The Brakeman Hotel in New Orleans, LA

The hotel was exceptional—spotlessly clean and beautifully updated. The staff was incredibly friendly and welcoming. The location is withing walking distance to everything. The visitor center was highly informative and incredibly helpful. We were able to book all of our adventures within just 30 minutes of arriving, which made our stay so much easier and more enjoyable!

What a gem! I have been to Nola probably 10+ times in my life and this is by far the best place I have stayed in. Also reasonably priced parking as well that is monitored by security. Mr Gregory in at the front gives you excellent recommendations. I ate at new places that he recommended and he is so friendly. All of the staff was, but Mr Greg was my favorite. They give you a supply of extra towels and some toiletry items in in your room. The SPACE in these rooms. I couldn't believe it. The doors also are locked after 5 pm so you felt safe. I absolutely will stay here again!

We were completely unfamiliar with New Orleans and chose to stay here based on reviews and price. We would absolutely come back! We felt safe with the numerous key card check points, the room was clean and the location was great. Easy walk to the french quarter and close to the interstate if you're visiting other places. Mr. Gregory was extremely knowledgeable and the lady who who helped with check out was equally as kind. Parking was easy and half the price of other places we looked into. If we were visiting this part of town again, we would not hesitate to stay here again.

Great location with no worries about parking. Tour bus stops at the hotel with stops near all major attractions. Extremely convenient for getting around the city. Hotel staff all extremely helpful. Building is beautifully converted station. We will definitely return in the future.

There were so many good things about this hotel! Location - very convenient to the French Quarter. Police station across the street. We walked everywhere and never felt unsafe walking to and from. Parking - cheapest parking that I found in my research of what hotels charge in the area. ($20 a night when most other hotels charge $50) Cleanliness - rooms and commons areas were very clean! Rooms - they only have 18 rooms total between the 2nd and 3rd floors. We stayed in a 2-queen deluxe room on the 3rd floor. I actually thought I booked an interior king but then our confirmation said 2-Queen deluxe and when I called they were out of kings, so we went with it. The room was very spacious! It had two windows that faced the cemetery which some may think is spooky but it didn’t bother us a bit. The exposed brick and decor were all beautiful! Amenities - when you first enter the first floor you’ll find a small desk for hotel reception, a desk for the Big Red Bus Tours, a visitor centers desk, a small coffee shop / bar, and restrooms. As you go back there’s a gift shop, a small museum (of sorts) that highlights some of the areas attractions and the fact that the building used to be a train station, and a desk for cemetery tours. In-room amenities - there was an area right inside the door that was a combination or storage, closet and beverage serving area. It had a mini fridge, a safe, a nice single serve coffee pot. A drawer with several coffee and tea options. (Note: the coffee shop / bar area had limited morning to afternoon hours and there weren’t any free coffee options in the lobby.) There was also a small area to hang your clothes and an iron / ironing board. In a cubby - you could also find extra toilet paper, a hair dryer and, on a shelf, extra towels You may be thinking, ok that’s the good, but what’s the bad and the ugly? We wouldn’t consider this bad per-say but here are a few things that could be done to take guest experience to the next level. A swing bar lock or a deadbolt on the door would provide an extra sense of security for guests. HOOKS!! The bathroom lacked places to hang towels. I always use two towels - one for my hair and one for my body and my husband always uses one. There was only one hook on the back of the bathroom door - quite a ways away from the shower. Hooks next to the shower would be ideal and perhaps at least 4 of them! After all, it was a 2 queen room… A shelf under the sink would also provide a place for guests to store their bathroom items, and the hotel to store the extra TP and the hairdryer. This is getting pretty picky, but it would also be ideal for there to be some sort of night stand or even a shelf (with access to a plug-in) on each side of the beds. You know… most people like to plug their phones in and have them close to them when they sleep… We really wanted to visit the gift shop but it’s hours, when we went, were from 9 am to 4 pm and we were always out exploring before that and never back in time to catch it open either. The 4th floor appears to be (from pictures) a wonderful rooftop area that they currently utilize for events. It would be great if they had a bar onsite and guests had access to that space, although I’m not sure if usage of that space would translate to a lot of noise for the guests staying below on the third floor. (There weren’t any events when we were there.) The ugly- we stayed for two nights and our car was parked continually during that time frame. When we went to leave I noticed ants all over the floor mat and really all over the car. I tried to “trail” them but I couldn’t see a trail they were following. They just appeared to be running all over. We didn’t see any crumbs or sugar sources they would have been after either but I did notice we seemed to have parked in a spot where someone had spilled something on the ground that they were attracted to. There were ants all over in our parking space but also in general in the parking lot. It’s been a couple days since we left and we just bought bait to try to get rid of the ants that are still running around in the car. This has never happened to us before. Not the hotel’s fault, but they may elect to treat the parking lot if this becomes an issue for more guests. Overall we enjoyed our stay and would recommend to anyone!