We booked the corner suite to stay the night since we had just gotten married that day, and as North Shore residents, we didn't feel like driving home. The suite was nice, with a balcony overlooking Prytania Street. The courtyard with the pool is also very inviting, with a small bar and patio. Upon check-in, we were greeted by a nice young woman who guided us to our room and explained the amenities. Things went downhill shortly after. My wife and I went down to the courtyard that afternoon to enjoy some pool time. After a short while, a brief rain shower rolled through for about 10-15 minutes and the establishment closed the pool bar. We, along with the other pool guests (approximately 4 other people) were confused by the fact that the bar didn't re-open after the rain stopped because the weather was nice. My wife went inside through the lobby to order drinks from the inside bar since no one from the hotel came outside to check on any of the guests. A short time later, the bald gentleman who was working the front desk came outside and my wife asked him if there was going to be anyone who would be taking orders from the pool guests. Her question was met with immediate attitude from the front desk employee. He very directly told her that it was her responsibility to go inside and get drinks if she wanted them because the pool bartender had "chosen to leave." I'm sorry...your bartender just CHOSE to leave? The hotel policy states that the pool bar is open until 9pm so we, along with the other guests in the pool area, were confused as to why the hotel now expected us to get out of the pool and walk through the lobby, wet from the pool, rather than have the bartender come take drink orders. It was a Tuesday afternoon and the establishment was dead. The more my wife and the front desk employee talked, the more this man got upset. He was EXTREMELY unprofessional and acted like he was doing her a favor by even responding to her questions at all. My wife was being very patient and polite, and simply asking questions, but it had finally reached a point to where he was being so overtly rude to my wife that I intervened. I asked him why he was being so hostile and he responded by telling me that I was the one being hostile, which is laughable. We were simply trying to understand why the hotel staff expected wet guests from the pool to walk through the lobby to get our own service. He stood there, waving his finger in the air and talking down to us like we were children. I'm retired but I traveled the world, professionally. I have stayed in dozens of Michelin rated hotels. I am a long time Diamond Member with Hilton and Platinum Member with Marriott, so I'm accustomed to a certain level of basic hotel service. This isn't the Four Seasons, Sir, so save the smug attitude. Eventually, heated words were shared and the man left the pool area. We sat there in disbelief after he had left and we talked with the other guests in the pool area who were just as in shock as we were by what had just transpired. Shortly after, the manager appeared. The manager was equally as smug as the front desk employee. This man didn't want to hear any of our concerns, he was simply there to defend his inept employee. After a brief, tense discussion, we were asked to leave which we were happy to do. The manager agreed to refund us so we packed our belongings, got our receipt for the refund, and left. We then got comped a room and dinner at another hotel Uptown due to my status with other hotels so the night worked out to our benefit, and we didn't have to deal with the absolute lack of hospitality and professionalism from the Blackbird. I'm sure someone from the Blackbird is going to respond to this review and make false claims about the behavior of my wife and myself. If that happens, just know their claims are false. We were being quiet and polite to everyone in the hotel, guests included. This entire incident is the fault of the terrible staff. They weren't interested in their own hostile behavior, they were only concerned about our reaction to being treated so poorly for so long. ZERO self accountability. Unfortunately for the Blackbird, we have a large group of friends from Los Angeles visiting soon who were planning on booking multiple rooms there while visiting us here in New Orleans. They have since made other arrangements and will be spending their money elsewhere. This was the worst hotel experience of my life. read more