New Orleans Diamond Collection Inns

Official badge identifying BedandBreakfast.com's Diamond Collection members

We have permission to use that badge.  I wouldn't do it, otherwise.

You'll remember a week or so ago, I mentioned that we'd been personally inspected by a professional B&B inspector.  Well, we just got the news that we passed.  We exceeded the expected standards used to measure outstanding B&Bs in a city famous for its bed and breakfasts.  They aren't just New Orleans standards, they apply worldwide.

A Diamond Collection B&B

We're not ones to boast.  I don't think too, too much of it.  Frau Schmitt either, for that matter.  We're pleased of course, and we enjoy praise as much as the next person.  We also got a dollop of constructive criticism out of our inspection that we're going to put to good use to become better innkeepers.  Not everyone passes 100%.  Very few pass with more than what we scored.  It's affirming, but we're not ones to rest on our laurels.  

I've been reading a lot of articles about B&B entrepreneurs recently.  I'm a glutton for punishment and I'm not going to link to what I've read here.  There aren't many articles out there, truth be told, but they all boil down to the same thing: some people have the personalities to be innkeepers, while other people don't.  We fall in with the former.  We enjoy our profession.

Most B&Bs fail quickly.  We are entering our third year of operation with no sign of flagging interest or dedication.  We enjoy what we do.  We are looking forward to doing better.

This morning, we looked up the route of a second line parade that was going through our neighborhood today, and we shared the route with our guests.  If you want to sample a slice of New Orleans culture that isn't meant for tourists, you want to go to a second line.  If you don't know what a second line is, well, come on a Sunday.  Really, you should come on a Saturday, so that you are fresh to join in the parade on Sunday.  Then, stay the following Monday and Tuesday, leaving Wednesday.  You can stay longer, of course, and you should, but four nights should be your minimum stay.  Timing is everything.  

Whatever you choose to do, of course, is your own business.  We provide lodging and breakfast and recommendations.  What finally unfolds is due to your own decisions.  All of them will be right.  It is very hard to have a bad meal in New Orleans and it is well nigh impossible to be bored.

Right in the middle of Esplanade Avenue

It's nice to be recognized for being exemplary hosts.  If you read the reviews of our inn online, which I won't link to here, you'll read that we are personable innkeepers full of spot-on recommendations, and that our house is a jewel of a place in a wonderful neighborhood.  We ask that you don't believe everything you read, and that you do your due diligence before making a reservation with us.

I'm not going to lie.  Frau Schmitt is the nicest person you will ever meet.  We will take care of you to the best of our ability.  We offer good value at an honest price so that we can keep the place running and we won't nickel-and-dime with add-on charges, or try to sell you souvenirs.  We want you to enjoy our city the way we enjoy it, at a relaxed pace, never knowing what is going to happen next.  That's what it's like to live in New Orleans.

Remember, we don't know anything about you before you arrive.  Since we don't know you, it is impossible for us to recommend anything that you might enjoy beyond the generic.  We don't know you yet.  When you leave, we'll be friends.  Before you arrive, we are all only friends who haven't yet met.  Timing is everything.

We can't plan your itinerary cold every morning.  It's a collaborative effort.  You need to show up having done some homework, otherwise, we are going to do what the New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau does: we're going to send you to the French Quarter and Frenchmen Street.  We're members of the NOCVB, so we're familiar with their methods though we often disagree over the particulars.  There's nothing wrong with this modus operandi.  You should go to the Quarter and the Marigny Triangle, but we aren't going to tell you that the best best turtle soup is at Mandina's until we find out you aren't allergic to turtle meat and you're willing to go out of the way.

Yesterday evening, we recommended Chickie Wah-Wah to two of our guests.  They went.  At breakfast, they said, "That was the most fun we've had all year.  Thanks!"  We only recommended it after learning they had been to New Orleans twice before, recently, and they were ripe for something more like the locals do, something outside the tourism bubble.  Chickie Wah-Wah, voila.

A postcard view of New Orleans

We live in a real neighborhood that doesn't have many tourists wandering around.  People live here, whether they are visiting for a long weekend, or they are making their livelihoods here.  Everyone makes New Orleans better through their presence, their witness and their participation.  It's magical where we live, but we do not live in the French Quarter.  

If you want to spend all your time in the French Quarter, you should reserve a hotel room down there.  We're an intimate boutique inn that offers something else.  You get a taste of the real city when you stay with us.  We'll tell you all about it.

Over breakfast, we hope you'll tell us all about your adventures in our fair city.

Until that morning,
A votre santé,
La Belle Esplanade bed and breakfast.