Where to Stay and Dine in New Orleans 2022

Hey friends! I’m back from our girls blogger trip to New Orleans, and I can’t wait to share all the details about where to stay and dine in New Orleans! To be honest, this is my first overnight trip to the Crescent City, and it’s going to be really difficult to out-do our stay at the Royal Sonesta on Bourbon St.

Our lodging for those 4 days and 3 nights was located in the heart of the French quarter. The Royal Sonesta is a stylish and sophisticated resort-like hotel. It has gorgeous marble flooring, and lavish crystal lighting, yet still retains the warmth of it’s deep southern charm. (Balconies, courtyards and fountains included!)

Royal Sonesta has a special offering I wanted to share with you:

Offer: 15% off best available rates on stays Sunday-Thursday

Book by: February 28, 2022

Stay by: September 30, 2022

Promo code: RNOPR

The hotel itself is decorated with chandeliers, gold accents, fresh greenery, and every detail was planned perfectly with elegance!

Thank You

By the way, I must give credit to Shey Allen Films + Photography for all the AMAZING photos in this blog post. Almost all the photos seen in this post were taken by Shey Allen. She accompanied our blogger group on this trip and we couldn’t possibly thank her enough for all the moments she captured so beautifully. By the way, Cammi Allen is Shey’s mama. A big thank you to Cammi for sharing her girl with us for a few days. You are both loved beyond measure.

All about the accomodations

Since there were six people total in our group, we split into three suites for the nights we were in New Orleans. The hotel rooms were beautiful, and spacious. Each of our rooms had French doors that open out onto a balcony that overlooked the pool area.

Our room had two queen size beds that were very comfortable, and the bed and linens were fabulous! The bathroom was large, and had plenty of hot water. (I’m a sucker for a hot shower, and I’m always surprised when hotels don’t have enough of it!)

I wasn’t able to get a video of our room before we moved all of our luggage in, because we all arrived at different times. However, I am going to post Lisa’s room video tomorrow in stories and save it to highlights in case you are interested in a room tour! The only difference in our rooms is that they had a king size bed, and we had two queens in our room.

Also, the hotel has concierge service and on site valet parking. (We used both of these services! Bring cash for tips.)

The hotel sits on Bourbon St. in the French Quarter where there is no lack of restaurants, specialty stores, and entertainment. We felt very safe walking and window shopping during our trip, and I think we taste tested every possible brand of pralines available in NOLA! Pralines are a ‘must-try’ at least once while in the city!

Day 1: Cafe Beignet on Bourbon St.

One of the first places we visited was Cafe Beignet in Musical Legends Park. (Right across the street from the Royal Sonesta.) Of course there was live jazz music, plenty of coffee and beignets for everyone! We also ordered an omelette that came with grits. True southern comfort food!

The official doughnut of Louisiana, beignets are always served fresh, hot, and cooked to order. They have a crispy outside and a soft, sweet center. Served in an order of three, beignets are topped with powdered sugar and are best paired with a cup of café au lait (coffee with milk). All I can say is yum, and don’t leave without trying one!

Curio on Royal St.

After our morning coffee, we had the chance to sit and solidify our plans for the trip while we were waiting for Shey to arrive from the airport. Michelle was the point man on this trip! She did an amazing job coordinating all the accommodations, appointments, and schedules. (I’m so glad it was her, and not me…)

We did eat some lunch at Curio on Royal St. This restaurant is within walking distance of the hotel. Of course, The Big Easy is known for their fresh seafood selection, however I don’t eat seafood so I stuck with the basics like eggs and bacon. I will say that Cammi spearheaded an effort to taste test the crab cakes at each of the restaurants we visited. You will need to hop on over to her website to hear all about them! I am linking everyone’s posts at the bottom, so make sure to check them out!

FYI, all of the restaurants that we ate at were top-rate. No matter what I ordered, it was always fresh and delicious.

