The Hotel Monteleone is a gorgeous hotel, and the service is impeccable. I've always wanted to stay here, and finally got the chance this past weekend. The rate was an absolute STEAL...it actually ended up being less than we expected.
My husband & I dined at Criollo, and were pretty disappointed in the quality of the food. The chef did a huge disservice to the fois gras appetizer & the fish dish that I ordered; there was some awful bitter dressing on the arugula, and my fish was pretty overcooked, so unfortunately I would not recommend eating there.
The carousel bar was awesome, but I do feel like hotel guests should get first dibs on sitting at the rotating bar instead of just everyone off the street.
Last but not least, it's really a shame that NOLA is back to being so absolutely FILTHY as it was before Hurricane Katrina. This beautiful hotel is smack dab in the middle of filth, thugs, and bums. I saw cop cars everywhere, but ZERO cops to keep the beggars & con artists away from tourists. Royal street used to be the place to go to get away from Bourbon street, and just be able to walk, shop, and eat all the amazing food that NOLA has to offer...unfortunately, as amazing as this hotel was, I would not stay in that area again because of that.
I do hope that changes in the near future, because there really are so many beautiful things to see in NOLA. If it does, I would definitely stay at the Hotel Monteleone again.