WHERE TO STAY IN NEW ORLEANS : HI NEW ORLEANS Wednesday 22 January, 2020

 This post is sponsored by the HI New Orleans Hostel and The Network Niche. All opinions are my own.

One of my favoite cities to travel domestically is New Orleans. I have been to NOLA several times, and each time I have a different experience. I was happy to collaborate with HI NEW ORLEANS, a hostel company who has a new property in the heart of Canal St in NOLA. I was actally one of the 1st journalist to stay here and I am excited to share with you my personal experience of this amazing accommodation!

HI USA has just opened a brand-new hostel in the heart of New Orleans! The rich history and culture of this southern, Gulf Coast city made it an ideal choice for a HI USA hostel and we think you’ll agree. HI NEW ORLEANS is near the French Quarter. I will be honest I am more of a hotel girl than a hostel girl, but I was open to staying here because of how amazing the amenities were and in a prime location of NOLA. When most people think of hostel, they think of young college age travel abroad kids, but this place welcomes all ages! Solo travelers, couple travelers, group travelers – any type of traveler is welcome. Its an amazing place to feel at home and even meet new people along the way!

Located in the heart of New Orleans’s Central Business District, HI NEW ORLEANS is within walking distance to the French Quarter, museums, public transportation, performance venues, and diverse shops and restaurants. This state-of-the-art hostel features:

  • 122 dorm beds
  • 24 private rooms
  • Bike storage
  • Free wifi, breakfast, and activities

The HI New Orleans Hostel – like all HI USA hostels – is designed to foster interaction and build friendships among travelers from diverse backgrounds.  Large common rooms, a self-serve kitchen, and regularly scheduled free or low-cost tours and activities help travelers build personal connections while immersing in the local culture.

UPSTAIRS KITCHEN & LOUNGE

The kitchen and lounge is upstairs that overlooks the downstairs lobby and common area. Upstairs is a whole new world and experience to eat, mix & mingle, lounge, do some work and even watch movies.

HI New Orleans prides themselves for having an amazing  a self-serve kitchen. I loved this kitchen because it was a huge communal kitchen. Many hotels do not even make you feel home like this. Even though this is communal, it didnt seem over crowded and everyone was pretty respectable of space and personal items. You can put your food in the fridge which is stapled and labeled.

Now if you rather cook in NOLA (which is something I never do because I mostly come to this state to eat at their restaurants) you have the option. You can cook with top of the line appliances and cookware so for all culinary skill levels would appreciate this area.

. It is a large industrial kitchen with industrial appliances, storage and utensils that will make you feel right at home.

Another great perk of HI NEW ORLEANS is complimentary Continental breakfast daily! So choose between grits, cereal, fresh fruit, yogurt, granola, oatmeal, and more!

Once again, the large communial and lounge area is impressive upstairs as it is in the downstairs lobby. Upstairs is a little more relaxed because as people work on their laptops, eats and just wind down more up here. Downstairs is where guest can mingle and play more interactive games. Either way its a great place to meet new people.

ROOMS

Now each individual & dormitory rooms have something unique near each door. Each door has reading material which are named after a New Orleans neighborhood. For example, I was in room 404 and my room name was FRERET, which is named after Freret St. Freret is named after William Freret, a mid-19th-century New Orleans mayor. The Freret Commercial Corridor, located on Freret Street between Jefferson and Napoleon Avenue, has over 17 restaurants, 3 coffee shops, and 3 bars.

So its fun to see each room with their own fun facts about New Orleans, and learn some history and even encourage guest to explore these area before the end of their NOLA trip. Too bad I didn’t figure this out until my last night before my departure. Next time, I will take the challenge of reviewing all of the rooms Street Names and go visit the areas and expand my NOLA horizons.

Now I was in a single standard room that I shared with myself and my cousin. The room had 3 bed; a bunk bed with 2 beds and 1 full sized bed. I will be honest me personally, I never stayed in hostels with other people only ones that were singlar rooms such as this. So if you are like me, do not worry – this hostel room accomodation is set up similar to a standard hotel. You even have your own showers and bathroom – so no sharing bathroom accommodations. This is my personal way of enjoying hostels, but by all means if you do not mind the dormitory style of hostel they have those options and a slightly cheaper rate. Its just up to your travel preference.

