Hello New Orleans lovers,
Trey’s Chow Down Travel spends a lot of time in New Orleans. For over a decade we’ve been staying at the beautiful Omni Royal Orleans Hotel, located right in the middle of the French Quarter. It’s a historic hotel filled with fantastic New Orleans stories and folklore. The interior is beautifully decorated in a southern style, with stunning ornate marble and artwork.
It’s simply a fantastic place to stay and the central location makes it perfect for enjoying the historic French Quarter. From the world-famous Rib Room for the weekend brunches and dinners with live music, to the early morning room service, awesome rooftop pool with stunning views, and wonderful New Orleans style room choices. The hotel staff is always extremely nice and very helpful with local hot spots, events and happenings.
Live music, chef driven eats and world famous brunches at the Rib Room: The Rib Room Omni Royal At the
Everything is better with a GREAT story!
Very much like the City of New Orleans, the history of Omni Royal Orleans Hotel is one marked by a triumphant struggle to overcome life’s many tribulations. The hotel itself harkens back to the early 19th century, when New Orleans was rapidly becoming one of the nation’s most important ports. Thousands of merchants moved their products into the city, given its relative location at the mouth of the Mississippi River. All sorts of steamboats and sailing ships docked in New Orleans’ bustling wharfs, delivering such goods like sugarcane and cotton. In the 1830’s aspiring hotelier James Hewlett decided to use the location for the site of a grand hotel.
Hewlett, a Creole descended from the city’s black and French populations, had long yearned to own a magnificent holiday destination that would rival the St. Charles Hotel in its eloquence. He hoped that this facility would provide a meeting place for people of all backgrounds to congregate and relax. Hewlett broke ground on the project in 1838, recruiting architect Jacques Nicholas Bussiere De Poilly to oversee the project. De Poilly had been specifically tasked with recreating the sophisticated aura of Paris’ Rue de Rivoli inside the building. Called the “St. Louis Hotel,” it took the two men five years to complete. Part of the delay was the result of a massive fire that compromised the entire layout of the building. Crestfallen, Hewlett and De Poilly had to start rebuilding the structure nearly from scratch. But when the hotel finally opened in 1843, it stood as one of the most glorious buildings in downtown New Orleans. Its opening ceremony was attended by some 600 guests who quickly scattered throughout the hotel’s three luxurious floors.
After World War II, a group of individuals led by Edith and Edgar Stern started to discuss the prospect of renovating the St. Louis Hotel as part of a large push to revitalize the entire French Quarter. After nearly a decade of deliberations, the Sterns and their allies were finally ready to finance the construction project. They hired architects Arthur Davis and Samuel Wilson Jr., to fully rehabilitate both the interior and exterior layout of the St. Louis Hotel. What Davis and Wilson managed to achieve was nothing short of miraculous, as they fully recreated the building’s grand Renaissance Revival-style architecture. Debuting once again in 1960, the hotel quickly resumed its place as one of the city’s great Grand Dames. It attracted many famous celebrities and politicians, including Muhammad Ali, Paul Newman, and even Lassie, the dog. The Stern family eventually sold the location to Aetna in 1980, which in turn, transferred it to the Sonesta Corporation.
Omni Hotels then acquired the lease in 1986, operating it as the “Omni Royal Orleans Hotel.” Today, Omni Royal Orleans Hotel is owned and operated by Omni Hotels & Resorts. A member of Historic Hotels of America since 2010, Omni Royal Orleans Hotel is still a place to see and be seen in downtown New Orleans.
Book a stay or view website below.
The Omni Royal New Orleans, Louisiana
We love the Omni Royal and If you’re traveling to New Orleans, I would highly recommend you stay at the Omni Royal and enjoy all it has to offer. I promise you’re going to fall in love with this incredible property and the Omni Staff.
They’re an officially approved Trey’s Chow Down Travel Destination to be enjoyed by all New Orleans LOVERS!
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Trey & Jana
