L’Auberge Lake Charles is Not Your Normal Fishing Hotel

In between our stops at Sam Rayburn to visit friends and fish for crappie, and then our fishing/hunting trip at Grosse Savanne, Hanna and I needed a hotel. It had to be fairly close to Grosse Savanne because we needed to be at the lake by 6am the next morning, so we settled on Lake Charles, Louisiana as the location. It was a little over a half hour away from our ultimate destination. We left Rayburn at about 4pm and we were ready to check at L’Auberge Casino a little bit after 6.

Why We Chose L’Auberge

Normally, a hotel’s amenities are not a big deal to me. I don’t spend much time in the room – I’d rather spend my limited dollars on activities and “things” than on slightly nice amenities. Safety is a huge concern, though. On fishing trips where we’re traveling with a boat, I want someplace that I can park the boat outside of the room and charge my batteries and not worry about my gear being taken or plundered. We were boat-free on this trip, so that wasn’t an issue, but security still matters.

We’ve stayed at some dicey places on fishing trips to Michigan and Milwaukee and Florida, and at this point in my life I’d rather spend a few more bucks for someplace clean where I won’t have to worry. I know that some friends traveling for BASS tournaments had their catalytic converters stolen out of their trucks in Orange, Texas (35 miles away) while they slept, so I was particularly concerned about that on this trip. Even with a major chain, sometimes it’s in a less-than-optimal place, so I chose from the casinos – which I figured would have substantial security. L’Auberge was the most highly-rated, and at $163 including taxes it wasn’t much more than the other major chains, so I jumped on it.

Check-In and the Room

As I noted above, we were there around 6. There were seemingly acres of parking lots and they seemed crowded, so Hanna took me to the front door to check in. In total, that process took less than 5 minutes. I was worried that we might have to walk a long way after self-parking, but we got a spot in the second row and came right inside.

The space itself is huge. We probably walked about a hundred yards to the “Garden” area elevators and went up to our room on the 9th floor. It was extremely clean, with comfortable pillows and a sizeable and updated bathroom.

The hotel had warned us via text and during check-in that there was construction going on at the hotel, and they even provided earplugs in the room, but by the time we got there it was over, and we left in the morning before it started again, so we didn’t get to see how disruptive it might have been.

Meal and a Walk-Around

After a quick shower, we were starving – we’d had a big breakfast but no lunch – so we headed down to eat. Among the multiple choices we winnowed it down to Mexican, or the Sports Book (bar food) or Drago’s (seafood). We arrived at the former first, and decided to stop there.

Johnny Sanchez was developed by MasterChef judge and Food Network personality Aaron Sanchez. I always worry about hotel restaurants – will they be overpriced, watered-down, Bubba-Gumpified shells of their concepts. I shouldn’t have worried. While it wasn’t inexpensive, the food was a good value, with big portions. Hanna called it “some of the best Mexican food I’ve ever had,” and we have enjoyed more than a few tacos and burritos over the years.

When we ordered chips and salsa (not included) the waitress asked if we wanted the trio – salsa, guacamole and queso – and I was surprised that Hanna said “yes” before I’d even given it much thought. The portions that came out were immense, huge bowls of each dip. Had we’d known how big they’d be, we might not have ordered entrees, but that didn’t stop us from finishing them plus our entrees. I had ahi tuna tacos while Hanna had a chicken enchilada skillet. Not only did both taste incredible, but even the beans and rice side dishes were flavorful and distinctive.

After dinner it was still early, and while we were tired we decided to walk the property. With no intention of gambling we started in the casino. On a Sunday night it was mildly crowded. I was surprised to learn that you’re still allowed to smoke while you gamble. I’m not sure if that’s a Louisiana thing or if it’s more common and widespread than that.

We walked past the Sports Book where the late NFL game was on the screen, and peeked in at some of the other restaurants, including the Asian option. We were glad that we’d eaten Mexican, and we have such great Asian options near home that it’s not always our first option elsewhere, but we might have tried it if we’d stayed another night.

We tried to go outside to walk around the pool area, which features a lazy river, but it was cordoned off, perhaps a victim of the ongoing construction. If we’d gotten there earlier or we’d been staying another day we might have been disappointed by that.

Postscript

We were asleep a little bit after 9pm. The bed was comfortable, there was no noise (or we were too tired to notice it) and we both slept well. That’s good, because we’d set the alarm for 4:15 to give ourselves ample time to be on the lake by daylight.

I wasn’t sure if there would be a safe and open place to stop on the way to the lake, so I went to the convenience store at the hotel and semi-willingly paid the outrageous sum of over $9 for a muffin and a Diet Coke. I almost put them back, but didn’t want to go hungry. The muffin was really good, but ultimately it proved to be misspent money because there were two nearby convenience stores that had better selections at better prices, with no safety concerns. In fact, we stopped at one and gassed up the rental car.

At the lodge and later, when we mentioned to several people that we’d spent the night at a casino, most asked if we’d stayed at the Golden Nugget. I’m not sure if it’s just more prominent or if it is in some way better, but based on this experience if we had it to do over again I’d stay at L’Auberge a second time, especially if we were going to have more time to take advantage of everything they offer.