Husband and I stayed here recently for a two night getaway. We chose it for the convenience to Magazine Street and the Charles Street Trolley. However, the only warmth we felt was from the chocolate chip cookies that were served during the 30 minute orientation. We felt very unwelcome like we were intruders on their property. Joe's controlling attitude was evident from the very beginning when he "laid out the rules" of the property. It is very understandable that there must be rules, but you don't have to treat adults like children in the delivery of them. He just seemed overly protective of his property and too watchful of our comings and goings. Bebe was pleasant but unattentive and detached. The only time she spoke to us was when she returned our credit card to us when we arrived. The continental breakfast was adequate, nothing special. I had mentioned upon booking that it was a special birthday weekend and they never acknowledged it. It would have been a nice touch. Never were we addressed by our names. A very impersonal experience.
Joe seems to be doing all of the work and he mentioned that he was very tired. Maybe that explains the attitude. It would not be a bad idea to bring in some fresh management so he could get some relief. He gave us great recommendations for restaurants!
The property is clean, spacious & interesting. Although, the interior could use some "polish" ie: new paint, floors refinished, upholstery replaced. The rooms were roomy and adequate and the bed was comforable. and the property was interesting. However, I am sure that there are other B & B's in NOLA that have these qualities and good hospitality AND a wonderful full breakfast with smiles and joy! A shame because this could be an awesome inn. Judging by the proprietor's response to other "less than stellar" reviews, I may get an apology and a request to return. However, we would only return if we learned that he brought in some help and had changed the attitude.
This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
February 9, 2012
Its true that our every move and expression is being judged 24/7. We have to be on point at every moment. Quite a few of our guests have indicated in other posts that we generally meet their expectations. We apparently fell short in this guest's view. And we will always apologize when we do not meet expectations. We remember this couple from Alabama. We did spend some time chatting with them. Surprised that we did not use their name, we usually do, or we at least establish a rapport when we greet them at the door. And we greet 99% of all guests personally. That's our gesture of warmth and welcome. We offered some fresh baked cookies during the registration process. And that may have been when we were able to suggest some great restaurants. All elements of hospitality in our opinion. We recall talking about Mobile, Ala, Bebe's hometown, and the fact that they lived close by in the quaint town of Fairhope. Apologies for what we thought was being hospitable was apparently interpreted differently. We were happy to find out that despite our faux pas on the birthday greeting and appearing tired after a long day of check in's (probably were, it happens in our line of work), that they enjoyed the location of our home and the comfortable bedding. "Clean spacious and interesting" are attributes that we hope will be noticed and we thank them for the positive comment despite their displeasure with us. We can assure that this was unintentional and a surprise revelation. Continental breakfast is not a full breakfast. We do emphasize that it is only what we offer and we do so at the time of booking in case the guest would like to choose a venue that does. If something else was anticipated, we understand the disappointment. We have a few requests that we make on arrival. Some like to call them rules, but we do not. We have always felt these were less than overwhelming requests that made everyone's stay more pleasant. And for the most part, we've had success with our security reminders and library hours. If these seemed childish in presentation, that was not our intent. The balance of the observations about maintenance have been noted. We will use the comments to strive for the best result we can achieve with all guests in our historic home.
Report response as inappropriate
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
