OMG, what a fun place!! We made sure to reserve our time slot a few weeks in advance and please know that they're serious about those times. :) I don't know if they're only doing reservations because of COVID, but I'm so glad they are; there were JUST enough people there to keep from feeling crowded. The water is cold... really cold, but you get used to it surprisingly fast. I stayed in the "shallow end" while my kids (12 & 14) spent our entire 4 hours on the tree swings jumping in. The taller swing is quite a stretch for short folks/little kids, but there was never a shortage of older/taller guys there to help out. If you want to just sit and watch (or dry off), make sure you bring your own chair; I think there were about 4 benches, and they get taken very fast. I ended up parking my butt on a large rock. Overall, a VERY cool place! Even the park/rec area that's attached has a nice playground and basketball courts. 10/10
We stayed here for 2 night a few weeks ago. The pros: the hotel is in a decent area, VERY close to the French Quarter and the Charles Street streetcars, which is convenient. The valet and bell hop were incredibly patient and helpful with me and my two kids, so please be prepared to tip them. The room had the option for keeping the A/C fan constantly running, which I greatly appreciate for white noise throughout the night. The cons: I know we're just coming out of COVID, but this was the only hotel in my 8 location stay that offered ZERO food options at the hotel. There was an option for "room service", but you had to order it the day beforehand and it literally just said it was food "Prepared by Dave", whatever that means. Also, the pool was NOT heated, like it says on their website. It was so chilly that the kids couldn't only stay in it for about 20 minutes before their teeth were chattering. Overall, I'd probably stay here again; you can't beat the price for the great location.
I'm so glad I added this to our trip; what a blast! Our guide has obviously been doing these tours for quite some time because he knew exactly how hard and fast to push the boat to give us a thrill without dumping any of us out! He was kind enough to let my son sit in the driver's seat for a photo when the tour was over, as well. My two kids (12 & 14) thought it was awesome. There was a little bit of a wait for our tour, but we occupied ourselves with feeding the captive alligators. If you're ever in this area, definitely stop by and take a quick boat ride; you won't regret it!
We were supposed to stay there for one night, but when we got there, the pool hadn't been opened yet (June 12th). The hotel is obviously very dated and be warned, there's no elevator to the 2nd floor. We ended up getting a refund and backtracking to Ft. Smith to stay at a newer hotel there. This Days Inn would probably have been fine if it were just me, but with 2 kids, I needed a pool! The staff was very understanding of my situation.