The latest hotel to become a member of Hilton's luxury tier of hotels is the Roosevelt Hotel, the hotel's original name before it became the Fairmont New Orleans in 1965.
The The hotel was was hard hit by Hurricane Katrina and so it will undergo a $100 million renovation that will be completed by Spring 2009.
Key among those plans to restore the property to its previous grandeur will be the reopening of the hotel's famed "Blue Room," as well as the legendary Sazerac Bar. In the golden era of supper clubs from the 1930s to the 1960s, the Blue Room played host to some of the biggest names in show business as well as to an elaborate floor show. The reopened Blue Room will once again periodically host live entertainment. The Sazerac Bar, a fixture in The Roosevelt since 1949, will once again be serving its signature Sazerac Cocktails and Ramos Gin Fizzes when the property reopens.
The hotel's ballrooms will get a new look as well and WAC management team will once again do the "extravagant" Christmas decorations which was something that the Fairmont New Orleans was known for.
In total, there will be 500 guestrooms, a luxury spa and a fitness center on site. Fun fact: The hotel was known for having inspired the 1965 best-selling novel from Arthur Hailey titled, Hotel.
One year after Hurricane Katrina, several of the city's big hotels are back up and running, like the W Hotels, the Chateau Sonesta, and the Maison de Ville.
However, one exception is the Ritz-Carlton which is set to re-open December 4. The hotel, often referred to as the Crown Jewel of the Crescent City, was flooded out by Katrina. But the hotel decided to upgrade the hotel, adding 8,000 more square feet of meeting space when it underwent repair.
The hotel and its hotel-within-a-hotel, The Maison Orleans, also got room enhancements such as wireless internet access, 400-thread count linens made of 100% Egyptian cotton, showerheads by Kohler and amenities from Bulgari's White Tea line.
Additionally, the spa is adding six treatment rooms and the fitness center and spa café will be entirely renovated to open in February of 2007.
When the hotel opens again in December, the place is determined to recapture the glory of New Orleans, pre-Katrina devastation:
The heritage of New Orleans will be evident in every aspect of the hotel, from arrival to departure. Expect to be greeted by a lady or gentleman in a seersucker suit, experience authentic live jazz and learn to make a Big Easy libation or culinary creation.
As Mardi Gras comes to an end, NY Newsday visited the Chateau Sonesta complaining that hotel rates are still very healthy in New Orleans, largely due to high labor rates and the continuous influx of evacuees and workers filling up the hotel rooms.
But service is still lacking at the Chateau Sonesta.
Upon my arrival, I requested that the hotel staff fix a lamp, waited 45 minutes and then finally left to eat. When I returned, the door to my room was wide open. I'm no investigator, but this was clearly no robbery attempt; nothing had been touched.
When the reporter complained to the manager In response to my complaint, the concierge, asid that one of the new hotel workers "probably forgot to shut the door when he came to fix the lamp -- and also forgot to fix the lamp." Calls to the front desk were often followed by a 10-minute wait. Yikes.
[Editor's Note: How appropriate. On St. Patrick's day Hotel Maven dzot reports on getting a lucky upgrade down in the Crescent City. Enjoy.]
When I asked the cabbie to take me to the Iberville Suites in the French Quarter he expressed confusion. Not with the location, but with the concept. Iberville Suites is located inside the Ritz-Carlton New Orleans. It is operated by the Ritz-Carlton. You can use all the facilities at the Ritz-Carlton. You can visit the bars or restaurant at the Ritz and charge it to your room. And yet, the rate at Iberville is typically half that of the Ritz (rack rate, anyway). My cabbie could not comprehend how such an economic imbalance could exist. (Of course, he didn't put it that way; he spoke exclusively in Nawlins English, which takes a minute to understand until you learn to disregard the "Itehyouwha" or "fatullyspeakin" at the beginning and end of each sentence.) It made no sense to me either, but never let it be said I passed up an opportunity for a good deal on luxury digs, so I planned to spend a couple of nights in the Iberville Suites to find out if it was actually Ritz on the cheap.
I can report that the lobby is very nice, but that's about it. When I arrived to check in and gave the desk clerk my name his brow furrowed and he adopted a dire countenance. "Damn," I thought. "They don't have my reservation. I'm going to be out on Bourbon Street begging some sleazy bead-waiver for a place to crash." I instinctively reached into my bag for my confirmation number, but he just looked up at me and said, "Well sir, it looks like you have been given a complimentary upgrade to the Ritz-Carlton."
The NY Post picks out a couple of what they call "secret" picks from TripAdvisor users. Not sure how secret they are--we didn't notice any speakeasy joints on the list, however, we did notice an intriguing N'Orleans property that could provide a good launching pad for a night of French Quarter debauchery, and a morning filled with Decatur St. beignets, of course.
If you are looking to stay away from the craziness of the French Quarter, Le Pavillon is an old southern style hotel that serves up PB& J sandwiches with milk, every night, between 10-11 pm. Now that is a different way to experience New Orleans--forgo the booze between 10-11pm. A further bonus if you stay at Le Pavillon? The police may not think to look for you outside the French Quarter at a stately tea-totaling hotel filled with southern hospitality...think about it.
The Le Pavillon website comes with a cool virtual tour, which is a good way to check out the hotel. Check it out.
Ok, we decided to put this in Hotel Hell (it could just as easily go in the Tips section), but listen up people, we all should know this, you never use the in room phone for anything but calling room service. With all the demand for free Internet access and lower priced rooms hoteliers appear to be upping the ante on gouging anyone who uses their in room phones.
Their thinking? Might be that they have been charging way too much for in room phone services for many years, so the fat cats that use the in room phones won’t notice if their bill goes from, say, $23 to $230.
Looks like these hotels went a little too high for the fat cats. Here is a quote from a VC who ran up a $230 phone bill in about 2 minutes at the Ritz in New Orleans:
…everything was going smoothly until I looked at my bill. I was shocked by the total (which is usually all I look at) and quickly looked over the bill. I wasn't surprised by my room charge (which was actually pretty reasonable), nor did the state tax, city tax, or occupancy charge both me as I've become immune to all the extra "taxes" we pay for travel. However, the "phone - long distance charges" totalled up to over $230 which blew my mind.
The lesson: If you don't get reception in your room, take your cell to the lobby.
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by juliana
One year after Hurricane Katrina, several of the city's big hotels are back up and running, like the W Hotels, the Chateau Sonesta, and the Maison de Ville. 
As Mardi Gras comes to an end, 
