drinks. We were on the 14th floor and never heard much of anything other than a train that came thru in the morning. There are several other hotels within walking distance of where we stayed.
The hotel is kept very cool, so bring a sweater for dining inside or attending conventions. The Draguns eatery located in the Hilton has good food for around 25.00 per person. Food around Bourbon St and there about can run 35-40 per person. We did not have any problems at any time, From parking/ bell hop to room service and front desk, everything went well. Special thanks for the help from the gentleman at the concierge desk. Downtown New Orleans hasn't been affected as much by the hurricane as it has from the economic decline due to the continual exaggeration of the damage incurred by it.

Okay okay okay!!! I am sick and tired of this place getting a bad rap! I was so scared when I touched down in the airport, that a nice old lady had to calm my nerves. I had visions of looting and rioting and gunshots gallor! The wildwest is what this place was painted to be. SO NOT TRUE! Though the conference rooms still smell like mildew, the sleeping accomodations were decent. I only saw one bug (roach) my first night. Now, that is not a good thing, but I expect that at a hotel that size! Can't get all of them, plus some of the people who stayed there could have brought them:) The beds were nice and soft and I loved the restaraunt Draco (or drago). It is over priced, but what do you expect in a hotel. The room service was top of the line and they cleaned my bathroom spotless each morning and made my bed up flawlessly every morning. They had security, but I didn't feel "unsafe" at all. I live 15 minutes outside of DC, so for New Orleans to get such a bad rap is unfair. Don't be a fool though, you aren't in a 100 percent safe place, but if you have good sense, use it and you'll be okay!

This was one of the cleanest, nicest hotels we have ever stayed in. The staff was very nice and accomadating, we will definitely stay here again. It is so nice to see New Orleans has come back from such a tragedy.

Overall a very nice 4-night hotel experience.

Pros: nice location, clean, relateively safe area, courteous and responsive staff.

Cons: small/dinky pool, expensive to park.