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Get Your Game Face On at the Hyatt Regency New Orleans

Where: 601 Loyola Avenue [map], New Orleans, LA, United States, 70113

We love us some Big Blue, but we have to admit: we really wanted to see the New Orleans Saints take on the Pats on Sunday. (And, duh, beat them.) Even without New Orleans in the Super Bowl, we wish we were there to get our Game Face on at the Hyatt Regency New Orlean's Vitascope Hall.

This is one of the best hotel sports bars we've ever seen. It's not a dive full of aggressive sports fans; it's actually quite sleek looking. But more importantly, it is designed with perfect game-watching functionality.

There are big leather bar stools with seat backs lining the bar with front-on views of the flatscreens and there are lots of leather couches in various configurations scattered around the room. The prime spots for football games, though, are these semi-private booths with their own flatscreens...

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Design Thursdays / Hotel Design / New Orleans Hotels / Hotel Lobbies / Hotel Furniture / Hotel Openings / → All Tags

A Sparkling Saint Descends On New Orleans Later This Month

Where: Burgundy and Canal Sts [map], New Orleans, LA, United States, 70112

In order to accurately represent the neighborhood's unique history, Saint Hotel owner Mark Wyant supposedly spent months scouring the archives at the Library of Congress for photos of the original Audubon Building, which first opened in 1910.

But Wyant wasn't only interested in pressed tin tiles and exposed brick—the hotel's design team also wanted to go for an "ethereal" feel, especially in the ground-floor lobby, which can be accessed from two entrances on Canal Street and Burgundy Street. Once inside, sheer drapes hang delicately from 22-foot high ceilings, and broad white columns punctuate the space like pillars in a church. Add in a gold-plated chandelier, cast in the shape of a giant bell, and you can practically hear the saints singing in jubilation.

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Hyatt Regency NOLA's GM Does Not Want to Gouge You With His Minibars

Where: 601 Loyola Avenue [map], New Orleans, LA, United States, 70113

We already took you on a tourof the guest rooms at the back-in-business Hyatt Regency New Orleans--and told you all the gourmet tailgating goodness that can be found at the hotel's bars and restaurants.

As for the reason your minibar is empty, we decided to let the Hyatt Regency NOLA's GM explain. We caught up with Michael Smith at the hotel's 24-hour market Lagniappe Exchange, which factors heavily in his plans not to rip off his guests at the minibar.

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Indoor Tailgating at the Hyatt Regency New Orleans

Where: 601 Loyola Avenue [map], New Orleans, LA, United States, 70113

It's no secret that the eatin' and drinkin' in New Orleans is out of this world. Also, on game days, there is tailgating aplenty around the Superdome—and, now it's reopened, the Hyatt Regency New Orleans. But inside? There's even more yumminess to be had.

Our gallery has a little visual sampling of what's on offer, and here are the important deets on where to eat in the hotel:

8 Block Kitchen & Bar: Named for the eight blocks of Upper Bourbon Street in the French Quarter, the Hyatt Regency NOLA's signature restaurant is helmed by executive chef Eric Damidot, who joined the hotel from Caesar's Palace in Vegas. His menu is farm-to-table driven and blends international foodie favorites with traditional New Orleans flavors. Breakfast options include Fried Oyster Eggs Benedict and Beignets. Lunch and dinner specialties include She Crab Soup, Rotisserie Coq au Coin Farm Chicken Gumbo, Garlic and Pepper Crusted Gulf Shrimp and a Muffaletta sandwich.

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Inside the Newly Reopened Hyatt Regency New Orleans

Where: 601 Loyola Avenue [map], New Orleans , LA, United States, 70113

We love a new hotel opening. But what's even more exciting is a hotel reopening—especially when it's one as symbolic as this. On October 19, the Hyatt Regency New Orleans finally threw open its doors again, after a four-year top-to-toe refurbishment.

The hotel was badly damaged during Hurricane Katrina—and a highly visible sign of the storm, situated right behind the Superdome. Its return has locals beaming with pride and it couldn't come at a better time, with tourists back in force in Nola, and a slew of big events on the way, including the BCS National Championship in 2012 and the Super Bowl in 2013.

We checked in over the weekend, when the hotel was abuzz with Saints fans who filled up a large percentage of the 1,193 guest rooms. Here's our first peek at the hotel and an Executive Suite room. We'll have more on the hotel and its public spaces later this week...

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Hyatt New Orleans Still Set to Reopen October 19 at $239 a Night

Where: 601 Loyola Avenue [map], New Orleans, LA, United States, 70113

We've been waiting for the Hyatt Regency New Orleans to reopen for quite some time and the hotel, unlike many other hotels, is not keeping us waiting.

The hotel, which was damaged heavily by Hurricane Katrina (see these photos on MSNBC) is still going ahead with an October 19 reopening date to show off its $275 million redesign and restoration. Room rates are also holding steady at $239 a night for a queen bed, which hasn't changed since we last checked on it in May.

About the only gripe we have with this place now is that we just wish there were better photos up on the website but instead there are just renderings. We hope that changes soon.

