Oldest Hotel in New Orleans

8 Oldest Hotel in New Orleans

New Orleans is the most popular travel destination among many people. It is one of the best places to stay and enjoy your holidays in this part of the world. There are many cheap, nice, and comfortable hotels with amazing services for all types of travelers who visit this place for fun or business.

It is also a city of culture, history, and cuisine. It’s home to some of the most famous jazz musicians in the world, as well as the birthplace of Mardi Gras. New Orleans hotels are just as interesting as their city: from luxury resorts to historic hotels that have been hosting guests for centuries, there are plenty of options for anyone looking to stay in New Orleans this summer.

New Orleans has so much to offer, and it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the sheer number of options. With that in mind, we’ve created this list of the eight oldest hotels in New Orleans.

8. Dauphine Orleans Hotel

Year Built: 1969
Owner: Donald Richardson
Still in Business: Yes

Dauphine Orleans Hotelphoto source: ak-d.tripcdn.com

In the center of the French Quarter is an oasis called the Dauphine Orleans Hotel. Courtyards flow into still another courtyard, and balconies above offer much-appreciated outdoor space to visitors. The land owned by the Dauphine Orleans has a lengthy history that dates to the late eighteenth century, when it was under the authority of some of New Orleans’ most illustrious founding families.

Many more affluent families acquired ownership of the land parcel surrounding 415 Dauphine after Charity Hospital sold the property. The Chauvins, Broutins, Trepagniers, and Bonabels all had contact with or ownership of this land throughout the following several decades.

May Baily’s, the hotel bar of the Dauphine Orleans, is named for the woman who obtained a city permit in 1857 to operate a legal bordello or “sporting house” in the Storyville neighborhood of New Orleans.

Did You Know?

According to some visitors, spirits occasionally reappear as couples recall their magnificent private moments of love at this hotel.


7. Le Pavillon Hotel

Year Built: 1907
Owner: Bros. Property Corp.
Still in Business: Yes

photo source: travel.usnews.com

Originally known as the New Denechaud Hotel, it was created by Toledano and Wogan and constructed by Milliken Brothers in New York. It had 217 rooms when it was opened in January 1907 and was dubbed the “Belle of New-Orleans.”With the first hydraulic elevators and electric lights ever built in New Orleans, it reached new heights of elegance and innovation.

The New Denechaud was renamed the De Soto Hotel in 1913 by new owners. The De Soto Hotel was recognized as one of the largest and finest in the world despite wars, prohibition, and the Great Depression.

In the case of “emergencies” requiring covert VIP access, a subterranean tunnel connected the hotel to a building and a half away during the Prohibition era.

Did You Know?

The United States added Le Pavillon to the National Register of Historic Places. Office of the Interior. It has received the AAA Four-Diamond distinction since 1996 and is a part of Historic Hotels of America.


6. The Roosevelt Hotel

Year Built: 1893
Owner: Louis Grunewald
Still in Business: Yes

The Roosevelt Hotelphoto source: booking.com

Famous performers, including Elvis Presley, Louis Armstrong, Cab Calloway, Ray Charles, Jack Benny, Bob Hope, and Frank Sinatra, have performed at The Roosevelt.

According to legend, Arthur Hailey’s 1965 book “Hotel” was inspired by Roosevelt. It tells the tale of an independent hotel in New Orleans named the St. Gregory and the owner’s battle to restore profitability and fend off acquisition by a major national hotel chain.

Did You Know?

Elvis Presley, Louis Armstrong, Cab Calloway, Ray Charles, Jack Benny, Bob Hope, and Frank Sinatra are just a few of the well-known performers that have performed at The Roosevelt.


5. Hotel Monteleone

Year Built: 1886
Owner: Antonio Monteleone
Still in Business: Yes

photo source: Trip Advisor

Hotel Monteleone New Orleans is a luxury destination built in the 1930s and reopened in 2016. It is known for its eight-story hotel with over 100 rooms. The hotel is surrounded by the French Quarter, the Napoleon House, and the Mississippi River.

It is known as one of the best hotels in New Orleans, Louisiana. The hotel has a beautiful lobby with high ceilings and marble floors. There are many rooms available at the hotel, including suites and king suites.

The hotel, under Antonio Monteleone’s direction, swiftly rose to the status of one of New Orleans’ top Grand Dames. The hotel immediately attracted a number of the most notable visitors to the nation, which gave it enormous national prominence.

