Review: Kimpton Hotel Fontenot (New Orleans)
| Positives | Negatives |
|---|---|
| Great location | Minor wear and tears in the property |
| Great breakfast experience | Front desk service felt indifferent |
| Breakfast lasts until 1pm | Can feel too expensive in cash, especially on weekends |
| Great value for IHG points redemption |
I took a trip to New Orleans to watch the Tekken World Tour Finals 2023. Naturally, I’d try my best to select a hotel bookable on points at least at a decent value. The Kimpton Hotel Fontenot caught my eyes as I needed a hotel that would accept 3 guests in a single standard pricing.
Kimpton Fontenot- Booking
I booked a 5-night stay consisting of separate bookings of 90,000 IHG points for 4 nights and end it with another night with the free night award from the Chase IHG Business Premier that’s about to expire. Thanks to the business credit card, I was able to get 4th night free whenever I book 3 consecutive nights on IHG hotels with points.
Interestingly enough, the hotel will allow you to book award stays for up to a 2 Queen Premium at the same rate as the base level room. 2 Queen Premium is the highest room category before suites, and it will be a fine choice if you have up to 4 guests for the stay. Booking an award stay would allow you to avoid the Extra Person Fee as well that would result in added value from your IHG points redemption.
Booking in cash would’ve costed us at least $1500. Without counting the free night certificate redemption, the redemption value I got was ~1.44 cents per point (after accounting 4th night free and waived Extra Person Fee), which is phenomenal for IHG.
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Location
Kimpton Hotel Fontenot is located in the Central Business District (CBD) of New Orleans. It’s close to many attractions like the Riverwalk, Audobon Museum, and WWII Museum. It’s also within a reasonable walking distance to the famous French Quarters and the Frenchmen Street just a bit outside. You’ll have no shortages of great food options that are within walking distance from the Kimpton.
It was also 10 minutes walk to the Civic Theatre, which was the main venue for the Tekken World Tour Finals 2023. That was a necessary consideration for our trip.
Check-in
We arrived to New Orleans at around 5pm, and started to check-in to the hotel at around 6pm. Then, something strange happened where the front desk viewed my current and sole reservation as duplicate. I’ve never seen this kind of situation before, so the front desk ended up making a new reservation. No additional points were deducted, though I wasn’t able to see the reservation at all from my end until the stay was completed. Thankfully, the elite night credits and incidental charges posted correctly with no issues.
Unfortunately, the suites ran out due to a wedding, so the 2 Queen Premium was the highest room upgrade we could get, and the latest check-out time we could get was 12pm. Just 1 more hour to standard checkout time at 11am. Service from front desk felt indifferent, and I felt they need improvements.
Anyway, the lobby was small, but full of character with wall art and Mardi Gras lighting. The painted brick walls gave it a rustic feel too.
The hotel’s named after a famous fiddle player from Louisiana, Canray Fontenot.
Kimpton Fontenot- 2 Queen Premium Room
We were assigned to the 17th floor for the 2 Queen Premium that comes with the city view. Our Room 1705 is nearby an elevator, so outside noises can be heard. Still, you might not be safe from outside noises in New Orleans, especially during the weekends. It’s a feature, not a bug, depending on your perspective.
The beds themselves were comfortable with balanced softness and firmness. The pink body pillows were greatly appreciated as well.
Between the beds is the nightstand that have power plugs and a bluetooth player to play out your custom tunes.
The room’s desk across the beds is generously sized. The TV above it supports streaming apps, but there’s no Internet TV.
Additionally, there’s a small table paired with a chair next to the closet.
Inside the closet includes a bathrobe, umbrella, and yoga mat and foam roller.
Minibar is pretty standard, but sadly the Acqua Panna in-room were not complimentary.
The city views were not too shabby!
Bathroom
The bathroom comes in a monochrome tone with standardized amenities. Dental kits aren’t provided.
The showers aren’t shown as advertised in reality, with the half-glass walk-in shower shown on the hotel’s site. Still, I do prefer the old-fashioned shower + tub with curtain combination since water won’t spill out as easily.
Breakfast/Brunch
As an IHG Diamond, we were able to get free breakfast for 2 people. One of the cool things about Kimpton Fontenot’s breakfast is that it combines breakfast and lunch, so they end at 1pm. They certainly know their demographics well since I figure 11am (a typical breakfast schedule) would be too early for people visiting New Orleans.
Breakfast is served a la carte style in the hotel’s main restaurant King Brasserie. Free breakfast for elites are limited to one main course per person and standard non-alcoholic drinks. Be careful about ordering premium water like Acqua Panna!
The taste of the menu I’ve tried were all good, though admittedly, the egg frittata was the least interesting option. My favorite was the Oyster BLT. The chicken sausages from the King Breakfast were very savoury, and you may order them separately as a side.
Service wise, the waiters were excellent at their job!
Kimpton Hotel Fontenot- Morning Coffee (Kickstart)
All guests get complimentary morning coffee from 7am-10am at the Gospel Coffee and Boozy Treats just across King Brasserie. A nice offering if you need a little pick-me-up and are in a hurry.
Kimpton Fontenot- Peacock Room
Just right next to the lobby, there’s the Peacock Room, the hotel’s main bar. While I didn’t get to check it out fully, it looked to be a nice place to unwind. Live music is played every Thursday evenings.
Kimpton Fontenot- Fitness Center
The hotel’s gym is located on the 2nd floor. It’s a small gym, but equipped with treadmills, Peloton bikes, and a more lightweight weight training area. Kimpton Fontenot does not have a swimming pool.
Conclusion
Kimpton Hotel Fontenot is a fine hotel with a great location in New Orleans. I would recommend booking with points rather than cash here as you’d get better value. Plus, it’s one of those IHG hotels where they’d accept different room categories for award booking with the same amount of points (rare). While it’s not the fanciest hotel, the value from IHG points cannot be beat, and it probably would be my go-to IHG hotel in New Orleans.
There were minor wear and tear seen in the furniture, but nothing major that would detract the vibe of the hotel. The breakfast at King Brasserie were amazing, and I’m glad that they end at 1pm rather than the typical 11am in most hotels. I’d love to check out the Peacock Room if I would return to this hotel or NOLA.