GOLDFINCHES LODGING IN TREME

GREAT LOCATION FOR EVERYTHING YOU WANT TO DO IN NEW ORLEANS

For a super urban neighborhood just south of Claiborne Avenue, Goldfinches was relatively quiet at night.

I heard a little bit music from the Candlelight Lounge that’s a block away. The last night I did not sleep well at all.

There was a lot of noise from an adjacent room. Not people partying, just lots of banging around the thuds.  

So be advised, Goldfinches is a house carved up into a bunch of rooms with walls thinner than a hotel’s.

Pack ear plugs and appreciate the low price point of the lodging.

GOLDFINCHES LODGING IN TREME

GREAT LOCATION FOR EVERYTHING YOU WANT TO DO IN NEW ORLEANS

Probably the biggest negative is there’s really only a tiny window in the Goldfinches’ room so there’s very little natural light because half of that window is taken up by the air conditioning unit.

I’m the kind of person it out and about 16 hours a day, so I just needed to sleep, so the darkness was fine.

But those that need a little natural light might be slightly disappointed. One small negative is it’s three steps up into the bathroom.

One night I tripped and fell on those steps.

Some have commented that the room is too small, but I stayed nearly a week and never felt claustrophobic.

GOLDFINCHES LODGING IN TREME

GREAT LOCATION FOR EVERYTHING YOU WANT TO DO IN NEW ORLEANS

It’s a tad confusing getting through a gate and storing bags in an outdoor locker, but the staff was amazing.

They addressed every need and every question -- and I’m the kind of person to ask lots of questions.

They had a list of about two dozen things like food, places, offbeat, museums little bars, not so well-known coffee, shops.

All of their recommendations were outstanding.

They mentioned a couple of careworn corner food stores that a tourist would normally never go to.

But I got fabulous Po-boys and gumbo based on their recommendations.

Bottom line, I paid under $100 per night for a room that gave me access to everything I wanted to do in New Orleans.

GOLDFINCHES LODGING IN TREME

GREAT LOCATION FOR EVERYTHING YOU WANT TO DO IN NEW ORLEANS

New Orleans has a crime issue and Treme is not a gilded neighborhood, but I always felt 100% safe and walked everywhere.

I never took a taxi home to Goldfinches.

I got home after midnight from seeing the great New Orleans music and I walked the back streets of Treme to see different architecture and unique things while getting back to the room I never felt endangered in the least.

GOLDFINCHES LODGING IN TREME

GREAT LOCATION FOR EVERYTHING YOU WANT TO DO IN NEW ORLEANS

The Goldfinches room is small but very efficient. I love that there were pots and pans, a microwave and a regular oven.

You can heat up leftovers of the great New Orleans food after storing them in a dorm-sized fridge to that worked perfectly.

The shower has nice long lasting hot water.

The bed was comfortable and there was a little table to eat breakfast at.

The room has good air conditioning and it also has a portable space heater for the cooler winter nights.

GOLDFINCHES LODGING IN TREME

GREAT LOCATION FOR EVERYTHING YOU WANT TO DO IN NEW ORLEANS

There are a lot of pluses about Goldfinches’ great location.

You can easily walk into the French Quarter.

It’s also in the heart of Treme and its attractions such as the Backstreets Cultural Museum, Petite Jazz Museum, a couple cool independent coffee shops and the incomparable Kermit’s Mother-In-Law Lounge on Claiborne Avenue.

On the other side of Claiborne is the Laffite Greenway, which you can walk through Mid-City all the way to Bayou Saint John.

There is a bus line along Claiborne just to the north and Rampart Street just to the south, for good transit connections.

COZY BEDROOM IN OLD MIDCITY HOUSE -- PART 6

NEW ORLEANS AIR BNB

Final, final thought.

If you are allergic to cats -- do not book this place. 

Hat's off to JonGunnar's advertisement that makes it clear he has a cat and that his cat is clingy. 

If this bugs you, look elsewhere.

If you are a cat person like me, this will be the best thing -- other than location and price point -- about the house. 

Mooch is a beautiful black cat who lives indoors and out.

He does not meow.

Mooch has a kind of cackling growl for a voice. 

At first, I thought it meant he was going to claw me. 

But he's really just crying for attention in his unique way. 

Mooch also will cry to let you know he needs to go out to go to the bathroom. 

I adored Mooch.

He napped with me and I woke up with him sleeping on my back! 

He cuddled and slept next me. 

I fell in love with Mooch.

He's so affectionate and full of personality, I wanted to take him home.

So if you like quirky and cat-filled Airbnb experiences, you have found a home in New Orleans.

I'd go back in a heartbeat.

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/5173411

COZY BEDROOM IN OLD MIDCITY HOUSE -- PART 5

NEW ORLEANS AIR BNB

If you like funky, if you can look past clutter, this is a dream spot. 

