The French Quarter in New Orleans is known for its distinct architecture.
Walking under wrought iron balconies down the narrow, uneven sidewalks of New Orleans is like walking back in time. Everywhere you look are reminders of the city's French and Spanish past. Creole townhouses, galleried homes and shotgun houses are the distinct remnants of a beguiling history. New Orleans offers a variety of modern accommodations, but for a visitor interested in getting inside this city's history, noteworthy hotels with stories to tell are easy to find.
Le Pavillon Hotel
At the turn of the nineteenth century, Poydras Street where Le Pavillon stands was the swampy home of thieves, runaway slaves and mosquitoes. Later came a railroad depot, wayside lodgings for traveling circus performers and then a theater. When it was built in 1899, the hotel boasted the city's first basement and hydraulic elevators, as well as the relative novelty of electric lighting. It quickly became a popular destination for society swells and film stars. When the hotel underwent restoration in 1970, the name was changed to Le Pavillon. Le Pavillon Hotel appears on the National Register of Historic Places.
Le Pavillon Hotel
833 Poydras Street
New Orleans, LA 70112
504-581-3111
lepavillon.com
Dauphine Orleans Hotel
John James Audubon painted his "Birds of America" series in what is today known as Audubon Cottage at the Dauphine Orleans Hotel, which dates to 1775. Across the street, the hotel's other cottages, which originally belonged to a wealthy merchant in the mid-1800s, underwent renovation in the 1990s, revealing the original brick walls and, in wooden posts, nails supposedly made in the blacksmithing shop of pirate Jean Lafitte. The hotel boasts a bar that once housed some of the city's soiled doves; a red light burning in the courtyard invokes this notorious past. Hotel guests receive a copy of the license the city gave May Baily when she opened her bordello.
Dauphine Orleans Hotel
415 Dauphine Street
New Orleans, LA 70112
504-586-1800
dauphineorleans.com
Hotel Monteleone
The Monteleone housed Anne Rice, creator of New Orleans' illustrious fictional vampires.
Antonio Monteleone opened his hotel in 1886 after arriving in New Orleans six years earlier from Sicily. Since then, it has remained in the family through four generations. Located on Royal Street, the Beaux-Arts building sits in the heart of the Vieux Carre and over the years has undergone five major additions. In 1954, the original building was torn down and replaced with a new one that contains cocktail lounges, ballrooms and swimming pools. The hotel has always been popular with writers. Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner and Tennessee Williams chose to stay at the Hotel Monteleone whenever they were in town. Truman Capote claimed to have been born there. More recent literary guests include John Grisham and Anne Rice.
Hotel Monteleone
214 Royal Street
New Orleans, LA 70130
504-523-3341
hotelmonteleone.com
The Maison Dupuy
Located in the residential section of the French Quarter, not far from Bourbon Street, the Maison Dupuy was the location of the first cotton press in the United States. Although not established until the 1970s, the hotel is made up of seven adjoining townhouses that display the typical New Orleans wrought iron balcony railings, French doors and tall, narrow windows. The large courtyard encloses a lounging area, swimming pool and marble fountain. As a young man, renowned chef Paul Prudhomme worked in its kitchens before leaving to open K-Paul's Louisiana Kitchen, one of New Orleans' culinary institutions.
The Maison Dupuy
1001 Rue Toulouse
New Orleans, LA 70112
504-586-8000
maisondupuy.com
