Hurricane Katrina: New Orleans Hotels Update

LAST UPDATE
The current status of all New Orleans hotels is being maintained here.

Update Saturday 3:00 PM CST
From the Marriotts in New Orleans:

Marriott has established a toll-free line for friends and families to call for information about guests and associates who may have been affected by the hurricane. That number is (866) 211-4610. Outside the U.S. and Canada, the direct dial number is (402) 390-3265.

Update Friday 4:12 PM CST
WWL-TV reports on the New Orleans Marriott:

There are still guests at the hotel, and that the Marriott is trying to get a bus from the St. Louis area down to New Orleans to get to the guests. There has been much looting at the hotel.

And on the Hyatt, good news for those guests and staff, although others were angry:

The evacuation of Superdome refugees was interrupted briefly when school buses rolled up so some 700 guests and employees from the Hyatt hotel. They were move to the head of the line to be evacuated -- much to the amazement of those who had been crammed in the stinking Superdome for days.

The 700 had been trapped in the Hyatt just like the others, but conditions were considerably cleaner, even without running water, than the unsanitary crush inside the dome.

Update Thursday 6:31 PM CST
An update on downtown hotels in New Orleans from WWL-TV:

I talked to my neice this morning. She works at the Sheraton right across the street and had beenat the hotel from Sunday night until this morning. She said that while the first floors of all of the downtown hotels were flooded about 5 feet deep, most are in decent shape and the people inside are doing pretty well - the hotels were stocked with quite a bit of food and bottled water/beverages.

Update Wednesday 9:37 PM CST
On WWL-TV, Jorge Bravo says,

My good friend, Mark Ottman, from Berkeley, CA, has been staying at the Fairmont since Friday. I haven't been able to get through to him today, but I did speak to him last night, using the main hotel phone number. He told me that were guests still trapped there, staff, and even families of staff, who have moved into the hotel. He estimated about 1000 people there, with a lot of people camped out in the halls. There's no plumbing, no electricity, no water, and no food. As of last night there was a couple of feet of water on Baronne St.; I suspect it got higher today. I was able to reach the hotel operator again today, but not my friend. The operator said that as of early this afternoon there hadn't been any evacuations. Hope this info helps. I would be grateful for any info you might have.

Update Wednesday 7:19 PM CST
Just in from the Royal Sonesta Hotel and Chateau Sonesta Hotel:

The Royal Sonesta and Chateau Sonesta Hotels in New Orleans, both located in the city’s French Quarter, sustained only minor damage from Hurricane Katrina, although managers are still assessing the condition of each property. The hotels are not able to reopen, however, because they do not have power or any ability to receive deliveries.

Both hotels will remain closed until September 30th. Deposits for individual reservations will either be applied to future bookings or returned. All group cancellations will be approved without penalty through September 30th.

Customers are being asked to check Sonesta’s Web site www.sonesta.com for up-to-date information, or call the hotel two days before arrival to confirm that the hotel is open. Telephone inquiries are being handled though Sonesta’s corporate reservations service at 800-SONESTA (766-3782).

Everyone appears to be safe, but many of Sonesta’s employees may have suffered significant damage to their homes. “Our thoughts are with our friends in New Orleans during this difficult time,” noted Sonesta C.E.O. and President Stephanie Sonnabend.

Update 9:22 PM CST
Lt. Governor Mitch Landrieu just announced they've asked hotels in neighboring states to extend stays for evacuees from New Orleans and the surrounding areas. They are working with the Attorney General to prevent price gauging, and have asked hotels to offer discounts for extended stays.

Update 7:24 PM CST
Shawn reports from family members staying at the Hyatt Regency in downtown New Orleans:

She said that conditions in the Hyatt were okay and that the Hyatt staff were going out of their way to accomodate the guests. They were getting breakfast and dinner meals. They were allowing the guests to leave the ballroom and go back to their rooms. Guests who were in the rooms on the side that has all the broken rooms were redistributed to better rooms. They are allowing people to go to the 3rd floor to use the generators to recharge their cell phones. Phones in the room appear to be working fine. They have working toilets and showers. There is no power however. I feel better after hearing this and thought that people who evacuated who had family in the Hyatt might want to know the conditions in the hotel. Also, I offer my thanks and praise to the Hyatt company and staff. WWL-TV Weather Forum

Update 6:40 PM CST
Residents of Jefferson Parish, the area immediately surrounding New Orleans, have been told they may return on Monday with identification to pick up a few things. They will be asked to leave for a month. No word on when anyone, visitors or residents, will be allowed back into New Orleans. In fact, anyone still in the city is being asked to leave, as another 12-15 feet of additional flooding is expected. WWL-TV has a blog with real time updates.

Update 10:12 AM CST
Although the French Quarter experienced very little flooding, the water continues to rise in the city since some levees have been breached. WWL-TV have reevacuated their French Quarter studios and continue to broadcast from Baton Rouge. Other stations in the Gulf Coast area also have live Internet feeds and are listed in this thread on the WWL-TV Weather Forums.

Update 9:55 AM CST
If you need more specific information about neighborhoods, buildings and streets, and how they weathered the storm, there are some local resources you can try. Since phone service is out, and no cell phones with 504 or 285 area codes have been accepting incoming calls for a couple of days now, the Internet remains the best way to get information.

The live feed at WWL-TV is up now, with nonstop coverage. WDSU continues its live feed as well. The Weather Forum at WWL-TV is another good place to get very specific information about neighborhoods.

New Orleans and the Gulf Coast including Biloxi are disaster areas right now, which means travel plans will be disrupted for weeks. New Orleans called its first mandatory evacuation in history, and residents are not being allowed back into the city possibly until Monday evening.

Downtown New Orleans hotels suffered in the storm. The high-rise hotels withstood high winds and remained standing, although windows were blown out and electricity is gone. Guests riding the storm out in hotels generally spent the night in interior corridors, with doors firmly closed. The Hyatt Regency New Orleans in particular had one wall of windows completely shattered as a vortex of wind created by its proximity to another skyscraper reached extremely high speeds.

Both New Orleans airports are underwater, and all flights are cancelled. In addition, roads and bridges are either impassable or gone. Rescue operations are underway. If you have plans to visit the area in the next few weeks, wait at least until next week to attempt to call the hotels, as phone service is gone and everyone is a bit overwhelmed.

Related:
Contact Information for New Orleans Hotels
Pray for Us [Go New Orleans]
Katrina Updates [Go florida]