The Monteleone started a series of extensive renovations over the following 20 years in response to the growing demand for the hotel, which resulted in the creation of 330 more rooms.

Did You Know?

The Hotel Monteleone became haunted because the staff experienced unearthly events. 


4. Omni Royal Orleans History

Year Built: 1838
Owner: Joe Jaeger and Darryl Berger, Jr.
Still in Business: Yes

Omni Royal Orleans Historyphoto source: Trip Advisor

Like the City of New Orleans, the history of the Omni Royal Orleans Hotel is marked by a heroic endeavor to overcome life’s many obstacles. The building that today houses the hotel was built at a time when New Orleans was quickly becoming one of the country’s most significant ports in the early 19th century.

Due to the city’s closeness to the mouth of the Mississippi River, a large number of traders moved their wares there. A significant fire that damaged the building’s overall design led to the delay. Crestfallen, Hewlett, and De Poilly were forced to begin a practically complete reconstruction of the building.

When it did reopen in 1843, the hotel was among the most magnificent structures in the heart of New Orleans. About 600 people were there for the opening ceremony, but they rapidly dispersed across the hotel’s three opulent floors.

Did You Know?

The St. Louis Hotel was the previous name of the Omni Royal Orleans.


3. Bienville House

Year Built: 1835
Owner: Monteleone Family
Still in Business: Yes

Bienville Housephoto source: Trip Advisor

Built in 1835, Bienville House played the role of the “Planters’ Rice Mill,” a facility dedicated to removing the white kernel from the raw rice plants that frequently arrived in New Orleans. But the structure wasn’t used as a rice mill for very long.

Indeed, the sugarcane trade turned out to be too alluring an economic opportunity to pass up, and the proprietors of the Planters’ Rice Mill decided to build a syrup processing facility on the property. Despite this, the structure underwent a number of identity changes over the years, serving as a fire station, an apartment building, and even a boarding house known as the “Royal Bienville.”

One of its final changes occurred nearly a century later, in the 1960s, when a couple of hoteliers ran it as a “motor hotel” for the local tourists who had begun to travel to New Orleans by car. The Monteleone family purchased the entire property in 1972, which resulted in a permanent shift in the Bienville House’s course.

Did You Know?

Bienville House is a European-style hotel with pleasant sundecks, flagstone courtyards encircling the lagoon pool, and wrought iron balconies off of guest suites.


2. The Cornstalk Hotel

Year Built: 1816
Owner: Paul McCartney
Still in Business: Temporarily closed (due to the COVID-19 pandemic)

The Cornstalk Hotelphoto source: Trip Advisor

François Xavier Martin, the first Louisiana attorney general and a lifelong justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court, lived at the Cornstalk Hotel, which is located at 915 Royal Street, for most of the early 19th century.

Legend has it that Harriet Beecher Stowe visited the location when writing Uncle Tom’s Cabin after witnessing the area’s slave markets. The Cornstalk Hotel is one of the numerous allegedly haunted locations to explore in New Orleans.

In the Cornstalk Hotel, there have been reports of hauntings, including the appearance of playing children. Paranormal enthusiasts are advised to carry a camera. Additionally, several visitors have reported that following their visit, weird photos of themselves dozing off in bed in the hotel room started to appear on their cameras.

Did You Know?

The Cornstalk also features in pop culture as the hotel in which Elvis Presley lived while he was in New Orleans shooting King Creole (1958).


1. Hotel Maison De Ville

Year Built: 1788
Owner: Vanessa Liurni
Still in Business: Yes

photo source: Black Book Travels

The Hotel Maison de Ville is considered the oldest hotel in New Orleans. Built in 1788, the hotel has a unique architecture as it was built in an era before electricity but had gas lighting. The hotel has a classy feel to it, and you can tell that people want to stay there because of the many positive reviews of its guests. 

Across the courtyard are four historic slave quarters. They were constructed in the 1750s, 50 years before the main structure, and are presently used as guest rooms. The Old Ursuline Convent and these cottages are thought to be New Orleans’ earliest structures, though study has been impeded by the loss of important records.

Did You Know?

The Hotel Maison de Ville structure was rebuilt in the wake of the devastating Great New Orleans Fire that occurred in 1788.

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