New Orleans Ernest N. Memorial Convention Center

One of the best convention centers I have been to, if not the best. Staff are friendly, signs are posted everywhere, and everything makes logical sense. Everything is organized in an intuitive fashion, bathrooms are clean, seats are comfy. Yay!

The staff at the Convention Center were remarkable in maintaining order for ASHP Midyear 2015. I don’t think I ever saw them let go of a moment of making sure all the members of the conference got what they need. The organization and planning was terrific. I never felt like I was lost or ignored. If I needed help, there was someone to assist me.
The only downside I felt was the maintenance of the bathroom. While the overall event center and seating was meant to hold huge conventions, the bathrooms were not. They just felt dirty, soap would run out quickly, and I’d have trouble getting the sink to work some times. I would see employees cleaning up the bathroom, but again, I don’t think the bathrooms were ready for us.
Aside from that, this Convention Center feels massive but the service and the organization make it feel easy to navigate.

Must y’all blast the a/​c in the middle of December? Security was so hectic. Every person I asked for help finding my lost ID told me something different.

Why is this place so long it is miles and miles of walking! It was a decent enough convention center they had more food courts open than most I have been to. The food selection on the show floor was not very big a few places in the back… but it looked like the lobby food courts had more to offer. Just be sure to get your coffee and breakfast when you walk in because if you happen to have a booth on the far side of the center you will never see coffee or food again. Also, pack a coat because this place gets as cold as the north pole! The staff here was friendly from the little interaction I had with them. The one complaint I have is they desperately needs to be a crosswalk in front of the center. We were staying at a walking distance hotel and it was like playing frogger trying to cross… but the police will stand there and watch you!

Have been here twice now-​once for a convention, once for a festival. The space itself is great for doing a variety of things. The convention center itself is huge and walks are very long. Typical of a convention center in a major city. Right across the street from reasonably priced hotels and restaurants (under normal circumstances). Short walking distance to Harrah’s casino. Brisk walk to french quarter. Average convention center in a good location.

Most of my experience here was pleasant however one evening I left something in one of the smaller breakout rooms and had to return to get it.
The events of the day had wound down and only security was left. I approached the main entrance and actually seeing a guard thru the door was a relief… Whew I can get my stuff.
Now mind you I am wearing an event badge.
I knock on the glass doors, nothing…
Perhaps it’s not loud enough, I knock louder, nothing.
Now I become more insistent and knock louder and longer… The guard turns, looks right at me and turns away.
HUH?
I continue knocking for a bit longer, he finally looks at me again, shrugs and looks away again.
Now he is joined by another guard … My hopes go up again, now maybe something will happen.
I knock again. They both look and I make the please gesture by putting my hands together.
The new guard turns and walks down the convention center main hall away from me, the original guard turns away again.
HUH, really?
Why doesn’t one come to see what I want. I have a badge and I’m obviously in need of something.
Not supposed to leave your post? Here’s an idea make the wait a minute sign to me and call someone!
Well I absolutely need my stuff so I see the new guard has walked down by the next set of doors, so I head there.
I renew my pleading at her post. Now I have been there about 10 minutes knocking at the door and finally I see her pick up her radio and use it.
Is she calling some one to help me or just checking in? I have no idea. No signal, no gesture she just ignores me.
Finally after about 5 more minutes another guard comes from the outside and asked me what I want.
I thank her profusely and then tell her.
I ask her why when I’m wearing a badge from the days show would the guards just ignore me like that.
She apologized and took me in to get my stuff.
I have never experienced such rude behavior from convention center staff. I realize they have to deal with all types of people and situations everyday so this actually makes their lack of professionalism astounding.
You have a convention center that is a mile long and your best procedure for someone who obviously needs assistance is to ignore them in hopes they go away!
I’m so glad I wasn’t in need of medical assistance.

Bathrooms were decently clean. Accessible from our hotel, which was off Bourbon street. Dining options were not great, but there was a Starbucks in the building.

The convention center is in need of a remodel. The carpet is old and some of the rooms are cramped with inefficient layouts. I didn’t try the dining options.
Pros: very large, connected to the river mall. the ac is pumping for those who like it. during the summer I would bring a jacket or a winter sweater.
Cons: the carpet is an eye sore and nose sore. it’s awkward to navigate the convention center with no main entrance or hub. the food options are limited
Location: ideal with plenty of hotel choices

The convention center is huge. The building is spectacularly clean, plenty of restrooms and the centers staff is friendly and helpful. There are 3 levels of restaurants, class rooms, ballrooms, auditoriums, an exhibit halls, etc. It’s located conveniently right off hwy 90 ramp, a variety of hotels within a 2 block radius, the shopping mecca marketplace, aquarium and casinos are next door and it sits on the bank of the beautiful Mississippi river. The French quarter is a few blocks or streetcar ride away. A Wonderful place to have our convention. I’ve loved every minute of it!

