Treat yourself and stay at the Windsor Court. Call them and see if they'll give you a Conference rate or Gov't rate (if applicable). The Ritz on Canal Street is located in a beautiful old department store. This is another nice option if you can get the rate you want. It'll be a longer walk to the Convention Center than the Windsor Court.

We stayed at the Monteleone last year and although it was very charming, we found that the street noise kept us awake at night! Drunk people screaming, street sweepers, trash trucks, etc. I think many French Quarter hotels have this problem. Read the reviews on TripAdvisor before you book.

I usually stay at the W in French Quarter for conventions

The Hilton is nice, but I'de recommend either Monteleone or the Omni for a more interesting stay.

Stayed at the NOLA Marriott Downtown (convention center one) in December and loved it.

On a previous trip, I went with a boutique hotel that looked great online and all that, but ended up being a crime / drug infested spot, and I had to move to the W Hotel last minute and paid out the ass for that.

Enjoy your trip and definitely explore the sights and the food. I love the cuisine in New Orleans. It's truly spectacular.

I'm going to a conference in New Orleans in November and am looking for recommendations for a hotel within a mile or so of the convention center.

There are dozens of options via the conference website and I can just randomly pick one of the standards (Mariott, Hilton, Sheraton). Based on the photos, some look a little more unique and interesting (Hotel Monteleone, Roosevelt New Orleans), but I can't really tell. All are about $230-$250 per night, so something in that price range.

Have never been to Louisiana...really looking forward to it!