Desire Oyster Bar on Bourbon

For dinner the first night we headed over to Desire Oyster Bar on Bourbon St. Desire is also a part of the Royal Sonesta family.

They served a variety of tasty offerings. I had the grilled chicken salad, which was very fresh and delicious. However, the other girls ordered fried shrimp, catfish, salmon, and onion soup. Let’s just say we were all ready to pop by the end of dinner!

Oh, and Cammi loved the fruity little ‘mocktail’ you see in the picture above.

Day 2: Bin 77 in Perkins Rowe, Baton Rouge

Day two found us in Baton Rouge. We only had coffee earlier that morning before we started our day, so we were all famished by the time we reached Perkins Rowe.

Personally, BIN 77 was one of my favorite places we ate on the trip. I ordered the beef tenderloin salad and tea. The beef was so tender and flavorful, and the salad had pears, pecans, and a ball of fried goat cheese. Really, it was so good!

Of course, crab cakes were ordered, as well as some other fabulous seafood. Lisa, Michelle, Cammi and Shey were all the seafood enthusiasts, so make sure to check out their blogs for all the details about their meals too.

The Jazz Playhouse located in Royal Sonesta

After a large lunch and more shopping and pictures, we headed back to New Orleans for a live #ChitChatChic session that we ended promptly at 7:30 pm because we were headed down to the lobby at the Royal Sonesta hotel level to take in some live jazz music in The Jazz Playhouse.

The music and musicians were simply amazing, and the food was too. Because we had eaten a larger lunch, we decided to go ‘light’ for dinner. We split the wedge salad, a seafood appetizer, and chocolate cake. I know that NOLA is known for their good food, and this trip didn’t disappoint!

It was also nice that The Jazz Playhouse was located on the Royal Sonesta property. Easy access, and good food all in one place!

Day 3: Francois Grill located in Perkins Rowe, Baton Rouge

On Wednesday when we were in Baton Rouge, I accidentally left my credit card at a restaurant. (UGH). So, even though we hadn’t planned it, we all headed back to Perkins Rowe to retrieve my credit card and also eat at Francois’, and I’m so glad we did!

The onion rings, y’all! Also, they had the most delectable fresh grilled veggies with every plate. EVERYONE love their order, and proclaimed it was the best at the table. Omelettes, fresh grilled salmon, and blackened chicken were just a few of the meals.

I’ve tried to link every restaurant that we ate at here in the post if available.

Restaurant R’evolution located inside the Royal Sonesta

Mardi Gras is just around the corner, so it’s a really busy and exciting time of the year to be visiting New Orleans. Everyone dresses up in their finest, and heads out to gather with friends and family.

We headed over to Restaurant R’evolution (Also a part of the Royal Sonesta family)for some appetizers and bubbly. (This restaurant is also located on the Royal Sonesta property, so we could easily walk over to it.) We ended up getting a couple of cheese boards, and a seafood dish. I love a good cheese board, and this one didn’t disappoint. It had several flavorful cheeses, jelly, honey, nuts, olives and crackers. It was a favorite, for sure. Of course, the champagne was the perfect way to end our last night in NOLA.

PJ’s Coffee Cafe located inside of Royal Sonesta

Finally, I think I had PJ’s Coffee every morning! It is located on the lobby level in the Royal Sonesta hotel. I always order the almond milk latte, extra hot! PJ’s also offers several types of muffins, yogurt, cookies, and various other coffees, teas or juices to order. I was really tempted to buy a bag of whole bean coffee to take home with me, I liked their coffee so much!

If you are interested in the details of our fall trip to Park City, Utah click here.

Chit Chat Chic Blogger Group

All the ladies from Chit Chat Chic have created a dedicated blog post for our NOLA trip! Be sure to hop on over a hear about their favorites of the week. I’ve linked everyone above.

I hope you found this post valuable, and I would love to hear any comments, questions or great recommendations of accommodations and or places to eat in NOLA!

Happy Wednesday, friends!

XOXO,

Cindyh