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An American Airlines Pilot, And His Mother, Will Open Up The Saint Hotel This December

If locals were wondering when exactly the Audubon Buiding in New Orleans would officially transition into a hotel, the suspense is over. At 8am this morning, a banner was installed on the front of the building announcing the grand opening date. How's that for pomp?

The eight-story The Saint Hotel, which will open this December, is in fact owned by an American Airlines pilot. David Mark Wyant, and his mother Jana, purchased the building for $5.35 million last year, and quickly began pouring $39 million into the 101-year-old building's renovations. And, you know those pilots—always with their heads in the clouds. According to this NOLA article, the ceilings inside the 166 rooms will all be painted blue, and 21' tall Italian-crafted columns will give the lobby an "ethereal feel."

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Use Your Smartphone to Plan Your Own Stay at the Hotel Monteleone

Where: 214 Royal St. [map], New Orleans, LA, United States, 70130

Forget using an iPad 2 to connect to a hotel's services. At the Hotel Monteleone, all you need to get keyed in is your smartphone. The hotel has started a new Mobile Passport program that will give you access to your reservation—including room type, confirmation number, arrival/departure dates and room number—as well as e-concierge services from your iPhone or Android.

The way it works is that upon booking a reservation at the Hotel Monteleone, leave your email address. Then you'll receive a confirmation email and a personalized link to the Mobile Passport so you can start planning your stay right away.

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New Orleans Marriott to Give out Beignets for National Doughnut Day

Where: 555 Canal St. [map], New Orleans , LA, United States, 70130

National Doughnut Day is coming June 3, and instead of celebrating with a boring jelly-filled or chocolate glazed, our mouth is watering for a good old N'Awlins beignet. The New Orleans Marriott is giving out free beignets every Friday in June to celebrate our new favorite holiday.

Beignets are deep-fried dough pieces covered in powdered sugar, similar to New York's zeppole, but square instead of round. The doughy, greasy goodness is the official Louisiana state doughnut.

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Hotel Reopenings / Hotel News / Hyatt Hotels / New Orleans Hotels / → All Tags

Geaux Hyatt: Hyatt Regency New Orleans to Reopen October 19

Where: 601 Loyola Avenue [map], New Orleans, LA, United States, 70013

Saints fans will have a new hotel to stay in next football season when the Hyatt Regency New Orleans reopens on October 19 after undergoing a $275 million redesign and restoration. The hotel was left inoperable by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 but last August, construction on the 32-story hotel began in earnest, seeking to not just repair but also to revitalize the convention center hotel.

Aside from doubling its meeting and exhibition space, the hotel has jazzed up its 1,193 hotel rooms (above), offering the new Respire by Hyatt hypoallergenic rooms along with floor to ceiling windows, plug panels, 42" flat-screens, natural stone baths and some intriguing "private half-walls" that separate the bedroom from the bathroom.

Rates for opening start at $239 for either a queen or a king bed. Um, that's a no-brainer. Book the king bed. A Respire by Hyatt room goes for $264 that night.

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The Honesty Bar At Soniat House Is (Kinda) Big And (Very) Easy

Where: 1133 Chartres Street [map], New Orleans, LA, United States, 70116

Could there be a better antithesis to the horrible hotel minibars that charge you for just having a peek and a squeeze of the biscuit tin/booze bottle/sexytime kit? There we were thinking honesty bars went out of fashion in, like, the 50s, but last week we went to New Orleans, stayed at the olde worlde Soniat House in the French Quarter, and walked straight in on this scene in the living room, just off the check in desk.

Instead of minibars in the bedrooms, there’s this communal one down here. And instead of having to ask someone to give you booze, they let you pour your own. And then charge yourself. It’s not just those three bottles, either – as you can see from the gallery, there’s another shelf of spirits, one of mixers and one with wine, condiments and a cocktail shaker.

Prices are pretty high - $4 for a beer isn’t bad, but wine is $12 a glass, as are cocktails. But then again, you’re in charge of the measures, plus New Orleans is the city of generous measures, so when in Rome, etc etc.

As for the hotel… we had a suite in the building across the road and liked it a lot – but be warned, it was one of the least hotel-like experiences we’ve ever had, which can either be a very good or a bad thing, depending on how you see it.

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Presidents Day Hotels / New Orleans Hotels / Marriott Hotels / InterContinental Hotels / Best Western Hotels / Holiday Inn Hotels / Westin Hotels / → All Tags

Last-Minute President's Day Hotels: New Orleans

With everyone saving their party game for March 8—Mardi Gras—there are plenty of well-priced hotels in New Orleans for this long weekend. And it being New Orleans, visitors won't exactly be given short shrift on drinking and carousing just because the official holiday is still a couple weeks away.

And so to the booking engine we go! The bad news is that the French Quarter hotels are, for the most part, sold out for Saturday night. But many Canal Street properties, which are on the edge of the Quarter anyway, have rooms for the night like the Holiday Inn French Quarter ($200) and the Marriott ($219). The InterContinental is at $195 for Saturday night; the Westin Canal Place is at $269. But the deal of the bunch is the Best Western Saint Christopher at just $109 for Saturday.

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