Houmas House Estate and Gardens Guided Tour

The tour and guide were both phenomenal! Suzanne did an incredible job and shared some great tidbits.

Our guide was fascinating. We toured the house and all its rooms, and saw many everyday objects. It was truly interesting. The garden is very large and beautiful. You can spend time there or even have lunch at the on-site restaurant. We loved the visit.

Sophie, our guide, did an outstanding job leading us through the house. Her enthusiasm was apparent and she shared a great deal of information about the house and its history. She appreciated the stories my friends shared and their knowledge, particularly of the Houmas Indians. The house and grounds are beautiful and so worth the time and money.

This might be the worst tour I have taken of an historic house. The guide was very nice, but that is as much as I can say that is positive. Her tour was scattershot, basically just pointing at things and saying what they were and how much they cost. There was a lot of talk about how wealthy the owners of the house were, but not one mention of the enslaved workers who actually did the work and made that wealth possible. To judge by this tour, the sugar magically grew itself and elves maintained the house. In addition to all of that, the entire tour was obviously meant to sell the restaurant and hotel. Just really a long sales pitch with very little historical merit.

We really enjoyed walking through the gardens before and after the tour. They are extensive and well done. The house is interesting as well. We went through several plantation houses on this trip and this was the best.

Beautiful garden. Owner lives in the house but guide in authentic clothes shows us around open rooms. Impressive that with $150 worth of goods such a large plantation of 1300 ha could be bought from the Houma Indians in 1774. At its peak, the plantation owned 20,000 acres. Owner Kevin Kelly has spent millions of dollars on restoration since buying it in 2003. Wanted to have coffee at Dixie cafe in the afternoon but closed. Were referred to Carriage House but not really welcome here. Eventually bought coffee to go. Decided not to have dinner there

We did the house tour, walked the gardens, had a cocktail in the Turtle Bar, ate supper, spent the night, had the breakfast buffet, and toured the museum. Upon arrival we had a smooth check-in, went to our room, decided to change rooms, which went smoothly and courteously. Both rooms were immaculate and very expensively appointed. The mattress was super-comfortable, enough so that I asked them to let me know the vendor, but haven’t heard back yet. We enjoyed our tour of the big house immensely. The guide was excellent. Mr. Kelly, the home’s owner, has done a wonderful job in managing, curating, and preserving Houmas House and its gardens. After our tour we had drinks in the Turtle Bar; it has comfy furniture and the drinks are a fair price. The building is historical, and the remodeling v tasteful. We ate supper in the Carriage House. The food was fine. (There’s nowhere close by to eat, so plan on dining there if you stay the night.) The highlight was dining in the Trophy Room, which is filled with hunting trophies from around the world. Gorgeous decor throughout the restaurant. They have golf carts to move you around the property, and we took one after finishing supper. Riding through the property at night is wonderful: the lighting of the fountains and landscaping is excellent. The bonuses, you have it all to yourself. The next morning we went to breakfast. Most breakfast buffets are average. This buffet was a cut above. I have not had grits cooked that well in years and years. Coffee is excellent, and the biscuits are second to none. Seriously, my wife is still raving about those biscuits, and she is a biscuit aficionado. Kudos to Chef. After a walk over the foot bridge that leads to the levy for views of the Mississippi river and the Sunshine Bridge, we headed to the museum, which is over 30,000 ft.²! What I found most interesting was the eclectic collection of historical pieces that Mr. Kelly has put together. The only hiccup with checking out was not having a golf cart carry us and our luggage to our car, but it was a short walk and we had rolling suitcases, so it wasn’t that big of a deal. Staying overnight enabled us to take things at a slower pace, taking in all the beauty this place has to offer. It’s worth spending the night there, we will be back.

The home and the grounds are magnificent. The house even has a small elevator to the second floor. The tour guide was well informed of the history and very friendly The complex has an inn. We did not stay there, but the lobby was nicely decorated. we also did not do the museum, we did however choose to try their cafe. The food was excellent but the staff was not! It was 1:40 when we arrived. They close at 2. We were rudely told they were closing in 20 minutes and if we ordered the buffet we could get nothing after 2 from it. At that point we decided to order off the menu (if they had let us have the buffet they would have gotten out of there sooner as the food had to be cooked instead of us just dishing up). We were given very dirty looks, banging dishes and an employee standing there with a mop, If the restaurant wants their employees out at 2 then they should say they close at 1 or 1:30. Stay away from the cafe unless you want to be abused while you eat.

Very nice privately owned plantation that can be visited by a guided tour. The gardens are magnificent and there is a huge gift store. A must do when in NOLA

Our docent was very personable and knowledgeable of the plantation history and families. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit and area sites. The vast museum exhibits were great.