The Mercantile Hotel

I have visited Nola several times and have stayed in everything from chain hotels, boutique hotels, and Airbnb's. So I've seen some good as well as bad places to stay. First of all, the location of this hotel is great if you are traveling with children. It's not right in the French quarter which means you are away from the chaos and crowds. There are several bars and restaurants in the area that are walking distance including Harrah's casino which is only a couple of blocks away. As far as the hotel, the rooms are very boutique style and so cute and really big and spacious. The staff was welcoming and helpful. They offer valet that has in and out services with no additional charges. Free breakfast for guests and a bar/restaurant in the hotel that has happy hour. This hotel really surprised me and there is no doubt I'll be back to stay there.

TLDR: Absolutely NO working Air Conditioning in rooms / Moldy Bathrooms / Beds are simply the MOST uncomfortable I've ever slept on - bar none. We come for comfort and rest, this hotel is the opposite. First time I've ever needed to shower at night and in the morning cause you're sweaty/sticky the entire time... and get hardly any sleep on the uncomfortable mattress. Read more below if you are interested to hear my full review.TO MANAGEMENT: You can claim you will "address" these issues. But the fact is - you have known about them for a LONG time, but CHOOSE to do nothing. You are choosing to invest in cosmetic upgrades like new carpet and fixtures, NOT infrastructure upgrades like adding AC and premium mattresses to improve guest comfort. So my review is a reflection of your inaction for YEARS. Shame on ME for not reading the reviews more before booking. Shame on YOU for delivering an uncomfortable, unclean experience for your customers.REVIEW:Like some recent reviews have said - I had high hopes seeing the photos and mostly positive reviews... but make no mistake - the photos and the reviews do not represent this hotel!My son and I were in town for an event at the Convention Center, and this one was one of the more reasonable options for our 3 night stay within walking distance. I thought it was worth saving a few hundred dollars, even if it wasn't a top level hotel. That was a BAD choice. I would definitely spend a few hundred dollars more for a clean, cool, and comfortable room! Because that means rest + sleep which = a nice trip.Positives first. I found the staff mostly pleasant. Spending 20 years in hospitality, I found it fair. Nice people, but definitely can tell there's a lack of care, which I'm sure is purely from a lack of positive management which... weren't present.As I stepped in the elevator, I was worried. The elevators are OLD, beat up, rickety, slow, and just completely sums up the expectation of the hotel. Getting off the elevator you are met with AC around 60 degrees. It was very refreshing as it was in the mid 90's and humid in June. Getting into the room, it was HOT. I wasn't worried until I found the thermostat. It's straight out of the 50's. Photo for reference. Just a knob to turn "colder" or "warmer". I turned the knob to the coldest setting and then left.Returning 4 hours later - the room was WARMER. At LEAST 75 degrees. Call the front desk. Maintenance comes up within 5 min and tells me a secret trick - turning to the "coldest" setting also turns on the heat. He plays with the knob for 5 minutes feeling the air with his hand trying to get it "cooler". Finally finds the secret spot on the knob, and says -this should get cooler. He then says that it won't get cool like the hallway. 2 hours later - it may have dropped 1 degree. It's NOT Air conditioning, because it doe NOT remove the humidity from the air. It is HUMID and WARM in the room. So if you want AC in your room - you should stop here and find the next hotel.We both proceed with ice cold showers trying to cool down from a long day. Uh oh. MOLD CITY - Shower is full on mold. Can tell they barely clean it. Next - sit down for a much needed bathroom stop - and the seat doesn't even fit the toilet. It's broken, and is barely staying on.Both exhausted, we finally lay down to find that the bed is not really a mattress at all. I've never, ever, slept on a mattress like this. In all the hotels over the years, college, or anywhere. The only way I can describe it is - think of a thin 1 inch mattress pad, put it on just the box springs, then sleep. That's it. Absolutely no give, and immediately within 2 minutes am sore and achey.So yeah, they just put in new carpet. There's flat screen tv's. The fixtures and furniture have been replaced within the past 5-8 years and still look decent. But basically, it's all for a photoshoot. That's not comfort. The photos are hiding all the important things they aren't investing in - GUEST COMFORT. They want photos to get us here, but clearly could care less if we return.

Nice lobby and reception area but hallway to rooms and rooms are run down. Bathrooms were sketchy and had issues flushing toilet. Seemed like an apt building that converted to a boutique hotel. If you're looking to spend a weekend in clean and conform, keep looking.

If you're from New Orleans, you know we have many, many boutique hotels-- this is on the list. I stayed one night and I enjoyed it. The staff was very welcoming and my stay was nice. I'm glad I decided to do a small staycation here!! I line the bar and the whole vibe of the place!!

The employee at breakfast saw us standing up and immediately told us that we were supposed to throw the trash. We knew! We were trying to find the trash can, which was located in a hidden spot. I personally don't like people telling me something that I know. Especially we have paid for the hotel and service but being told to perform the service. Besides, no landry room in this hotel.

