I got married at the Sonesta New Orleans courtyard in 2008 and my guests are still talking about my wedding. The food was amazing and the backdrop was my dream wedding come true. I had out of town guests join us and the staff made them feel very welcomed. We ate at the Desire Oyster Bar and can honestly say that was the best fried oyster ever! The hotel also has the Irvin Mayfield Jazz Playhouse in the lobby. This hotel is best for location and attraction check it out at www.sonesta.com/RoyalNewOrleans/

FABULOUS! Arrived in NOLA the day before jazzfest started in 08. Was one of the best meals we have ever had in NOLA. I am surprised to see the negative reviews. We are going to NOLA again for fest this year. Definitely headed straight to Desire for a po' boy and muffaleta. Service was not the best but they were slammed.

SMOKING
I'm staying at the Royal Sonesta right now and I'm unhappy with it. The main thing is that I'm in a non-smoking room but someone either above or next to me has been smoking non-stop for days and my entire room is filled with smoke. The walls must be really thin. They won't switch rooms for me because "non-smoking rooms are right next to smoking rooms throughout the hotel" and there's "nothing they can do about it." I don't think that's an acceptable response. Additionally, they have a plane of glass over the window so I can't open it and air the place out!

LOCAITON
It's right on Borboun Street, so if you're here to party in the cheesy bars, you might like the location. I liked seeing Bourbon once but there are so many great places to visit in New Orleans that I now wish my hotel were in another, less crowded and loud area of the French Quarter. We visited the Bourbon Orleans for a meeting yesterday and it was really charming!

DECOR / AMBIANCE
I also don't like the stuffiness of the hotel. It's not stuffy in the snooty sense but the frilly decor is over the top and the staff are required to wear cheesy antebellum jackets, etc. Not loving it.

DESIRE OYSTER BAR
I do like this restaurant. The service was friendly. It was clean, with cute French Bistro decor and the food was good. It looks out onto Borboun Street for good people watching.

PARKING
Expensive and extremely tight spots.

Very disappointing restaurant on Bourbon Street. Avoid this restaurant if you can. Service was ok, food was not good. Oysters were ok, but not for New Orleans. Crab Claws were cold and tasted like they were not cooked all the way. Cocktail sauce was the worst I had ever tasted. There was enough horseradish in the cocktail sauce for 10 people. Beers were overpriced also. Server never inquired as to the quality of our meal. I'm a French Quarter resident and can confidently say this is a tourist trap. If you want to eat on Bourbon spend a little more and go to Redfish Grill. Otherwise find a restaurant off of Bourbon. You won't be disappointed.

We visited Desire on a Sunday night and about 3/4 of the tables were occupied. Everything about our experience was good with the exception of the food.

- Dozen Oysters - Oysters were not fresh and did not taste good - poor quality
- Boudin - I love Boudin but not here - Bland
-Buffalo Oysters - What did I expect; the buffalo sauce overpowered any other flavors (I should have known better)
- Gumbo - Bland, poor flavor - I didn't eat it
- Shrimp Remoulade - Small shrimp served chilled (yuck) and flavorless - We sent it back

I loved the atmosphere of this restaurant but will not return. We ate at ACME Oyster House 2 times on this weekend and should have eaten there this night as well.