Hello from Hurricane Headquarters, aka the Hilton Garden Inn New Orleans Convention Center

It's been a wild week at the Hilton Garden Inn New Orleans Convention Center and it's about to get a little wilder.

WEATHER REPORT

Tropical Storm/Possibly Hurricane/DefinitelyRainy Isaac announced his arrival this morning with gray skies and light rain. According to the 10am update from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Isaac is moving northwest at 10mph. Isaac is still a tropical storm and has not yet strengthened into a hurricane, although the latest advisory predicts that Isaac will be a hurricane by the end of the day. A Category 1 hurricane means windspeeds of 75-100mph, with gusts possibly above 100mph. There will be a lot of rain and some storm surge.

HOTEL CONDITIONS

Phones have been ringing off the hook since Monday. News crews from major media outlets piled in, lugging equipment and already wearing raingear despite the beautiful weather outside. By nightfall, the hotel was nearly sold out. Locals and the families of staff made reservations, preferring to weather the storm in our downtown location than take their chances. Our generator, extensive food and beverage inventory, and safe location makes the Hilton Garden Inn New Orleans Convention Center a very attractive hurricane hole. We will be fully staffed throughout the hurricane; in fact, many of our staff are staying onsite.

CANCELLATIONS

Cancellations made for today and tomorrow will be refunded. You can reach us 504.525.0044 to cancel ahead of time. There are people seeking shelter who could use rooms, so please call to cancel ahead of time.

RESERVATIONS

We are taking reservations, but will stop taking reservations when we are full.

QUESTIONS

If you have more questions about the storm and our hotel, please feel free to call us at 504.525.044. Our front desk staff is very busy during emergencies like this, so holding time may be longer than normal. Our hotel staff will answer your questions to the best of their knowledge; however, they are not weathermen, so if you have specific questions about the storm you should go to http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/cyclones/. The NOAA frequently updates advisories, storm tracks, and other relevant storm information.