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In June 2009 after a $145 million restoration, the famed Roosevelt New Orleans Hotel began attractting new visitors for the first time since closing after Hurricane Katrina. The hotel has undergone a $145 million restoration and will join Hilton’s fast-growing Waldorf-Astoria Collection. Just steps from the French Quarter in downtown New Orleans, the new owners took the hotel back to the era of its heyday-a historically significant building coupled with a luxurious experience. Official Website.
The renovated site will add to the number of hotel rooms available to travelers in New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina brought travel to a stand still in 2005. The historic accommodation will target business travelers and weekend leisure visitors. The property features nearly 60,000 square feet of event and meeting space. This includes three spectacular ballrooms and 23 distinctive meeting rooms. “Our ballrooms represent the history and grandeur of New Orleans but also present a location with unmatched service and attention to detail,” said Mark Wilson, marketing and sales director at the The Roosevelt New Orleans. “We want our guests to indulge themselves, while also envisioning these spaces as luxurious locations for their special events.”
The sleeping rooms, totaling 504, include 135 new suites. And even before the hotel opens, anxious visitors could view a replica of a sleeping room on display in the main lobby of New Orleans’ Armstrong International Airport. Complete with everything a guest will experience-the model room is seen by thousands of visitors to the airport each day. “This is the first time an actual hotel guest room has been set up in the New Orleans airport. One of the most exciting aspects about this campaign is the partnership between the airport and The Roosevelt to promote New Orleans tourism from a different perspective,” according to director of sales and marketing.
Though the hotel originally opened as The Grunewald in 1893 and was later renamed The Fairmont, it was during The Roosevelt years that it established itself as a beacon of luxury in the South. The hotel was a revolving door of the time’s most famous names-Louis Armstrong, Cab Calloway, Ray Charles, Jack Benny, Bob Hope – each adding to a legend that continues to be written today. The historical nature, with the original artwork, nostalgic decorations is a logical addition to the Waldorf Astoria inventory-adding in luxury and the well known Roosevelt name. NOTE: Photos provided by the hotel, edited by MurrayOnTravel.
For dining and entertaining at the Roosevelt is the Sazerac bar, where the Sazerac cocktail was popularized; and the Blue Room-legendary with locals, visitors and celebrities-will host Sunday brunch, regular entertainment and special events. John Besh’s new Domenica Restaurant is a new addition to the property as is a 12,000-square foot Guerlain Spa.
The Waldorf Astoria Collection is a group of distinct hotels from the Hilton Family of Hotels.