Let me tell you these bed were so comfortable. The decor in this place were very minimal but a modern industrial design. Not too much, but just enough to give it a little personality.

One of my favorite perks of this hotel is the tv features. While regular hotels just have their cable options or even Netflix/Hulu and other streaming options – HI New Orleans has an even better tv program option. Its called Rommcast and it allows each room to sync with your phone and use your own personal streaming services. You just connect the wifi to your phone and it will use your phone as a remote to play Hulu/Netflix/Youtube/music and more bluetooth to the tv. More hotels should have this as an accommodation.

THINGS TO DO IN AND OUT OF HI HOSTEL

What is really impressive about HI New Orleans is that every day they have plenty of complimentary tours and experiences exclusively for guest. You will be guided with a HI New Orleans representative to take you to the location each day and learn more about the city. Weekly experiences and tours include Mardi Gras Museum, Yoga, Haunted Ghost Tours, Food Tours and more.

Now if you are more of a in-house person there is plenty of interactive things to do in HI New Orleans. Again, HI makes sure to give guest plenty of experiences for them to mix and mingle with other travelers. This is especially fun for people who are adventurous solo travelers and want to meet new people.

My cousin and I love Adult Jumbo Jengo the most.

Fun things to do while inside HI are movie nights, Game Nights, Pool, board games, Adult Jenga and more. The common area upstairs and downstairs make it easy for you to meet other guest all day long

As a community resource, the hostel enables locals to see the world and deepen their understanding of other cultures.  HI New Orleans Hostel will offer extensive programming, which will roll out over the year.  Current highlights include:

VIRTUAL TOUR

 

View this post on Instagram

 

Here is my video recap of my @hiusa #HINEWORLEANS stay! I loved the amenities here and a wonderful place to stay on #CanalSt . It amazing to stay somewhere with a full industrial kitchen, free tours around NOLA, movie room and lots of lounge areas and seatings to relax and meet other travelers. This is especially a great spot for solo travelers, as there are plenty of people to meet! . Thank you to HI New Orleans Hostel for hosting our stay. Due to the collapse at the construction site across the street from the hostel, HI New Orleans Hostel is CLOSED until further notice, for the necessary safety of its guests and staff. If you’re interested in booking a future stay, please visit HIUSA.org to check availability. . #NewOrleans #Nola #VisitNewOrleans #TravelByKiwi #hosted

A post shared by Kiwi | $KiwiTheBeauty (@kiwithebeauty) on

MORE HI NEW ORLEANS PERKS

  • Explore the World Travel Scholarships – this annual program awards $2,000 travel scholarships to underserved New Orleanians interested in an educational or service-based trip abroad but lack the financial resources.
  • Cooking as a Second Language – held in partnership with the Catholic Charities Archdiocese of New Orleans’s Immigrant and Refugee Services program, as well as with the Southern Food and Beverage Museum, this program introduces participants to another culture through that culture’s food. The food is prepared collectively and is followed by a discussion.

The HI NEW ORLEANS is well located on the Canal Streetcar Line for easy transportation. Being on Canal Street is in the heart of all the action of Bourbon Street, steps away from the French Quarters and more! This is a prime location. HI New Orleans is a modern way to stay in a hostel. I would definitely stay here again and prove that hostels can be trendy and comfy!

To learn more about the HI NEW ORLEANS and book your stay visit their website here.

 HI New Orleans Hostel is CLOSED until further notice, for the necessary safety of its guests and staff. If you’re interested in booking a future stay, please visit HIUSA.org to check availability.

HI NEW ORLEANS

1028 Canal Street
New Orleans, Louisiana 70112
Call (504) 603-3850

What do you think about the Hi New Orleans hostel?

About the Blogger - Kiwi the Beauty


Kiwi is the free spirited blogger and content creator of KiwiTheBeauty.com. As a digital influencer, she produces creative inspiration around beauty, lifestyle, media and travel leisure. Her life mantra is to make manifesting fun! When she’s not blogging, she is eating trendy hipster food, carrying crystals, making it rain at her local farmer's market and binge brunching. Follow her on her blog and social media at kiwithebeauty.com + @kiwithebeauty

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