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Booking & rates
Is there a minimum stay?
Usually 3 nights. Shorter stays sometimes open up between bookings, so ask and we'll check your dates.
How do rates work?
Pick your dates and you’ll see one price for the whole stay, with occupancy taxes listed right under it. There are no per-guest fees, so 18 people costs the same as 10. Booking directly on this site is the lowest rate anywhere, guaranteed.
Can we split the payment?
No. One organizer pays on one card and signs one agreement, and a 50% deposit holds the dates. How the group settles up after that is up to you.
What's the cancellation policy?
It's fully refundable until 60 days before check-in. Within 60 days, payments aren't refundable, which is why we recommend travel insurance. The full terms are at /terms.
Can we hold dates before we book?
Yes. Pick a villa and your dates at checkout and hold them free for 3 days while the group decides. The dates come off the calendar here and on the listing sites, the price is held, and you get a link to send the group. There's no card and no deposit. If you don't book, the hold ends on its own and there's nothing to cancel.
How far ahead should we book?
Peak weekends (Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest, the big wedding Saturdays) book up 6 months or more ahead, so 9 months out is comfortable. Summer has more last-minute availability.
Should we get travel insurance?
We recommend it, especially June through November, which is hurricane season. It can cover the deposit if plans fall apart within 60 days of check-in, after free cancellation ends.
What happens if a hurricane is coming?
If the National Hurricane Center issues a Hurricane Warning for New Orleans covering your check-in date or any night of your stay, you may reschedule without any change fees, with the new dates priced at their own rate, and any nights you don't stay are held as a credit for 12 months. If the city or state orders a mandatory evacuation, or the villa can't be used, those nights are refunded in full. Watches, tropical storm warnings and forecasts don't qualify, so we recommend travel insurance, bought before a storm is named. The full wording is in section 9 of the terms.
Can we tour before we book?
Yes, by appointment, whenever a villa is empty. Planners and travel agents are welcome too. Ask the team for a time.
The villas
Is this really a hotel?
Yes. CastleDay is licensed as a hotel, and one license (Permit No. 24-XSTR-24029) covers all three villas. That's what lets up to 30 people stay in one villa.
How many does each villa sleep?
Up to 30 per villa, and 14 to 24 is the sweet spot. Each villa has 12 bedrooms, 17 beds, and 8 baths (room 12 is an office-bedroom hybrid with a queen sofabed and a hall bath). The floor plans and the bed list by room are on each villa page. All three villas together sleep up to 90.
Is a villa accessible?
The Florentine has the only step-free ground-floor suite, a queen bedroom with an accessible tub (not a roll-in shower). The kitchen, dining room, living room, and pool are on the same level. Tell us what you need before booking and we'll check that it works.
Are the pools heated?
Yes, year-round, and every pool has a hot tub beside it.
What's included in every villa?
A heated pool with a hot tub, an outdoor shower, an outdoor kitchen and grill, a covered patio, a dining table for 18, a turf lawn with cornhole, a driveway basketball hoop, a kitchen with double refrigerators and dishwashers, a washer and dryer, central air, fast wifi, smart TVs inside and out, premium linens, and Malin+Goetz soap, shampoo, and conditioner in every bathroom. Free queen air mattresses are available if you ask ahead of time. The full list is on each villa page.
Can we eat the bananas off the trees?
Yes, if they're ripe while you're here. Leave some for the next group.
Occasions
Do you allow bachelor & bachelorette parties?
Yes. They're some of our most common groups. The occasions page shows how a weekend here usually goes.
Can it be our wedding HQ?
Yes. Get married at your venue and use the villa as home base: the welcome party, and the pool on the wedding day for guests who aren't in the wedding party. It works alongside a hotel room block. Take all three villas and up to 90 people sleep on one block.
Can we host the rehearsal dinner here?
A small one, yes. Tell us the headcount early so we can make sure the schedule works. Most couples do the full rehearsal dinner at a restaurant (ask the team for places that seat a big group) and use the villa for the welcome party and the wedding day.
Can we bring vendors in: massages, music, décor?
Yes. Massage therapists, yoga instructors, hair and makeup artists, nail techs, brass bands, wine tastings, bartenders, and party decorators all come to the villa. You book them, and you let us know who's coming and when so reception expects them. For bartenders, we've used Movers and Shakers (shakersnola.com), and they're great.
Can we rent a villa for a daytime event only?
Yes, when a villa is free that day. Tell us the date, the headcount, and what you're planning, and we'll send a quote.
Do you host corporate retreats?
Yes. Sessions can run in the living room or on the covered patio, everyone sleeps on site, and there's one agreement and one invoice.
Do you host family reunions?
Yes. Cousins can share rooms, grandparents can take the Florentine's step-free ground-floor queen, and the dining table seats 18.
House rules
Can extra people stay over?
Up to 30 people can stay overnight in each villa, and every villa has 17 beds. If you need more places to sleep, ask ahead of time and we'll leave free queen air mattresses at the villa. They come with an electric pump, so they're easy to inflate. You set them up and pick the rooms.
Can we throw the party here?
Yes. The villa has hosted small rehearsal dinners and crawfish boils. Bigger headcounts or outside vendors sometimes mean an event fee or a permit, so tell us early and we'll quote it.
How late can we use the pool?
The pool is yours around the clock, with no posted hours. Quiet hours outside are 10 PM to 8 AM, because the neighbors are close by. Inside, any volume.
What about smoking, pets, and kids?
Smoking is outside only, and there's no glass in the pool area. Pets generally can't come, but ask before you book, since we occasionally approve one in advance (any pet fee is set in the approval). Service animals are a separate category, so see the terms or ask us. Kids are welcome. There's a turf lawn and a basketball hoop, and pack-and-plays are available on request.
Is there daily housekeeping?
Every stay gets a full professional clean before and after. Daily housekeeping is available if you ask before arrival, and we'll quote it.
What if we run out of supplies?
Stop by reception. It's staffed around the clock, extra supplies are free, and so is lockout help.
Getting here & around
How do we get there?
The airport (MSY) is 25 minutes by car. The French Quarter is 10 minutes by car and isn't walking distance, so most groups take rideshares. They show up in a few minutes, and on busy nights it's worth ordering one a few minutes early. Frenchmen Street is 8 minutes by car.
When is check-in and checkout?
Check-in is 4 PM and checkout is 11 AM. If the calendar allows, early check-in at 1 PM and late checkout at 1 PM are free. Earlier or later than that has a fee that depends on the day, so ask and we'll quote it. We send the check-in options 2 days before arrival and the checkout options 1 day before checkout. You can leave bags in the office for free, any time before check-in or after checkout.
Is there parking?
Each villa has 5 spaces: 2 inside the villa's fence and 3 across the street. Free street parking nearby is unlimited.
What's walkable?
Bacchanal is a 14-minute walk, Vaughan's Lounge is 13, and BJ's Lounge is 11. Crescent Park is a 20-minute walk through the Bywater, and it's a nice walk. Frenchmen Street is a longer walk by way of Bud Rip's and R Bar, or 8 minutes by car. The French Quarter is 10 minutes by car.
Is the Bywater safe?
The Bywater is a neighborhood of galleries, coffee shops, and bars, and Bacchanal is a 14-minute walk. At night, most groups take rideshares door to door. At the property, reception is staffed around the clock and the entry is monitored. There are exterior cameras only, never indoors, and noise monitors that measure sound levels only. The details are in the terms.
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