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For the last two decades, I’ve been visiting New Orleans – the historic, 304-year-old Southern port city large on charms, culture, and fabled culinary ambitions. From the boisterous action of the French Quarter to the hip, up-and-coming Faubourg Marigny neighborhood and over to the Oak-tree-lined confines of the Lower Garden District, the Crescent City continues to expand its hotel accommodations. A diverse sprawl of high-end hotel chains alongside independent boutiques gives New Orleans its lasting edge – while remaining an iconic town chock-full of live music, old cemeteries, Creole cooking, signature cocktails (Sazerac anyone?), and, of course, raucous Mardi Gras and Jazz Festival gatherings. Above all though, New Orleans offers legendary hospitality. In fact, should any American city have written the book on how to welcome out-of-towners, surely it was the Big Easy. Below are my favorite picks for the best New Orleans hotels.
921 Canal Street
Price:$264-2092/night
Occupying a stately Beaux-Arts building, the Ritz Carlton sits on a full city block on Canal Street – and underwent an extensive $40 million renovation a few years back. These days, the property’s antique-inspired rooms are decked out in blue and gold, many offering stellar French Quarter views, alongside plush velvet armchairs and embroidered headboards. Outside, an interior courtyard filled with sago palm trees provides a shady place to relax.
Alternatively,you can opt for relaxation inside the hotel’s 22-room gold-accented spa where you’ll find unique treatments like a Voodoo Ritual and Southern Ceremony (including a zesty body scrub and anti-aging facial). The hotel also boasts a state-of-the-art gym and a large subterranean lap pool that conjures a visit to a European bathhouse.
To eat, M Bistro offers organic farm-to-table classics and seafood from Louisiana purveyors. Later in the day, don’t miss a cocktail and legendary jazz trumpeter Jeremy Davenport playing inside his namesake lounge.
2 Canal Street
Price:$257-2555/night
Inside a landmark 1967 modernist building along the Mississippi River, and anchored in the heart of the Central Business District, the towering new Four Seasons hosts a serene sprawl of 341 rooms and suites. Thanks to large floor-to-ceiling windows you’re practically guaranteed a great view from each vantage point.
Calming, neutral-toned accommodations feature modern white-oak furniture while Carrara marble bathrooms are kitted with oval soaking tubs. In line with the brand’s luxe amenities, you’ll find a crescent-shaped rooftop pool alongside an eight-room spa (you might consider the Detox massage after a night of revelry).
Meanwhile, the lobby’s fashionable Chandelier Bar is ideal for sipping a Sazerac while admiring the pièce de résistance: a custom 15,000-piece crystal chandelier. To eat, award-winning chef Alon Shaya’s Miss River offers classic New Orleans fare; while Chemin à la Mer serves Louisiana cuisine executed with French technique.
501 Tchoupitoulas Street
Price:$114-960/night
A few years ago, the Kimpton Hotel Fontenot opened in the Central Business District. A quick jaunt to the French Quarter and hip Warehouse District, the property’s modern 202-rooms weave a clean palette of blacks, whites, and pops of soft pinks and purples. You’ll also find chic tambour armor and French-inspired cane beds kitted out with soft Frette linens. In the mornings, take a stretch on in-room yoga mats and enjoy bathing with custom Atelier Bloem toiletries.
The lobby features a butterfly installation and a musically-inclined art piece paying homage to Louis Armstrong and King Oliver. Later, draped in a poppy menagerie of patterns, drop by the regal blue-and-green-hued Peacock Room for a taste of elevated blue crab pimento cheese or dig into a hearty oyster gumbo.
Meanwhile, just off the lobby, you can sip a coffee (with an optional boozy spike) at the aptly-titled Gospel Coffee and Boozy Treats. Rest and repeat.
300 Gravier Street
Price:$219-3256/night
Drop your bags at this venerable grand dame whose ornate 19th-century British-flared decor (antiques and artwork) certainly conjures up an English retreat. A short walk from the French Quarter, you’ll uncover a formal lobby featuring vignettes of plush oversized armchairs, oil paintings, and fresh flowers.
The hotel’s collection of 316 rooms are mostly suites and include spacious seating areas with Louis XVI chairs and writing desks. A handful of rooms also have private balconies. Just off the lobby, Le Salon offers a traditional afternoon tea service while The Grill Room is usually reserved for a boozy Sunday Jazz brunch and the Polo Lounge offers elevated bar nibbles and top-notch martinis.
On the rooftop, you’ll find a state-of-the-art gym, a 65-foot saltwater pool (heated in the wintertime), and a bar pouring high-end cocktails (after all, you’re in New Orleans).