I’ve been attending a 5-​day conference here. The facilities are clean, convenient, and has helpful signage everywhere. The convention center staff are very friendly and helpful. There is a Starbucks located in the middle of the convention center. Also, this venue has gender neutral restrooms.
My only gripe is with the chairs they use. They’re cushioned chairs that interlock on the sides of the chairs. This doesn’t give an average person enough space and will inevitable bump shoulders. I found myself frequently shrinking my shoulders inward and it made it difficult to take notes during the sessions. Only a child would find the spacing comfortable.

The New Orleans Convention Center isn’t quite the biggest convention center around (it is the 6^th largest in the U.S.) but it is inspiring from the exterior. It stretches about 1-​mile long and has some huge rooms (even big enough for our huge Mardi Gras floats to ride through with ease). The convention center caters to large conferences but it also has tons of smaller meeting spaces for a more intimate setting.
The F&B for the convention center is provided by Centerplate. The food is pretty good here compared to other convention centers. You can get authentic New Orleans cuisine here without leaving the building. I have attended many events here in the past from car shows, dance competitions, Mardi Gras balls, and conferences.
While I like the convention center and all the business it brings to our city it could still use some improvements:
* A new full-​service hotel that is connected to the center (lots of convention centers have connected hotels now).
* Discounted parking for attendees ($ 20 or so for a half day of parking isn’t discounted parking).
* More food options during busy times (the small food court doesn’t cut it).
* A moving walkway would be really nice. I’ve heard that this is the #1 gripe from convention attendees. That they have to walk so far to get anywhere over here because it is just one long corridor of halls.
The only improvement they have done recently is adding the Great Hall which is the new main entrance to the convention center. While that alone isn’t going to attract more business the much talked about renovations will (new hotel that will be connected to the convention center, moving walkway, revised street layout in front of convention center, and possibly more exterior work done).
There are only a handful of cities that most people around the world always want to go to. New Orleans is on that short list. Make the convention center great in order to keep attracting the people that love New Orleans and want to bring their business to our amazing city.

I’ve been to the New Orleans Convention Center many times before but have never taken the time to write a review. I’ve also been to many other convention centers in different parts of the country and after hearing our city officials brag about the NOLA Convention center over the years, I finally found the motivation to type this one out.
This weekend I attended Wizard World New Orleans. For those of you unfamiliar with Comic Book/​Pop Culture Conventions, Wizard World is like a big nerd mall with entertainment, vendors, costume, artists and general geeky fun. It’s expensive. People drive from all over to attend. I think the City is fortunate to be on Wizard’s convention circuit.
However, the Convention Center screwed the pooch this year. First, their food was horrible and overpriced. I understand the overpriced part, that is common with most Cons. But the quality was just slightly above soup kitchen standards. To top it off, they were completely unprepared for the crowd. They ran out of almost everything, their cash registers broke down, they ran out of cups, soft drinks, etc. It was pathetic.
Next up, their head honchos riding around in carts with suits on were totally unprofessional. They yelled at everyone they encountered, especially the convention attendees. I seriously doubt they act so rude and unprofessional when one of the many conventions catering to physicians is in town. Doesn’t nerd money spend as well as doctor money?
The bathrooms! For Pete’s sake! Do they understand that people have to use them? They closed down bathrooms in the convention floor space itself and made sure to make using them as inconvenient as possible. More yelling by employees at people waiting outside because again, they were totally overwhelmed by the crowd.
The rental security folks they had guarding the doors were the definition of form over function. They employed nonsensical rules about entering and exiting and then reversed themselves shortly after implementing said nonsensical rules. Again with the yelling and rude attitudes. Do they understand that people pay to enter? Maybe they just don’t care. They were Alamo security I think.
Maybe other people noticed? Maybe Wizard World noticed? I don’t know but in my experience, hospitality and general civility were the last things on the minds of the Convention Center and their employees/​leaders this weekend.
Get your act together NO Convention Center. Tourism is one of the few things this City has going for it economically and you are not helping.
I gave them two stars because they kept the power on and the roof didn’t leak.
To recap, be nice, don’t yell at people, hire a new security vendor, fix your concessions or let other food vendors in, plan for big conventions with big crowds, fire or send your leadership team to a seminar or two.

Love coming to the convention center for the annual #WizardWorld Comic Con! It’s always great to see others dress up since I’m too chicken to do so. I’m taking a star away because it seems that every time I come here there are never enough places to eat within the center. There are always plenty of bathrooms and its always well ventilated. Never too hot or too cold. It’s always just right. I’m looking forward to coming back next year.

I have done a ton of events over the years at the New Orleans Convention Center. Every time I go back, I expect to see Anderson Cooper outside telling me how bad Katrina was. (Sorry, bad visual).
The Convention Center is large enough to handle multiple large conventions simultaneously. This public convention center is #6 in the US in terms of size. There’s quite an assortment of local and international cuisine. This past trip featured excellent crawfish etoufee as well as a really good tikka masala made slightly cajun-​style in that it was spicy.
The Convention Center is located on the Mississippi River next to the Riverwalk. The are literally a ton of hotels within walking distance. The building is made up of a bunch of Halls – all interconnected. Many conveniences such as multiple Starbucks and a UPS store are located within the 1.1 million square feet.
Trivia: Besides being a shelter for many, many during Katrina, the Convention Center is also the home to many elegant Mardi Gras Balls. There’s great parking next door and their service is excellent!
Friendly place to visit!

