What are the best moderately-priced hotels in New Orleans that are
located near Bourbon Street?  My friends and I are planning to attend
Jazzfest 2003.

Hello--

I've got the answer to your question. I used to live in New Orleans
and have visited often. I've had the same question myself plenty of
times.

My favorite mid-range hotel near the French Quarter and Bourbon Street
is the Travelodge. It's a 15 story or so hotel in downtown about two
blocks from the French Quarter. They've got nice, clean rooms, and
it's close. The Travelodge is at 201 Baronne St, New Orleans, LA
70112-1701. Phone:(504)522-0083. I paid about $80 per room,

Another hotel I highly recommend which is very close to the Travelodge
is the COMFORT SUITES DOWNTOWN. Again, this is a 15-story or so hotel.
Very nice. It's at 346 BARONNE ST, New Orleans, LA 70112.
(504)524-1140. You'll pay about $100 a night here. But it's right
outside the French Quarter, as well.

The Radisson Hotel on Canal Street is also a very nice hotel. It's
right on the western edge of the French Quarter. 1500 CANAL ST. New
Orleans, LA 70112. Prices here are about $90.

The Queen and Crescent Hotel is downtown not far from the French
Quarter. The address is 344 CAMP STREET, New Orleans, LA 70130. Prices
start at $85.

While I've never stayed at the Avenue Plaza Hotel, it's rated a three
out of five stars. 2111 ST CHARLES AVENUE, New Orleans, LA 70130.
Prices here start at $80.

The RI STE DOWNTOWN SUPERDOME Hotel is downtown. But you'd have to
take a shuttle to the French Quarter, as it's about 10-12 blocks away.
But rooms start at $75 and it appears to be a very nice hotel. 1315
GRAVIER ST, New Orleans, LA 70112.

These are your best bets. I would book your hotel early for Jazz Fest.
They fill up early. If you pay much less than $80 for a hotel in
downtown, it's not going to be in a good area and it will be not very
well kept. And you can easily shell out $200-250 for a room for the
very nice hotels. I would highly recommend either the Travelodge or
Comfort Suites. Normally you don't think of these brands as being
"upscale." But these particular hotels are quite nice for mid-priced
hotels in New Orleans.

I hope this helps.

If you need clarification on this information, please don't hesitate
to ask. I am quite willing to help!

darrel-ga

Before you book anything based on the recommendation of a stranger...
do a bit of research (it's fast, I promise!).

Start with the local visitors bureau: http://www.neworleanscvb.com/
Each listing can be mapped (so you can see how close it is to the
events you will attend).  Once you've found a hotel that interests you
on the CVB site (which means that the hotel is a member of a local
business association), you might find it elsewhere for less $$. 
Tourism is a very depressed industry right now.  Even the luxury
hotels are participating in specials and deal packages like never
before - so go shopping!

They have some special package deals here:
http://www.bigeasytravel.com/jazzfest.html

This one calls itself a "discount" service:
http://www.hotelsupermarket.com/usa/louisiana/neworleans.htm

This one has star ratings and prices listed up front:
http://www.hotelshop.com/

This one has prior guests' recommendations with each listing:
http://www.neworleansweb.org/bnh/index.html#quarter

This one has free guides and stuff, as well as listings:
http://www.discoverneworleans.com/hotels.html

You can also check to see if a hotel is a member of the local chamber
of commerce: http://www.nolamardigras.com/webdata/chamber/index.html

and/or the local Better Business Bureau:
http://www.neworleans.bbb.org/commonroster.html

Nothing beats a personal recommendation, but keep in mind that hotels
change ownership and management now and then, and somebody who visited
in 1995 might have had a very different experience than a person
visiting today.  Look for recent dates on any recommendations you
receive.

Have a nice trip!