Our stay at Pontchartrain Landing just outside New Orleans was for two nights as we were just passing thru on our way East. It is located on the Inner Harbor Navigation Canal which connects to Lake Pontchartrain. We did stay here once before in April 2014. The website pictures are disingenuous.
While we in no way appreciate dirt streets and lightly graveled rv sites this most recent visit exhibited lack of maintenance. The roads inside the park send plumes of dust as each car and rv passes by augmented by pot holes and mud. The rv sites are cantilevered so it is difficult, even with auto leveling, to obtain a level motorcoach, and the sites have seen their better day of being gravel filled. Landscaping has been ignored and all the palm trees are dead with no apparent attempt to replace them. The view along the canal is nice enough (industrial/marine), but does not compensate for the dust and rundown physical plant. It matters not what class of site is chosen; they are all dirt with dying palm trees.
Again, another rv park owner practicing benign neglect knowing that demand exceeds supply and any constructive criticism is met with a take-it-or-leave-it attitude. This park is located in a marine/industrial zone down a narrow road that is literally falling apart.
WiFi does not exist at all despite the advertisement to the contrary. The park’s quote on their WiFi-“will work for checking and sending e-mail* surfing the web posting to social media*”(* states “connection speed and upload times will vary depending on how many other users are connected”).
When we comment on WiFi we speak from a position of authority as we have installed on the roof of the coach a Winegard ConnecT. This is a wonderful product and outperforms the Winegard advertising pitch. It receives WiFi in almost every park including most of the hotspots in use at individual rv’s (do not be concerned about security as your hotspot is WSA encrypted). In addition the ConnecT router broadcast signal reaches all the way from the front of my coach to the rear thru some very thick walls; it even broadcasts thru the exterior walls which have a skin of aluminum so I can control my stereo and home theater with my phone. Using our ConnecT we could not locate the Pontchartrain Landing WiFi. In addition there appeared to be an apparent blocking of our own cell phone as a hot spot (not sure what was going on with that). We did use our OTA (over the air tv) antenna to receive many HD tv channels from New Orleans. Reviewers have commented on the pricing and lack of WiFi. For our part we would expect streaming quality WiFi at this given price level.
We rarely use the rv park baths and showers preferring to use our own on the coach and unfortunately we did not inspect the bathrooms so we cannot comment on the cleanliness of the park’s bath facilities. The medium sized sparkling pool offers a welcome respite from the warm Louisiana summers and lacks an adequate number of chairs and lounge chairs. And given the proximity to New Orleans one may opt to reserve a site in this park; we do not. A short 30 minute drive to the north side of Lake Pontchartrain offers a real class a rv resort.
The Takeaway: A neglected rv park with no maintenance nor grounds keeping. There are better stopovers along the I10 corridor in this area. If the reason for visiting is New Orleans, which we assume it is for most of us vagabonds, we suggest booking at a real class A rv resort 30 minutes North of New Orleans and driving into NOLA for day trips to return to the pleasant experience of a class A resort with all the amenities. We stayed here April 2014 and May 2019. Go to www.rickpicks.com for other reviews, critiques and essays with links to area attractions and a more detailed review of this park,etc.
French Quarter RV Resort, New Orleans, LA is located on the edge of the French Quarter. It is by no means a ‘resort’ as it does not offer many of the amenities that define a resort, i.e. large pool with a pool deck and many lounge chairs, broadband WiFi, a restaurant or at least a café offering cooked to order food, a clubhouse with amenities, etc.
‘Our streets are our mental wards’, a quote from the Times-Picayune March 2018 regarding the homeless plight in New Orleans.
We have stayed in FQRV every year since 2013; our last stay was in 2017. While the FQRV is nice it is an urban rv park with the accompanying issues-crime, and the homeless. The park is located on the edge of the French Quarter practically under I10 so highway noise is a real fact of life. In addition the tent cities existing under I10 at the Claiborne Avenue overpass right behind the park contributes to safety concerns. The tent city, infested with rats and human waste is a constant issue. Again, the trade–off is location, location, albeit one would still not want to walk the few blocks to the French Quarter and instead opt for a taxi. That being the case within 30 to 45 minutes away are beautiful upscale rv parks that are not as small and offer more amenities, i.e large paved sites, large family pool, adult only pool, lazy river, poolside cabanas, tiki bar, fitness center, an on-premises Sonic, and a restaurant, etc. After all, my wife and I spend a few hours in NOLA each day so a short drive back to larger lots with green grass and other amenities is a welcome respite after a day in the Big Easy.
Many reviewers have commented on the pricing and lack of WiFi. For our part we would expect streaming quality WiFi at this given price level; we had our own Sprint hotspot so this was not an issue; still the park should provide working WiFi at this price point break.
In years past the park was newer and as of 2017 has started to look its age with no attention being paid to routine maintenance nor to maintaining its aesthetic appearance. The cleanliness of the bathrooms is questionable, and again we used our own shower in the coach as is our usual custom. The pool/hot tub are thimble size, which is a given based on the small footprint of the park.
One other point is the FQRV pricing strategy. We wanted to book during a NOLA festival and were told the price increase was from the daily $110 rate to a whopping $250/night. Interesting business model. However if one is not interested in a Saints game, nor any other NOLA festival then you need to block out those dates on your calendar to avoid the steep price increase.
Again, location; if one appreciates the proximity to NOLA and ignores some of the shortcomings of this park then this is your place.
The Takeaway: Location, location, however at the expense of proximity to crime and homeless just outside the walls of this rv park. Not in any sense a resort, this postage stamp sized park provides 52 sites with questionably clean showers and bathrooms and a thimble sized pool. The steep pricing strategy is a deterrent implemented to enhance the bottom line while not offering amenities like WiFi, an adult sized pool, a clubhouse with a café, etc. We opt for booking at a real class A rv resort 30 minutes North of New Orleans at a fraction of the FQRV price. We stayed in 2017.