It’s a convention center … need I say more? The only other thing I can add here is that this place is HUGE!

Quite a large convention center for the 142^nd APHA conference, and spread out lengthwise. Be sure to pack comfortable shoes as you will do a lot of walking. Sadly, I will have to deduct one star for the cafeteria food. It is in fact, the very definition of cafeteria food. Save your money and check out the restaurants across the street… believe me you’ll be glad you did.

A bit winding/​long, but overall OK. Rooms were comfortable. Did get turned around a couple of times. Starbucks seems to close early. a few restaurants nearby. Open spaces allow for some time away from meeting rooms when necessary.

CONVENTION CENTER fun
This review if for the Zulu Ball that was held here for Mardi Gras!
This place is GI-​NORMOUS! I never gave any thought to how big CONVENTION CENTERED are because most of the time they are NEVER filled up and ONLY a partial section is used for conferences, or events leaving most unoccupied!
Zulu came hard and strong and used every inch of floor space that was to be had for their Zulu Ball 2014! I was totally unprepared for that night but I managed to play catch up enough that my green-​ness went unnoticed!
My family has been going to the Zulu ball since my mom was a kid. She grew up and started going with my dad before there got hitched and it was always a BLAST! This ball is SUPER DUPER UBER all out formal attire and ball gowns. Try showing up in a regular suit or short dress and you will not be getting in ticket or NOT! All men MUST wear a TUX and all women MUST wear floor length ball gowns… NO EXCEPTIONS!
The ball starts around 6pm with the King and Queen entering with the court and the coronation, accolades etc and then the partying starts and DOESN’T END until around 4 am the NEXT DAY! So by the time I got here and finally got to sleep I had been up for about 72 hours! I was so FRICKIN tired!
I woke up Thursday for work, ran around after work and lunch time then caught a plane to Lafayette, LA to meet up with my friend whose cousin was the Zulu King and in the court, worked once I got to his house, took a shower and got on the road to head to NOLA then hung out at his aunt’s house go dressed for the ball and partied all night until it was over and they kicked us out, went to breakfast cause we were starving and then back to his aunt’s house to sleep! I don’t even remember my head hitting the pillow!
The ball was amazing and the CONVENTION CENTER had plenty of staff to keep us filled with food, help us find bathrooms, back doors, and of course drinks! It was a BLAST! If you’ve never been you surly have to try and go to one! The staff was VERY FRIENDLY and HELPFUL!
Now ladies PLEASE note that you need to bring some slippers because you will be on your feet most of the night even though there are plenty of seats and tables. Most people are on their feet! I managed to make it all night minus the last house in my heels! Not too bad! Walking out you will NEED to be CAREFUL because there is glass everywhere from broken bottles that people have came with! So if you’re wearing slippers you will not want to step on a piece of glass!
Yes people do bring their own food and bottles. Depending on what tickets you have and where you are sitting food and drinks either come with it or not! If you want to eat and drink them you’ll bring something if your tix don’t come with it! You CAN NOT BUY FOOD THERE!
There is also entertainment. This year it was DJ Jubilee, ReBirth Brass Band All Star Reunion with Irvin Mayfield and Trombone Shorty, DJ Captain Charles and Friends, Worlds Largest indoor Second Line with the PinStripe Brass Band and Zulu Grand Marshall. Sooo MUCH FRICKIN NON STOP FUN! If you want to know more about the Zulu Club and happening you can go here
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Overall I had a BLAST, not fighting or foolishness anywhere, and would TOTALLY DO IT AGAIN! My ONLY drawback was leaving and the chaos of car and people trying to get in to pick up and get out! There could have been just a little more preparation and organization. This is NOT the first ball or event here!

This place is absolutely huge. I’ve driven past the Convention Center a million times since moving to New Orleans, but had NO IDEA it was that big.
I attended the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Convention & Expo last weekend, since it was being held in NOLA. Luckily, I wore flats, because this was not something that could have been done in heels. Expo downstairs, workshops upstairs, lots of friendly & helpful staff directing traffic throughout.
While I don’t have much to compare it to, this is a great venue for NADA, and probably for any large convention or trade show.
My only real complaint is the line at the Starbucks kiosk, regardless of what time of day. Maybe they need to expand. Despite the number of Starbucks gift cards that I won at the expo, I could never wait in line that long for a cup of coffee.

This place was a nice spacious and clean facilities for the New Orleans Rock n’ Roll Marathon. The restrooms were clean as well. The location was very convenient and easy to get to from any hotel in the CBD via walking.
It is located next to the Riverwalk, so besides the numerous restaurants across the street, there are plenty of close by dining options.