The Celestine, New Orleans

Yes. We stayed in the French Quarter. And loved it.

A good friend's wedding brought both Arthur and I to New Orleans for the very first time I couldn't have been more excited; planning this trip (and all trips) is always half the fun. Whenever I'm looking for somewhere to stay I ask myself two questions;

1. How close is it to all the places I've pinned on my saved google map (which, yes, I do for every city I travel)?

 2. Will it instantly transport me to the place I'm in?

New Orleans has quite a long list of asethetically pleasing boutique hotels, see my full list at the bottom, and despite the relatively reasonably Four Seasons (in comparison to most other cities) I truly enjoyed my search for something special and for lack of a better word, southern?

To be clear, I have absolutely no ties to the American South, being born and raised in Chicago and having spent my entire adulthood in Los Angeles, I am a tride and true city girl. I have been to Austin, Texas once for a bachlorette party (who hasn't) and Charleston for a weekend with my sister, again, obviously. So what I consider "southern" perhaps just means historical and charming.

And that The Celestine was.

The Celestine was the only hotel I could truly find that did that for me. Particulary for it's old world charm and Spanish, French and Afro-Carribean aesthetic and spectacular courtyard. The former French Quarter mansion has played host to many notable people, such as Antoine Amedee Peychaud, the inventor of the famous Sazerac cocktail and Peychaud bitters, and his wife Celestine, who inspired the property's current name. It was also thought to be place Tennessee Williams wrote A Streetcar Named Desire, while the property served as the famed Hotel Maison De Ville.

And I am so happy for my choice because once I entered into the former French Quarter mansion I quite literally forget about the bevy of cheesy daiquri bars and drunk tourists on neighoboring Bourbon Street. We truly felt like residents upon entry into a elegant foyer with a bold mural-like wallpaper on one side and an animal print staircase on the other.

I had originally had my eye on the Henrietta Suite but it wasn't available for our time there so we found a very similar design in Room number 3, a Toulouse King (with balcony). The four poster bed, Spanish style iron wrought balcony and preserved iron-adorned fireplaces instantly inpsired all kinds of excitement that any noise couldn't compete with.

With only 14 rooms, a central courtyard and cozy bar, we really didn't hear much at night from our room if I am being honest. But perhaps I am just wired differently since having a child and can quite literally sleep through any noise that's not my responsibility to attend to!

Regardless we loved our room facing Toulouse Ave and particulary the light that poured in each morning, making our coffees together on the balcony and in the courtyard extra special. I truly loved everything about our stay and would head back in a heartbeat!

Other Hotels

(and my thoughts)

Maison Metier // I really wanted to book this hotel, beacuase it's super chic; some historic elements but luxuriously designed by Studio Shamshiri and I loved the lounge SalonSalon so much that I came back the next day to see it in the light. An amazing breakfast room but the guest rooms themselves seemed to lack the maximalist design I loved in every other space. And being located in the warehouse district would be too sobering next to the French Quarter or Garden District, both of which were just oozing southern charm!

Hotel Saint Vincent // The grounds and location of this hotel are hard to beat but again I could not get past the guest rooms. With dark gray/blue painted walls and a stark, funky coral pattern in the bathrooms I just couldn't sign on. Again, the most beautiful bar that unbeknownst to me had been sitting on my inspo board for quite some time so I paid a nice visit and moved on.

Hotel Peter and Paul // Arguably the most design forward hotel in the city, I would have loved to stay here but being in the Marigny neighborhood would have been too far from where we needed to be for the wedding. But I am so happy we had a chance to walk there from The French Quarter and sit for a little aperitf at The Elysian Bar, which was incredible. Formerly a Catholic Schoolhouse and Church, the natural colors of the original structure are only enhanced by the design which felt almost Provençal in all the best ways!

Full trip recap to come! xx

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