The most atmospheric city in America. The French Quarter is a living museum that happens to also be a functioning neighbourhood, and the best hotels are the ones that understand both sides of that equation.
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New Orleans's finest grand hotel is the Windsor Court in the CBD, from about $350; by our score the highest-rated stay is the seven-cottage Audubon Cottages hideaway, from roughly $450. For French Quarter value, Hotel Monteleone and its Carousel Bar start near $250. Budget about 16 to 17 percent in layered room taxes on top.
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HFK Scores are the average of our Rooms, Service and Location sub-scores, editorial judgments rather than guest-review averages.
Ranked by overall HFK score, the average of our Rooms, Service and Location marks. Seven New Orleans hotels reviewed in full.
Occasion Edit
New Orleans is the American city most naturally suited to anniversary stays because the city's relationship with pleasure, music, and food is entirely unironic. The Windsor Court is the anniversary hotel of record, the collection of original artworks, the Grill Room dining room, and the service precision make it the most complete luxury experience in the city. For something more intimate, Maison de la Luz's 67 rooms and its Shirley Mae's cocktail bar deliver an anniversary in the city's most design-forward boutique.
Occasion Edit
New Orleans is the world's most supportive city for solo dining and solo drinking, the culture of eating at the bar, talking to strangers, and following the music wherever it leads is genuinely hospitable to the solo traveller. The Chloe in the Garden District is the correct solo hotel: a renovated Greek Revival mansion with a pool, a chef's garden, and the complete absence of the tourist infrastructure that the French Quarter hotels cannot escape.
Ranked by overall editorial score.
Seven private cottages around a heated saltwater courtyard pool off Dauphine Street, the most exclusive, and priciest, hideaway in the French Quarter. Boutique. From $450/night.
The finest grand hotel in New Orleans. The art collection is museum-quality. The Grill Room has never had a bad night. Five-Star. From $350/night.
New Orleans's most design-considered boutique. Shirley Mae's bar serves until 2am. The building was a warehouse. It doesn't show. Boutique. From $300/night.
The Sazerac Bar invented the cocktail. Huey Long ran Louisiana from Suite 904. The lobby corridor is 300 feet of gilded excess. Historic/Heritage. From $289/night.
The French Quarter's last grande dame. Hemingway, Faulkner, and Tennessee Williams all drank at the Carousel Bar. The bar still spins. Historic/Heritage. From $250/night.
A Greek Revival mansion in the Garden District with a saltwater pool, a chef's garden, and 14 rooms that feel like a private house. Boutique. From $250/night.
Richard Nixon honeymooned here. The Bayou Bar has been continuous since 1927. The building is on the National Register. Boutique. From $250/night.
City Guide
New Orleans operates on an inverted season, the best weather runs October through May, when temperatures are mild and the humidity drops from oppressive to merely present. Mardi Gras (February or early March) is simultaneously the best and worst time to visit: the city is at its most alive and hotel rates are 3, 5x normal. Jazz Fest in late April and early May draws a more curated crowd and is arguably the better musical event. Summer is genuinely hot and humid but also the cheapest, and the city's food scene never closes.
The French Quarter is the historic and tourist core, the Windsor Court and Maison de la Luz are nearby but not within it, by design. The Central Business District (CBD) anchors the Roosevelt and the Ace. The Garden District, uptown across St. Charles Avenue, is where the Chloe and the city's finest Victorian architecture are located. Frenchmen Street in the Marigny is the live music street that locals actually frequent.
New Orleans luxury hotel rates average $250, $400 on weeknights, rising significantly during Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest, and the Sugar Bowl. On top of the rate the city layers state and local sales tax with stadium-district and convention-hall lodging taxes, totalling roughly 16 to 17 percent, plus a small per-night occupancy charge; many French Quarter and CBD hotels also add a $25, $35 facility fee. Book Mardi Gras accommodation at least 6 months in advance.
New Orleans is a walking and streetcar city. The St. Charles Avenue streetcar runs from the CBD through the Garden District to Tulane University and costs $1.25. The best meals in the city are at neighbourhood restaurants that don't appear on hotel recommendation lists, Dooky Chase's, Galatoire's, Brigsten's, Peche. Commander's Palace Saturday jazz brunch requires a reservation 2, 3 weeks in advance and is the finest restaurant experience in the American South.
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It depends on what you want. The Windsor Court is the finest full-service grand hotel, in the CBD with 316 rooms, a museum-grade art collection and the Grill Room, from about 350 dollars. By our overall score the highest-rated stay is Audubon Cottages, a seven-cottage hideaway around a heated saltwater pool in the French Quarter, from roughly 450 dollars.
Hotel Monteleone, the French Quarter's historic grande dame with the spinning Carousel Bar and 600 rooms, from about 250 dollars a night. The Chloe and the Pontchartrain, both Garden District boutiques reached by the St. Charles streetcar, also start near 250 dollars, which buys far more character per dollar than the convention-district chains.
Luxury rooms average roughly 250 to 400 dollars on weeknights, spiking hard during Mardi Gras, Jazz Fest and the Sugar Bowl. On top of the rate, New Orleans layers state and local sales tax with stadium-district and convention-hall lodging taxes, totalling roughly 16 to 17 percent, plus a small per-night occupancy charge, and many hotels add a 25 to 35 dollar nightly facility fee.
The French Quarter is the historic core for first-time visitors, home to Hotel Monteleone and Audubon Cottages. The CBD and Arts District hold the quieter luxury hotels, the Windsor Court, Maison de la Luz and the Roosevelt. The Garden District, uptown along the St. Charles streetcar line, is the boutique-calm choice, with The Chloe and the Pontchartrain.
Summer, June through August, is hot and humid but the cheapest time to book, and the city's food and music never close. The best weather runs October through May. Avoid Mardi Gras and Jazz Fest, when rates multiply several times over and hotels sell out months ahead, and book Mardi Gras stays at least six months in advance.
For an anniversary the Windsor Court is the hotel of record, with its art collection, the Grill Room and precise service. For a quieter honeymoon, Audubon Cottages offers seven private cottages around a courtyard pool, and The Chloe gives you a Garden District mansion with just fourteen rooms. Book these small properties months ahead for peak dates.