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Mardi Gras Hotels

Mardi Gras Hotel: It Ain't Always Easy in the Big Easy

Where: 541 Bourbon Street [map], New Orleans, LA, United States, 70130

January 16, 2008 at 11:15 AM | 0 Comments

One of the world's most famous celebrations in one of America's most loved cities is right around the corner--Mardi Gras in New Orleans.

Of course, everyone knows the place to be and be beaded on February 5 is Bourbon Street, and if you're looking for a little class among a celebration that occasionally gets a little raunchy, check out the Inn on Bourbon, an elegant hotel in the French Quarter that used to be the Old French Opera House, said to be the first opera house in the U.S., which opened on December 1, 1859.

This New Orleans hotel is so sought after during Mardi Gras you need to fill out an application to stay there. Seriously.

The Inn on Bourbon offers 179 guest rooms and seven suites, most that have balconies overlooking Bourbon or Toulouse streets, which makes it the perfect spot for looking down on (anyone up for a little double entendre?) all the Mardi Gras revelry.

You'll want to request a Bourbon Street Balcony Room, which costs about $900 per night during Mardi Gras. But you'll have to make that reservation for next year--like most Bourbon Street hotels, the Inn on Bourbon's best rooms have all been filled, though space is still available in a few standard rooms.

In fact, securing a room at the Inn on Bourbon for Mardi Gras is a little like applying to live in a New York City co-op. Priority is given to previous guests of the hotel; new entrants must fax a written request to 504-524-8273 to the attention of Jairo Brenes.

The hotel requires a minimum-five night stay that starts the Friday before Fat Tuesday and has you checking out that Wednesday. Insiders suggest booking as soon as possible to secure space in 2009.