We chose this hotel because it was near the convention center and was not priced like the convention center recommendations that were insane! It is a boutique hotel with a bar downstairs as well as a pretty decent breakfast.The rooms are quite nice. Ours was a suite with a queen size bed and a front room with a couch, a desk, a refrigerator and microwave. I have no complaints about the room at all. In fact one of the coolest aspects is that it has an old record player with a bunch of old jazz albums we could listen to when we were in the room. Very appropriate for New Orleans!The staff was very friendly when it came time to check in, and my only complaint would be that they were outside smoking pretty much every time we came up to the hotel. Nothing against smokers, but sometimes you need somebody working inside the place to be I'll take care of you! Having said all of that, I will definitely stay here again.

I had a really disappointing stay at this hotel. It was recommended to me, but I later found out the person who recommended it had stayed there over five years ago. The room was tiny for nearly $300 a night, and that didn't even include the $100 per day valet fee. To make matters worse, the heat wasn't working during cold weather, which made the experience even worse. Overall, not worth the price at all.

AVOID. DIRTY. NOT SECURE. RUN DOWN. UNFRIENDLY I'm starting to believe most of the glowing reviews I read Prior to booking are fake. If you want typical hotel amenities like house keeping, security, bar and friendly staff this hotel is not for you. Sure there's a bar in the lobby but it's mostly for show as there was only a bartender 1 night of our 4 night stay(that included a weekend). We ended up at the bar next door.This building is NOT secure. The scan your room key lock on the lobby doors is not functioning and hasn't in some time. The staff at the front desk NEVER looked up from their phones at any point when we would enter the lobby at various time throughout the night and the front doors never locked. Staff only looked up from their phones or spoke to us if we interrupted their screen time to ask a question. Don't let the pretty online pics fool you. This place is run down. Our room was cleanish upon check in but the rooms are cramped with furniture that doesn't match and feels like it was bought at auction. Our room was never serviced during our stay. Had to go to the front desk to ask for clean towels and coffee. The dirty linen bin live next to the elevator on each floor and never moves. It greeted us each time we got off the elevator. Only 1 working elevator. Don't let the 2 in the lobby fool you. There are broken light fixtures all over the property with missing shades. Our room didn't have a working ceiling light. Only 2 lamps , one of which flickered. So getting ready at night was a real challenge. And the mysterious smear stain in the elevator that never got cleaned. It looked like they attempted to clean something at one point but never quite finished the job. At this point it's a joke. The AC is laughable. We had it on its coldest setting and high fan and it never got cool. Thank god we brought a fan to circulate the hot air in the room. If you get hot when you sleep DO NOT STAY HERE. The beds are like sleeping on the floor. And the pullout bed sinks between the supports and digs into your back. The staffs favorite time to mop the floors is during breakfast/check out. Every single day of our stay. Nothing like smelling dirty bleach water while eating watery powder eggs. AVOID the free breakfast. It's a joke. Salty powder Eggs, microwaved rubbery sausage, stale pastry and a questionable fruit bowl. The table we sat at was so wobbly it spilled our coffee into our laps and we had to change our clothes. If you do choose to stay here request a room on floors 6 and up. If you don't you risk getting a view of a brick wall. We were on the 6th floor and our view skimmed the roof of the building next door. Finally, CHECK YOUR BILL. They charged us. $180 plus tax A DAY for valet parking. They don't give you the bill right away but email it later. When I called the hotel to point out the error I was told the manager was not in yet and they asked for my contact information so they could reach out to me later. I never received a phone call and called multiple times to get in touch with this manager. On my final call when I explained to the person answering the phone why I was calling I was told "What do you want me to do about it? take it up with you bank."They overcharged us by over $550 for valet parking. My credit card company told me it was a red flag that they did not give me a receipt upon check out.Not impressed. Won't be back. And based on the conversations we over heard most of the people that were there too won't be back either. Location is the only thing this place has going for it.

This is an open letter to the lady with the black headband and hair clip who worked Friday morning 4-12 in the kitchen:You ma'am, lack professionalism, decorum, and basic humanity. As you pointed out, and lacked the patience to listen to, yes, I can read as I am a board certified internal medicine practitioner from rural Colorado. I am aware your sign said 7 am, and as I tried to explain to you my elderly father is a diabetic and needed something to eat before we left for our return trip home to Colorado. We were out of your way ma'am, the way you accosted my father was unprofessional. You were not working on the yogurts he took, nor the unrefrigerated breakfast bar. You did not need to tell him to read the sign, I explained we were leaving. You did not need to say "next time read the sign again". I assure you ma'am there will never be a next time due specifically to you.I was sent there to look at the hotel for the rural medical conference and its amenities. I will not be returning because of you. Neither will the other practitioners on my team.You lack customer service skills, and just basic manners. I found our interaction to be appalling, and I must say, just shame on you. You had no right to talk to an 82 year old man the way you did. You cost my business and the tips I left for the hotel. The 100$ in the room, I took back because of you, the tips for the front desk, because of you. Do better and be better. Find humility and decorum in your life going forward. It takes so little time to be nice to people, and show respect to elders. I'd ask if you could have been ruder but I know the answer.We will never return, personally or with any of the business we are responsible for.

This hotel is amazing! the service is good and so is the free breakfast. Rooms are very nice, and a wonderful shower! A pullout couch with a very comfortable bed, and two TV's! The rooms even come with an AI assistant named "Angie". This hotel accepts anybody that is a part of LGTBTQ+ community, also! Wonderful hotel, would definitely stay again. It is also next to Riverwalk! A great place to stay for awhile.