POLICIES (We call this our  "Bah, humbug" Section, because many folks feel policies are a drag, but . . . everyone EXPECTS a policy section, so here goes! )

• ARRIVAL:

Registration is by appointment only: Registration time should be scheduled (and confirmed with host) AT LEAST ONE WEEK IN ADVANCE. Even AFTER you schedule a registration time, the day of your arrival, please call HOST at least 30-minutes prior to scheduled arrival time. (We're not like an hotel with lots of staff. It's just little ol' me, our resident raconteur, and daughter in law to check in everyone at all our places, so we are in and out a lot.)

ARRIVAL ONLY FOR guests registering at the main B&B:

If flying, please CALL from baggage claim, AFTER receiving luggage and we'll hook you up with reserved French Quarter taxicab.

If arriving by train, please CALL AFTER  you collect your luggage.

If driving, PLEASE CALL from Interstate 10, before you get into the city:
* from the East on I-10 or I-59, call from your cell/mobile phone when you reach the Louisiana Welcome Station;
* from the West on I-10, call from your cell/mobile phone when you pass the Loyola DRIVE or the airport exit.
If you've been in town staying staying somewhere else, call 30 minutes before you head our way, to confirm arrival time.

            CALL  (504) 947-4475. If outside local dialing area, call 800-842-4748.
Some guests ask, "WHY MUST WE CALL?" The call is so we can offer last minute instructions PLUS  have someone be at your accommodations to let you in (NOPE. Don't have a doorman like hotels). If you're driving, we'll have checked Interstate construction conditions and will give you directions here.  We are "worry warts". Please let us know if you are delayed, so we aren't tied down waiting just for you.

• CANCELLATIONS, CHANGES:

Cancellation or date/accommodation change: We know your best laid plans can go wrong. We will always to be happy to help with date or accommodation changes, if accommodations are available. Please understand that we have many returning guests and are generally booked MONTHS in advance. As a result we rarely take last minute bookings and would be unlikely to re-rent your accommodation. To be fair to all concerned, the following paragraphs explain OUR cancellation policy:

Cancellation Fee: Because of the expenses involved with cancellations or date changes when we have to re-rent accommodations, expect to pay a $50 fee for each accommodation date change or cancellation within the timeframe outlined below (Sorry we have to charge this, but we have been turning down reservations, must update Internet availability ON SEVERAL DIFFERENT SITES, talk to many more potential guests or respond to numerous emails before re-renting the accommodation, plus we incur double bank credit card processing fees -- a fee for processing charge AND the same fee for refunding). Credit card refunds: please allow 60-days for credit to appear on your statement, as refund may not hit current billing cycle.

Cancellation TIMEFRAME: REGULAR reservations made may be canceled up to 30* days prior to arrival. If you cancel within this timeframe, your deposit will be refunded, less the cancellation fee.  If you use your deposit as a credit toward a future stay, we can sometimes WAIVE the $50 cancellation/change fee, altogether.

>>>>NO HURRICANE GUARANTEE August and September 2008: The time is RIGHT. Cool music, COOLinary specials, and so many things to see and do that your time having fun here will pass too quickly.

Even though we’ve had our once in 50 year HURRICANES (the not so ladylike, Rita and Katrina), some folks are concerned about coming to New Orleans in August and September. We’re so confident that NOLA will be passed by this year that we decided to offer this guarantee for those 2 months:

If the weather center confirms a hurricane for the Big Easy, we waive regular cancellation policy so you may cancel your reservation, with no penalty and use the credit for a future stay.

Cancellation TIMEFRAME *Certain special event, festival, holiday, package cancellations, or 1 night stay: Ugh.  This is the part we do not like, but we adopted policies suggested as standard practice by professional association. Some special event, festival, or  holiday reservations and ALL packages are payable in full, by a specified date, prior to event (please refer to Holiday, Special Event, Package Minimum Stay, Balance Due section for balance due dates). For stays requiring advance full payment, no cancellation or refund after balance due date. Some special events, deposit is non refundable, just like when you make a 'non can' airline reservation. In special, verifiable extraordinary circumstances, we might be able to apply a credit toward a future stay. Because our minimum stay is usually 2 nights, we can accept NO cancellations on reservations for one night, nor issue any refunds for 1 night reservations.  2 : 1 reservations are non cancellable, non refundable. If this policy is not clear, please ask for clarification before you reserve. The majority of our business is from guests returning to stay with us, or REFERRING colleagues, friends and family to us, so we're not like an hotel. We want HAPPY guests, so we try to be very clear about our policies.

• CANDLES, etc.: Sorry folks. Fire and insurance code doesn't allow candles and other flammable objects in accommodations.  I'm sure you understand.

•  CHILDREN and toddlers: Because of antiques and collectibles at the B&B (lots of stuff that little fingers should not touch), some of our accommodations might not be appropriate. You know your children better than we do. If your child is well behaved, with good deportment (you can tell we're creatures from the past, using THAT word), when you call, we will MUTUALLY determine if what we have available is suitable for your children.  One of our townhouses or cottages nearby, is another option. We're not like hotels, We charge for ALL children.

• DEPOSIT/PAYMENT:  A 50% deposit, charged to your credit card, confirms a reservation. "Pretty please." We ask that guests NOT pay their balance by credit card, if possible (personal or company check is fine, travelers checks or cash).  Your not paying balance by credit card enables us to pass on the savings to guests by keeping lower rates (those "meanie" banks charge us a high % fee 'cause we are so small). >> For certain special events and holidays, your balance is payable prior to arrival, by a set date (see Holiday, Special Event, Minimum Stay, Balance Due section).          > 1 night reservations: payment in full, non refundable.                                                    > Last minute vacancy with arrival within 2 weeks? Usually, full payment (non refundable) will be charged when reservation is confirmed.                                            > Balance for any Package is due at least 60 days prior arrival and is non refundable (see particular package for balance payment details). 

