My husband and I stayed at the Hubbard Mansion for a 4-day weekend in New Orleans in early May. Although the rooms were very nicely decorated and clean, our overall experience was disappointing. The Mansion's floor plan is not set up to socialize with other guests (or even the owners). Aside from the fancy dining room table and a few chairs and couches in the hallway, there are no common areas on the first floor. During our last experience at a B&B (the Ballastone in Savannah), we enjoyed the sitting rooms, the bar/lounge area and the courtyard garden, perhaps even more than our room. At the Hubbard Mansion, there simply is nowhere else to go, so we tended to shut ourselves off in our room when we were there. There is a "Veranda" room on the second floor, which I thought would be a sitting room, but the doors remained closed when we were there. Jeanne (the charming one-woman staff) told us it was for parties. Also, if you are a smoker (we're not), be advised that you can either sit on the front porch (with very little landscaping) facing a busy street, or you can sit on the back porch (with very little landscaping) facing the parking lot. Not a very pleasant experience, either way. Overall, the Mansion seems to be suited either for staying in your room or for throwing parties, when the dining room table is pushed aside, and the crowd spills into the hallway. (There were actually two graduation parties while we were there.)

Another disappointment was the fact that the only beverage or food service offered at the Mansion was breakfast, which was served only between 8:00-9:00. When we showed up close to 9:00 on the first morning, the owners half-joked that the dishes were washed at 9:01. If you choose to stay here, keep the Bluebird Café in mind for breakfast. It's within easy walking distance, and the food is cheap and good (better than the Mansion's food).

The Mansion's location on St. Charles Avenue was both a plus and a minus. It offers easy, cheap transportation to the French Quarter via the streetcar. However, be warned that this is a very busy street. Traffic does not stop, even at 3 a.m., and the streetcar, traffic and frequent motorcycles make the street very loud at night. We actually switched rooms from the Victoria (in the front) to the Breion (in the middle) due to the noise the first night (even with ear plugs), but I admit that I am a light sleeper. Overall, our experience wasn't terrible, but it wasn't wonderful either. We enjoyed staying in the Garden District, and we will probably look for another B&B in the area if we return to New Orleans.