I chose this hotel based on the reviews written here, and like the reviewer from Pennsylvania, I was very disappointed. To start, here are the positives:

great location; very accommodating staff, for the most part; and OK value when you include free parking.

BUT the negatives for me were pretty strong: very musty smell in the room was awful, the noisy air conditioning that kept me awake most nights in spite of inebriation! Even if you turn off the air conditioning in your own room, you can easily hear it from the room next door. Also, everyone talks about the cleanliness, but I didn't find this to be a particularly fresh and clean hotel. Also, I had a very negative experience upon arriving in my room in that is not necessarily the hotel's fault--when checking out the second floor balcony, which is a shared balcony, I was approached by a man wasted on some substance who literally chased me back into my room and stood leering outside the balcony door. It was terrifying! I would not recommend this hotel for single women who would want to access the balcony. Also, I would not recommend this hotel to anyone who is sensitive to cigarette smoke, as there are no specifically nonsmoking rooms. Perhaps this hotel is a good deal for smokers, many of whom I found enjoying the pool during the day.

As for value, I thought it was a reasonable deal, but then I saw the room of my friend who was in NO for the same conference--she paid $79 per night by shopping online through Orbitz or some similar site and had a charming, very very clean room with a central courtyard pool and lots of character, in an even better location. All this to say, I will not stay here again and do not understand the high popularity ranking this hotel has received on this site.

This hotel is in a perfect location in the French quarter-just far enough away form the noise of Bourbon Street but only a few minutes walk from all of the action. We have stayed pre and post Katrina and have noticed no difference in this hotel and pretty much I have to say in the French Quarter. The biggest differences were the restaurants and bars we had liked had closed down and new business replaced them. The Hotel has a pool, room serve and the rooms are of a wonderful size and really well appointed. Try and get a balcony room as this really adds an extra dimension. Great value and the staff are really friendly-would totally recommend.

Just returned from four days in NOLA having stayed at the Le Richelieu. I read the Trip Advisor reviews and was looking forward to a quaint hotel with accomodating staff. I must say that I was not impressed. Yes, the location is great. Close enough to everything in the Quarter and just far enough to offer a quiet retreat from the fun and noise of Bourbon Street. The rooms are clean but in need of serious updating. A prior poster hit the nail on the head when they wrote: "A simple quiz to judge how much you might, or might not, like Le Richelieu: You walk into a turquoise bathroom (even the toilet is turquoise), and see that, while being clean and very well-maintained, the main fixtures appear to be nearly 40 years old. Do you think (A) "Wow, how cool!" or (B) "How dated and awful!" If your answer is B, then Le Richelieu might not be your ideal hotel. " Consider me in the "B" category.
My room had a musty smell and was just outdated. The tv for example had to be 30 years old. Also, I could't believe that the hotel still uses actual keys for the rooms. Nothing wrong with that but the key is attached to a gigantic piece of plastic making it hard to carry around when sightseeing. It was more like a key you'd get when using a gas station restroom! Another minor issue, no lobby pc for printing out airline boarding passes. The front counter tried to accomodate but was unable to print my pass. I didn't find the staff very accomodating either. They seemed annoyed when I asked them to (attempt to) print a boarding pass.
It just seems the hotel needs some upgrading to bring it into the 21st century. Over Memorial Day weekend I was in NOLA and stayed at the Hotel Monteleone. Now there's a great hotel that has successfully maintained a historic look and feel while keeping up with modern conveniences. So, for Le Richelieu - positives: clean rooms and great location; negatives: outdated all around, staff could be more accomodating.

Le Richelieu-New Orleans,La LOVED LOVED IT!!!!!!
My husband was a little nervous about NOLA because of the
reported crime rate. I have to say that our stay in the French Quarter was lovely. The hotel was GREAT. The rooms were nice and clean. The court yard was so nice I could have just stayed there in the evenings and been perfectly happy.
The Staff was so helpful,even looking up places on the net and printing out detailed maps for us. This is a wonderful location also. It is at the end of the Quarter,and in a residental area, so it was rather quite,which was nice after being on Bourbon St. Our room had a small balcony which faced the street, it was fun to people watch in the early morning.
The other Great perk was a free garded parking lot!
The small bar exited out into the courtyard which was nice,the bar tender was really nice, he makes the Best Brandy Milk Punch!
The Quarter was clean and I fely really safe. I was impressed that on every street there was a a policeman and a trash truck collecting trash at all hours. I highly recomend going to NOLA.
They need the tourist to come back and be supportive. We felt the apprecaition from every business. The food ahhhh,well I could write a book FANTASTIC! No Bad meals in NOLA!
We had a great time and only encounterd 2 panhandlers!
Not Bad!!!