The Brakeman Hotel, New Orleans, LA

This was a lovely and historic place to stay. Large room with an original brick wall, beautiful bathroom, and a very cool and informative mini-museum and gift shop on the first floor. Tequila, the person on duty for the majority of our stay, was so friendly and helpful with anything we needed or were curious about. We loved this place!

Staff very welcoming and friendly. Very clean spacious rooms and very convenient location right next to French Quarter. Would highly recommend!

Very large clean rooms. We were able to spread out. As others have mentioned it would have been great to have a table for eating and an extra shelf for placing items in the bathroom. Not a deal breaker. Slept great—hardly any noise. Convenient location for the cemetery tour and walking to FQ or taking bus to Marigny and Garden District. The front desk person is not as friendly as could be. Never got a good morning or hello which seems uncharacteristic given great hospitality of the city. The cafe has almost no food options and closes early so you need to plan ahead for snacks and breakfast. We walked to Wakin Bakin in FQ—highly recommend. The gas station across the street has zero healthy food options obviously. Overall a great stay for the price just need to prepare to walk about 10 minutes for food.

I and some friends stayed at the Brakeman in NOV '25. We were a party of five, taking three rooms; they were lovely, and we would definitely return to stay. Here are our pros and cons: PRO: * Rooms are quite spacious, with high ceilings--no claustrophobia here! * It was so convenient that they have a tourist center on the main/entry floor--you can find out about things you'd like to do while visiting New Orleans, and get tickets. We enjoyed the cemetery tour, and we took the hop on/off bus to get a bird's-eye view of the location, as it was our first visit--that was very helpful. * With the exception of one of the people staffing the ticket counter for the tours, all other staff were exceptionally helpful, friendly, and made us feel welcome. They had hints and tips galore. One woman (hotel staff?) took extra time to mark up a map and make several recommendations for us, which was so helpful. * This place is quiet--not much city noise. There was an event on the private roof one night, and although we heard lots of (tables/chairs?) scraping above, it did not carry into the late hours at all. The neighbors next door to this building are supremely quiet as well (it's a cemetery!). * Security system: you need the room card to get into the elevator and room area; we felt entirely safe at all times (and the police station is across the street). * Air conditioning works great--you may need it if you visit on one of those hot, humid days. * Included: coffee maker w/pods of coffee and tea; shampoo, conditioner, and bar soap. We really liked the extra pillows and towels in the closet area. There are mini refrigerators in the room, but if you need to microwave something you must use the mw in the lobby. * The gift shop on the main floor was cute and well-stocked, for those last-minute purchases, and there is a tiny coffee shop wall as well, but we did not use it. * One of the hotel staff directed us to a little coffee & sandwich shop just on the far side of the cemetery--the breakfast there was delightful and inexpensive. * Decor was old-style, suitable to the building: including a brick wall, with calm, soothing colors all around. The CONS were not enough to turn us off, but if you are super picky, take note: * Nightstand drawers do not open (but that may be a good thing). * There are no luggage stands in the rooms, but there was ample space in the closet and drawer area for all our clothing and miscellanea, and plenty of space in the room to stash our empty luggage without it blocking our way at all. * No blackout curtains: if you need an absolutely dark room, know that the early morning light will creep in between the edges and cracks of the shutters--it was plenty dark for us, but I decided to wear an eye mask while sleeping, for complete blackout. * We found one comfy sitting chair in the room, and one smaller chair at the desk--it would be an improvement (and there is certainly room enough) for two sitting chairs. *Although the bathrooms were spacious, there is very little (I mean VERY little) area to set your toiletry bags--we put a small one on the side of the sink and had to hang one from the towel rack (where we feared things might drop into the toilet). A storage area or shelf would be much appreciated in the bathroom. ** Two more things to mention: First, it was the case in two of the rooms for our party that we found random hairs in the bathrooms! Not enough that we made a fuss about, but kind of on the gross side; hence this is a four-star review, not a five. A little more attention to bathroom cleaning detail would easily resolve this. Secondly, this hotel is located in a questionable border neighborhood--our taxi driver had a hard time finding it in the dark! It's a convenient short walk to all the hoopla and excitement of Bourbon Street, but if you stay out late and don't use taxi or Uber service, you may not feel safe walking back. During the day everything felt quite safe for us (a party of five). There is a gas station market across the street, and those who enjoy junk food, chips, and oily breaded fried meat things may enjoy their offerings, but we only purchased water (and a few canned cocktails) from the gas station. Altogether we really enjoyed our stay at the Brakeman, and when we visit again we will definitely stay here; it was pleasant, quiet, and comfortable, and altogether contributed to our wonderful stay.

This was our second stay here, and we loved it! Location is good, and we walked most places. Staff is friendly and helpful. We highly recommend!