• DISCOUNTS, etc. Refer to section with conditions and specific breakouts -- look to the left of your computer screen, and click the section titled: Rates, Packages, Discounts, Specials. 

• HOLIDAYs, SPECIAL EVENTs, Packages, MINIMUM STAY*, and BALANCE DUE DATES (n/a means regular cancellation policy applies: no cancellation within 30 days of arrival. If a date appears in Balance Due Date column below, no cancellations accepted on or after that date):   

*Under special circumstances, we might be able to make exception to minimum # of nights and/or special rate.

• PARKING at the B&B: For accommodations at the main B&B, off street parking is available in our gated lot, by reservation, for $10/day for regular size cars (We are getting ready to increase rates). Vans, larger cars, some holidays/special events may cost  more. We haven't raised our parking rates since 1996, but  we are getting ready to increase rates NOW. Parking is more and more scarce in and near the French Quarter and taxes keep going up and up.  To ensure you get the lower NOW rate, we charge 100% of parking when you make reservation, so ask about rate when you make your reservation. On-street parking is, of course, an option. As with ALL parking lots, we are not responsible for damage or theft. We suggest guests take visible items to their accommodations or put them in car trunk.

• PETS:  So many folks are allergic to pet dander, that our accommodations are not suitable for pets.

• REGISTRATION: We know we're  always whining about not having much staff, but only BIG places are 24/7, so please understand why we have these guidelines.

• HOURS? Registration hours are from 11am-7pm. AT LEAST ONE WEEK IN ADVANCE, you need to schedule a time to register (an hour time slot, such as 3-4pm) OR provide us with your flight, cruise, or train information.

• ROOM READY: Because check out is not until 11am, we can't promise your room to be ready until 3pm (check-in time), but you're welcome to register earlier, then come back later after we've finishing cleaning your room.

• LATE REGISTRATION (after 7pm)? After hour check-in can be arranged at a charge of $20 for arrivals up to 11pm.  Sorry, but we may not be available for registration, later (we're not 'spring chickens' any more and the banana lady needs her beauty rest. Say, "Pretty please", and we may make an exception.).  For guests arriving on International flights. we KNOW they often arrive late evening. We DO NOT charge after hour registration fee for flights arriving after hours, from out of the country.

• MORE THAN ONE ARRIVAL FOR YOUR ACCOMMODATION? Example: 3-guests staying in room?  All 3 guests arrive at different times? Normally, we register guest who arrives 1st, give them extra keys, then they are responsible for letting other guests in whenever they arrive. If that "cramps your style", if scheduled with us in advance, we can arrange for someone to meet those guests for you, for a small fee for each extra arrival.

• DELAYED or EARLY? The day of your arrival, PLEASE let us know if you are delayed or ahead of schedule, so we aren't tied down waiting for you. EXAMPLEs: If you're driving, and leave later than you planned, please call us when you DO depart. If you run into lots of unexpected traffic or detours, or just decide to stop and spend some extra time somewhere along the way, call to let us know.  If you are running late and DO NOT let us know, we may assess a waiting charge. (Obviously, if you are flying or on train and are delayed in-route, we wouldn't expect you to be able to contact us.  That's why we ask for your flight info and closely track flights.)

• RESERVATION SOFTWARE:  We can't accept responsibility for anomalies in the reservation software we use, as its use is mandated by different professional organizations, tourist bureaus.

• SMOKING: Y'all know that almost all hotels and B&Bs have converted to a non smoking INSIDE policy because of fire code and insurance regulations that won't allow flammable objects inside. OUR smoking area is outside (on the verandah, in the courtyard, or on the balcony) where there are chairs, tables and ash trays.

• TRANSPORTATION: If you are staying at the B&B or registering here, we will schedule a licensed Airprort/French Quarter taxicab driver to collect you from the airport. The driver will get you to your accommodations quickly and safely. Rates are city regulated by city. We make no money: it's for your convenience and our peace of mind -- just another example of "lagniappe."  Shuttles DO NOT come to us, so that is not an option with us. Even if they ever DO come to us, it can take 3 hours between your waiting for a shuttle to leave, stopping at every hotel, and we ARE NOT set up to pay someone to wait for an unknown arrival time (if you want to take a shuttle, please make a reservation at an hotel where they have 24 hour staff). There is only a $2 different in rate for 2 anyway, so why waste your time?

Once you are settled in, getting around is easy. You can walk most anywhere, but if you decide to hop in a taxicab or on the streetcar, both are cheap.  For details, click on the Useful Info: French Quarter section on the left of your screen.

TAXICAB city regulated fees 2007: Airport to French Quarter rates: 1-2 persons, $28; 3 or more, $12/each person (rate does not include tip). They recently added a $1 fuel surcharge to each 'load'. 

>>> Out of French Quarter rate may incur an additional, metered charge (example: If you are at our Plantation Compound, it might be a few dollars extra). 

>>> Train station to B&B regulated rate was $12 for 1-2 people or meter, whichever is higher.

>>> cruise dock to B&B rate is $14 for 1-2 people, 3 or more, $8 per person or meter, whichever is higher.

• VISITORS: Our accommodations aren't like an hotel where there are strangers everywhere. Only REGISTERED, paying guests should be in your accommodations. This means it would not be appropriate to have friends or colleagues drop by, without asking us. You could  meet them at THEIR hotel, a bar, restaurant or public place.

• WALK IN RESERVATIONS:  We are sorry that we are not equipped to accept walk in reservations.  Hotels are.