Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
( 504-821-1904;
www.indiahousehostel.com
; 124 S Lopez St, Mid-City; dm/d $20/55; )
In Mid-City, this place has a free-spirited party atmosphere. A large aboveground swim-
ming pool and cabana-like patio add ambience to the three well-used old houses that
serve as sparse but nice dorms. Private rooms are so-so.
Columns
HISTORIC HOTEL$$$
( 504-899-9308;
www.thecolumns.com
;
3811 St Charles Ave, Garden District; r incl breakfast
weekend/weekday from $170/134; )
A steal in low season (from $99), still a deal in
high, this stately 1883 Italianate mansion in the Garden District is both elegant and re-
laxed, boasting all sorts of extraordinary original features: a stained-glass-topped stair-
case, elaborate marble fireplaces, richly carved woodwork throughout etc. To top it off,
there's a lovely 2nd-floor porch overlooking oak-draped St Charles Ave and a damn in-
viting bar. It's everything that's wonderful about Nola.
Melrose Mansion
B&B$$$
$$$
( 504-944-2255, 800-650-3323;
www.melrosemansion.com
;
937 Esplanade Ave, French Quarter;
ste weekdays/weekends from $150/330; )
If you were a millionaire with a New Or-
leans pied-à-terre, this could be it. It's austerely elegant with hand-selected antiques sit-
ting alongside the freshest modern art, and during high season you'll be regaled with a
home-baked breakfast and evening wine and cheese in the chic parlor. A chic studio op-
tion offers sleeker, more modern accommodations.
Roosevelt Hotel
HOTEL$$$
$$$
( 504-648-1200;
www.therooseveltneworleans.com
; 123 Baronne St, Warehouse District/CBD; r
from $200, ste from $290; )
With its majestic, block-long lobby, this was the city's
elite establishment when it opened in 1893. By the 1930s, its swanky bar was frequented
by governor Huey Long. After a meticulous $145 million renovation, the Roosevelt re-
opened its doors in June 2009 as part of the Waldorf-Astoria Collection. Swish rooms
have classical details, but the full spa, a John Besh restaurant and the storied Sazerac Bar
are at least half the reason to stay.
Cornstalk Hotel
B&B$$$
$$$
( 504-523-1515;
www.cornstalkhotel.com
;
915 Royal St, French Quarter; r $125-250; )
Pass
through the famous cast-iron fence and into a plush, antiqued B&B where the serenity
