LSU Football Games (New Orleans, Baton Rouge: where to stay, hotels, neighborhood)

[jbnowlin]

Hey guys,

I will be traveling to baton rogue for an LSU football game this October and am not sure where to stay. Do most people stay both Friday and Saturday nights in New Orleans? Or do people stay in Baton Rouge on Saturday night? What would you suggest? Would traffic be horrible coming back to New Orleans after the game?

Any other tips/help would be much appreciated.

[darylwi]

Depends on the game. If you want to stay in BTR, book for game day weekends now ahead of time. If it's a night game, it's late traveling back to NOLA. More people are leaving campus after a night game as well where after a day game traffic is more spaced out through the remainder of the day. SEC games offer up a lot more festivities so you want to be on or near campus as long as you can for game day and into the night.
Basically, unless you're flying into NOLA or have business or want to spend a lot of time in NOLA, and want to have the most fun you can at a LSU football EVENT (because the whole day is an event in itself), then I'd suggest staying in BTR at least Saturday night.
And night games are much more magical in Death Valley.

[MStant1]

You will probably want to stay both Friday and Saturday night as it is a very long day of festivities as the previous poster stated. I would suggest staying at the Lod Cook Hotel which is on campus. It is a very nice hotel and it will also be more convenient than any other place you would stay. I would try to book as early as possible as I am sure it fills up fast. Enjoy the tailgating, the food and most of all ESPN's scariest place to play football Death Valley! I just graduated from LSU and I am going to miss it!

[MetroBTR]

There's also a Sheraton and a Hilton Downtown, which are withing walking distance if you are in good shape. Other than those and the Lod Cook Hotel (which I imagine is probably booked solid during football season), I don't think there are any other hotels real close by. Most hotels in Baton Rouge are off of the Interstates and located far from campus. You could look here to see a list: http://www.baton-rouge.com/BatonRouge/aev2stay.htm

[MStant1]

From the Sheraton Downtown to West Chimes Street, the very edge of campus, is two miles walking down Nicholson. From the Hilton downtown it is about two and a half miles. I wouldn't suggest the walk as it would put you walking through a pretty bad neighborhood at night after the game.

[MetroBTR]

Notice I said *if* you are in good shape. The walk is no joke but me and some of my buddies and I managed it a few times in my younger days, but M is right it would take you through a fairly rough neighborhood. You can also get tickets at the Pastime Lounge for a shuttle that will bring you from downtown to the stadium. There are probably a few others, as well, but that is the only one that I have utilized before.

[darylwi]

Although I woudn't suggest people walk from downtown to LSU (mainly because of the distance [and never utilizing Highland Rd]), there is the levee bike and jogging path. It's an easy bike ride, so anyone feeling up for a walk could walk the same path to end up at Skip Bertman Drive from downtown.
Plus those two downtown hotels are expensive, especially the Hilton ($269 the last I checked). I got the Sheraton once for $149 but that's been years ago now. They do need more hotels downtown to add to the competition.

[Drouzin]

Just a quick heads up on the Sheraton Baton Rouge Convention Center. Hubby stayed there a few months ago and felt like it was over priced and under par, and this is not a picky man by any strectch of the imagination.

[MetroBTR]

Originally Posted by darylwi

Although I woudn't suggest people walk from downtown to LSU (mainly because of the distance [and never utilizing Highland Rd]), there is the levee bike and jogging path. It's an easy bike ride, so anyone feeling up for a walk could walk the same path to end up at Skip Bertman Drive from downtown.
Plus those two downtown hotels are expensive, especially the Hilton ($269 the last I checked). I got the Sheraton once for $149 but that's been years ago now. They do need more hotels downtown to add to the competition.

Dead on about the downtown hotel scene. This city definitly lacks cool hotels.