Two final thoughts. (one will be about the beautiful male cat pictured above)

The biggest negative is the lack of lock on the door. 

There is a lock to the main door, but once you get in, there is no outside lock on your room door. 

That means when you leave, anybody can get in. 

Maybe JonGunnar only gets great guests and this is no issue. 

But even though I don't need chain hotel orderliness, I do want to be able to lock my room from the outside, when I'm gone for the day. 

Even from the inside, the "lock" is a little lever on the ground and I could never get it to line up with the metal piece.

I tossed and turned that first night, feeling like anyone could check in and open my door and walk in on me. 

Turned out I had to place to myself, so the main door lock kept all out -- but still, JonGunnar -- go to a hardware store and invest 50 bucks in a nice door handle lock.

That way, your guest can secure from the inside when sleeping and on the outside when leaving the room for the day and having the peace of mind that all is locked up safe.

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/5173411

COZY BEDROOM IN OLD MIDCITY HOUSE -- PART 4

NEW ORLEANS AIR BNB

As all other reviewers have noted, this is a house with a lot of character. 

The downstairs is as cluttered as I've ever seen.

Not dirty, but cluttered. 

It's like an artist's warehouse imposed on an old family house's common area. 

JonGunnar is a photographer-artist and must travel a lot. 

I'm also guessing the artist's life does not provide a ton of extra money -- thus some tape fixing cracked windows and a lot of peeling paint and other flaws.

If you demand Marriott cookie cutter, this is not the place for you. 

If you want to live among art and feel like an edgy artist -- this is heaven. 

And the entire bill, booking fee, cleaning fee and nightly rent -- came to just over $200 for 5 days and 4 nights. 

Think about that. 

A noisy, cramped, 150 SF room in the quarter would cost way more than that for one night...with parking and taxes added on. 

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/5173411

COZY BEDROOM IN OLD MIDCITY HOUSE -- PART 3

NEW ORLEANS AIR BNB

The kitchen has a washer dryer and tons of washing machine soap -- so you can pack super light and wash clothes while using the tub-shower. 

The house is no wheelchair-accessible, but with the homes raised above the flood plain, very few NOLA houses are. 

It's a typical double shotgun with anti-room, living room and kitchen on the ground floor and bathroom and 3 bed rooms on the top floor. 

JonGunnar was traveling when I arrived and his other room was not booked, so I had the entire place to myself. 

Knowing how haunted New Orleans is, that made things a little creepy the first night, but it also meant now hearing others walking up the creaky old wooden stairs plus zero waits for the one bathroom. 

The bed was surprisingly comfortable for a house with mismatched, old furnishings. 

Sam, the person who helps out JonGunnar with making beds etc. when he's on the road -- followed my neurotic requests for extra sheet and towel, layered a certain way.

Both Sam and JonGunnar were available by text to answer all questions -- practical and fun -- before and during my stay.

The response was light speed.

Very impressive. 

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/5173411

COZY BEDROOM IN OLD MIDCITY HOUSE -- PART 2

NEW ORLEANS AIR BNB

The Banks Street Bar, which sometimes has food and often has music, also is super close. 

But somehow, amazingly, you don't hear the noise of the popular bar, even though it's open well past midnight. 

I'm a noise phobic person. I slept well at JonGunnar's place. 

The fact that each guest room has a wall-mounted air conditioner right over the bed probably helps, as it provides instant white noise to muffle the random dog bark or siren that one would hear in any urban location. 

There is a small off street parking space and always a free on street spot for your rental car within a block of the house at the corner of South Alexander and Palmyra.

Check in is easy.

He texts you the code to the lock box out front. 

There also are bikes that you can use, but I walked to close stuff and used the rental for other distances. 

Note: you do not need an expensive rental car. 

Transit and Uber will serve you well. I only had a car because I was photographing far flung places that were not served by Uber. 

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/5173411

COZY BEDROOM IN OLD MIDCITY HOUSE -- PART 1

NEW ORLEANS AIR BNB

Mid-City is where you want to be. 

Trust us.

It has great restaurants, neighborhood joints nestled in among real people, real houses, real culture.

It is not loud and drunk and overpriced like the French Quarter.

It is close to everything you'd ever want to see in New Orleans. 

JonGunnar's place is an Air BnB rental in the heart of everything.

It literally is within crawling distance of the Canal Street Streetcar, which will take you to the French Quarter, CBD, City Park, and some of the best cemeteries for touring in town. 

The old house also is super close to a cluster of great neighborhood food places -- the breakfast and lunch joints Wakin' Bakin' and Biscuits and Buns on Banks are a block away. 

Clesi's, which does crawfish boils and has a great jambalaya, is at this same junction as is Mid-City Pizza and its great outdoor space. 

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/5173411