Jean Lafitte House

We loved our stay at Jean Lafitte House. Built in 1809 the history alone intrigued me. Hoping to make contact with some friendly ghosts, I was not disappointed. I felt the presence of a "lady" when I was getting ready in the bathroom. Nothing scary and actually a little welcoming. We stayed in unit 2 which was an outer courtyard apartment. The living room and bedroom was spacious and the high ceilings made it feel even bigger. Our bedroom had a king sized canopy bed (very comfortable) and each room had a built in fireplace. The location was perfect. One block from the FQ and one block from the lively Frenchman Street. You're steps away from food, music, and drinks. Parking is at a premium in the French Quarter but Jean Lafitte House has a small grass lot about 1 block away available for guests and reasonably priced. Make a reservation ahead of time because they can't promise you a spot and it's booked first come first serve. I've been to New Orleans quite a bit but this by far was my favorite place to stay. The location, the history, and our beautiful accommodations made it a must stay for next time.

1807 the United States outlawed trade with Great Britain and France because of the Napoleonic Wars in Europe. Merchants in New Orleans began to run out of goods to sell, including slaves. It was around this time that the Lafitte brothers engaged in smuggling and piracy. Merchants and planters were eager to buy the goods and slaves Lafitte smuggled into south Louisiana. By 1812 Lafitte was the leader of the Baratarians with headquarters on Grand Terre, a barrier island in the Gulf of Mexico near Grand Isle. Lafitte may have had as many as 1000 people working for him, including free men of color and runaway slaves. The men working for Lafitte were called Baratarians because the waterways they used for smuggling were located in an area called Barataria (the Barataria Preserve of Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve is located in this area).

The rooms are clean, and the courtyard is beautiful. Excellent location right between the French Quarter and Frenchmen Street, only a couple of blocks from a streetcar line. The biggest problem is parking. Because it is in such a popular area, it's very hard to find street parking. And they told my mom to spend $25 to park 1.5 miles away in a public garage for some reason. I guess we were supposed to drop off our luggage and then walk back? I was also annoyed that they made us clean any dishes we used.

Just got back from our 5 day stay... awesome location. Friendly and helpful staff. Willing to make our stay extra special was something you don't get often. Price was amazing Linzy and Matt are delightful humans and give great suggestions even printed out a paper map of the city (which was better for my mother) rooms are updated tons of extra pillows and blankets, newly renovated bathroom, kitchenette, coffeemaker, outdoor pool, great a/c designated outdoor smoking areas beautiful courtyard. If you have trouble with stairs book a ground floor room. Honestly can't beat it. I will most definitely stay with them on my next trip

I left a review but do not see it. I gave Jean Lafitte House at 613 Esplanades Ave one star because we were provided a $70 meal in exchange for their staff issuing us and another family the same room key. Luckily we chose to sleep in the car instead of the room because the other family arrived early that morning before daybreak and would have walked in on me and my family sleeping. And honestly, they were the rightful owners of that room instead of us even though Jean Lafitte staff told us to sleep in there and she would figure it out in the morning. And I was instructed to open the other occupant's envelope to see if they had the same key instead of their staff returning to the hotel to correct their mistake by them legally checking the envelopes and providing us the correct room key. Thank God I followed my gut instinct and not poor advise from their uncaring staff.

Ultimately this hotel was a great deal- great location and a charming building with history. I would come here again without question. I loved its spot on the Esplanade, away from the bustle of the FQ and Frenchmen St. but just blocks away from both. I loved our room with loft/spiral staircase. And though the minimal service (a la AirBnB) can be a double edged sword, it did lean in the direction of my convenience.The downsides for me were not dealbreakers, though for some others I could see them being so:-We got to the hotel earlier than expected. Not realizing they don't have consistent office hours, but they schedule their hours around when guests are expected to arrive. We got in the building because another guest happened to be coming out. The cleaning staff took our bags for safe keeping until our room was ready. This laissez-faire approach worked for us, but I could see it going another way for someone else.-We didn't have much time to enjoy the pool, but it looked like it could have used some light cleaning.-The lofted area in our room didn't have air conditioning. There was a bed downstairs too, so we slept down there.-Would have preferred curtains on the windows downstairs to keep more light out/more privacy as the blinds weren't great.-There was still food from a previous guest in the fridge, so it gave us pause as to how well the room was cleaned.All in all, we throughly enjoyed our time here, but just want to note that it has more of a casual airBnB level of service than that of a typical hotel. We are used to that so it would not keep us from coming back.

I WISH I could put a NEGATIVE in front of these stars! The ONLY reason I selected ONE star is because I could not post my review without picking a star!This facility STOLE money from me! I have tried numerous times to get a hold of the Jean Lafitte House and it's sister property and although the manager Jason answered once or twice, he now refuses to answer my phone calls or return my calls when I leave voicemails. This is the worst practice of customer service I have EVER experienced in New Orleans! I travel to NOLA EVERY year and was not able to make the trip this year. I was absolutely devastated to have cancel my trip, however I cancelled FAR before the cancellation policy required, AND received and cancellation confirmation email that ENSURED me I would get a full refund, not only did the property charge my card 3 days BEFORE my arrival..BUT they have YET to refund my $218! I have sent several emails and called several times. I have contacted my credit card company as well. AND STILL NOTHING!HORRIBLE, TERRIBLE, BAD BUSINESS!!!!!!!!

This place was a wonderful stay... Khalifa at the front desk was so helpful and friendly she was a breath of fresh air!!! We came in from California and wanted to experience the haunted hotel. I was so impressed with the costumer service the owner even helped us take our heavy luggage down the 3 flights of stairs which was so needed and very kind of her. We loved the experience and will tell our friends and family about this little gem Until next time Jean Lafitte House!!!!

The Jean Lafitte House website is utterly deceptive. We self-checked-in to our 'loft apartment' just after 5pm on a Friday. No staff on the premises. Our third-floor walkup apartment (the biggest one they offer) was dark, dingy, and extremely dirty. The furniture was shabby and there was a cheap rug permanently curled near the kitchen that posed a tripping hazard. Photos on the website for this apartment are staged with extra pillows and flash to give it light. The floors were sticky and the rugs not vacuumed. In the main living space, one overhead light was nowhere near enough to read or work. We were put off enough to leave and seek another hotel. Do NOT stay at Lafitte!! It has none of the charm of New Orleans that we were expecting.

May I please have someone return my call in regards to my reservations for this week? I am having trouble getting through to the correct people and keep getting different answers. I really want to get this straightened out.thank you so much