Kimpton Hotel Fontenot Building

Review: Kimpton Hotel Fontenot (New Orleans)

 

PositivesNegatives
Great locationMinor wear and tears in the property
Great breakfast experienceFront desk service felt indifferent
Breakfast lasts until 1pmCan feel too expensive in cash, especially on weekends
Great value for IHG points redemption

Overall Rating

 

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.

If you are interested in hotels under the IHG One Rewards program, please consider booking through this link. By completing your booking through here, you’ll help support the site at no extra cost to you! By being an IHG One Rewards member, you’ll get the best rates for IHG hotels, earn points for future IHG hotel stays, build elite status & use elite status benefits, and more!

 

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.

Kimpton Hotel Fontenot Lobby
Lobby

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.

Kimpton Hotel Fontenot Lobby
Lobby

The hotel’s named after a famous fiddle player from Louisiana, Canray Fontenot.

Kimpton Hotel Fontenot Namesake- Canray Fontenot
Kimpton Hotel Fontenot Namesake- 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.

Kimpton Hotel Fontenot 2 Queen Premium
2 Queen Premium

The beds themselves were comfortable with balanced softness and firmness. The pink body pillows were greatly appreciated as well.

Kimpton Hotel Fontenot 2 Queen Premium
2 Queen Premium Beds

Between the beds is the nightstand that have power plugs and a bluetooth player to play out your custom tunes.

Kimpton Hotel Fontenot Nightstand
Nightstand
Kimpton Hotel Fontenot Bluetooth Player
Bluetooth Player
Kimpton Hotel Fontenot Nightstand Power Outlets
Nightstand Power Outlets

The room’s desk across the beds is generously sized. The TV above it supports streaming apps, but there’s no Internet TV.

Kimpton Hotel Fontenot Room Desk & TV
Room Desk & TV

Additionally, there’s a small table paired with a chair next to the closet.

Kimpton Hotel Fontenot Premium Room Round Table & Chair

Inside the closet includes a bathrobe, umbrella, and yoga mat and foam roller.

Kimpton Hotel Fontenot Room Closet
Kimpton Hotel Fontenot Room Closet

Minibar is pretty standard, but sadly the Acqua Panna in-room were not complimentary.

Kimpton Hotel Fontenot Room Pantry

Kimpton Hotel Fontenot Room Minibar
Minibar

The city views were not too shabby!

Kimpton Hotel Fontenot City View
Kimpton Hotel Fontenot City View
Kimpton Hotel Fontenot City View
City View

 

Bathroom

The bathroom comes in a monochrome tone with standardized amenities. Dental kits aren’t provided.

Kimpton Hotel Fontenot Bathroom Sink
Bathroom Sink
Kimpton Hotel Fontenot Bathroom Hangers
Bathroom Hangers

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.

Kimpton Hotel Fontenot Bathroom Shower
Bathroom Shower

 

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 King Breakfast
King Breakfast
Kimpton Hotel Fontenot Breakfast Coffee
Breakfast Coffee
Kimpton Hotel Fontenot Oyster BLT
Oyster BLT
Kimpton Hotel Fontenot Breakfast Egg Frittata
Breakfast Egg Frittata
Kimpton Hotel Fontenot Inside King Brasserie
King Brasserie
Kimpton Hotel Fontenot Inside King Brasserie Bar
King Brasserie Bar

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 Hotel Fontenot Gospel Coffee and Boozy Treats
Gospel Coffee and Boozy Treats
Kimpton Hotel Fontenot Gospel Coffee and Boozy Treats
Gospel Coffee and Boozy Treats
Kimpton Hotel Fontenot Gospel Coffee and Boozy Treats
Gospel Coffee and Boozy Treats
Kimpton Hotel Fontenot Gospel Coffee and Boozy Treats
Gospel Coffee and Boozy Treats
Kimpton Hotel Fontenot Gospel Coffee and Boozy Treats
Gospel Coffee and Boozy Treats

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 Hotel Fontenot Peacock Room Lounge
Kimpton Hotel Fontenot Peacock Room Lounge
Kimpton Hotel Fontenot Peacock Room Lounge Area
Peacock Room Lounge Area
Kimpton Hotel Fontenot Peacock Room Bar/Restaurant Area
Peacock Room Bar/Restaurant Area

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.

Kimpton Hotel Fontenot Treadmills
Treadmills
Kimpton Hotel Fontenot Weight Training Area
Weight Training Area
Kimpton Hotel Fontenot Peloton Bikes
Peloton Bikes
Kimpton Hotel Fontenot Gym Towels
Gym Towels
Kimpton Hotel Fontenot Gym Restroom
Gym Restroom

 

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.

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