O'Keefe Plaza Hotel

Bedbugs, Stains, Rude Staff

My girlfriends and I chose to stay at the O'Keefe because of the great location and great price. Plus, it had a pool! We checked in (note they charge $20 for early check-in), and I promptly took an afternoon nap. The place seemed a little dirty, but I dealt with it given the great rate compared to other hotels in the area. After some of us napped in room 217, and others from our group enjoying the pool, we changed and spent the evening on the town.

We returned just before midnight, ready to get a great night's sleep. Only, this time when I pulled the covers back, I noticed a tiny bug crawling on my sheet. I almost brushed it off. I am not afraid of a little insect. But I didn't recognize it so I asked my friend to help me identify it. She thought it might be a bedbug, so she emptied her ziploc that she had her liquids in and put the bug in the bag. We promptly googled images of bedbugs, and discovered it was a nymph (or very young bedbug). We went downstairs to complain. The attendant didn't seem very surprised about our situation and offered us another room. Though we really just wanted to leave the place, we agreed to check it out because it was late and we were tired.

The only room they had available was 525, a smoking room. As soon as you step off the elevator onto the 5th floor, it reeks of smoke, and the hallway carpets have stains all over. We walked into the room, and though the smell wasn't that offensive, the dirtiness of the room was. The bedspread was stained and had cigarette holes in it. The ironing board that hangs on the wall was filthy with stains. I decided we needed to leave that night.

When we went back to room 217 to pack our things, we discovered two more bedbugs on two separate items that were hung in the "closet." We promptly placed those in the ziploc bag as well. So now it's about 12:30, and we're calling a ton of hotels in New Orleans -- during a festival weekend -- to try to find accommodations for the same night. Not an easy feat, and certainly not the kind of trouble we would voluntarily go through just to "get a free room" as the manager surmised. Luckily, we found a room at the Dauphine Orleans, and it was a beautiful experience. The exact opposite of the O'Keefe in every way--especially the friendliness of the staff.

Our other friends stayed in rooms 215 and 315. They were already asleep when we decided to leave, so they stayed the night there and left in the morning when they received our message. Luckily, our friends who stayed next door in room 215 didn't experience any bedbug trauma. However, both girls in room 317 (one was pregnant, the other was the bachelorette-guest-of-honor) woke up with bedbug bites, though they didn't actually see any bedbugs. Bedbug bites are distinguishable because they usually show up in clusters or a trail. The same bedbug bites you as it travels on your skin! EWWW!

We had to spend much of the weekend cleaning out our clothes and suitcases, hunting down bedbug spray, and making sure we didn't track those nasty things the next place we went.

The O'Keefe was a dirty nightmare. Check out the photos on this site. Click here to see video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=syBtXEx8wWs And whatever you do, STAY SOMEWHERE ELSE!!

Unique Quality: bedbugs
cigarette burns, stains
stained carpet and bedspreads

• Opinion of Price: less expensive than average
• Related to: Women's Travel, Festivals
• Written April 20, 2012

O'Keefe Plaza Hotel Photo: bedbug bites on my chin :(

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