The Omni Royal Orleans is a 345-room hotel on the corner of St. Louis and Royal Streets near Jackson Square in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. It was constructed in 1960 as The Royal Orleans Hotel, on the site of the old St. Louis Hotel, which was completely destroyed in the 1915 New Orleans hurricane. Earlier the site had been The City Exchange, a slave auction site until the 1830s. [1]
The exterior was designed by architect Samuel Wilson Jr., while the interior was designed by Arthur Davis. [2]
The hotel has been rated four diamonds by AAA. Its address is 621 St. Louis Street. A partnership led by Darryl Berger, Jr., and the Berger Company, Inc., purchased the Royal Orleans in 2008. [3]
The Omni Royal Orleans is a member of Historic Hotels of America, an official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. [4]
The Grand Salon ballroom of the Omni Royal Orleans has been a popular location for social events among New Orleans families for decades. The hotel's restaurant, the Rib Room, is frequented by many of the city's politicians and attorneys, particularly at lunch on Fridays. It is often called the "Royal O" or just "the Royal" by New Orleanians.
Jazz pianist and composer Armand Hug had a steady gig at the Royal Orleans for decades. The job was later filled by the noted New Orleans composer and professor of music Roger Dickerson, and subsequently by another local pianist, Bob Ellis.
After Hurricane Katrina, the hotel was used as a headquarters for the New Orleans Police Department. It suffered no damage from the storm.
Among many notable guests who have stayed at the hotel are Louis Armstrong and the Rolling Stones.
The French Quarter, also known as the Vieux Carré, is the oldest neighborhood in the city of New Orleans. After New Orleans was founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the city developed around the Vieux Carré, a central square. The district is more commonly called the French Quarter today, or simply "The Quarter", related to changes in the city with American immigration after the 1803 Louisiana Purchase. Most of the extant historic buildings were constructed either in the late 18th century, during the city's period of Spanish rule, or were built during the first half of the 19th century, after U.S. purchase and statehood.
The Arizona Biltmore is a historic resort located in Phoenix near 24th Street and Camelback Road. Designed by Albert Chase McArthur, it opened on February 23, 1929, as part of the Biltmore Hotel chain. Actors Clark Gable and Carole Lombard often stayed there and the Tequila sunrise cocktail was invented there. It is part of LXR Hotels & Resorts.
The Faubourg Marigny is a neighborhood of the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, United States.
The Central Business District (CBD) is a neighborhood of the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, United States.
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Le Méridien is an American upscale, design-focused international hotel brand with a European perspective. It was originally founded by Air France in 1972 and was later based in the United Kingdom. Marriott International now owns the chain. As of June 2021, it had a portfolio of 109 open hotels with 29,439 rooms and a pipeline of 37 hotels with 9,585 upcoming rooms.
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Rampart Street is a historic avenue located in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Royal Street is a street in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. It is one of the original streets of the city, dating from the early 18th century, and is known today for its antique shops, art galleries, and hotels.
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St. Charles Avenue is a thoroughfare in New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. and the route of the St. Charles Streetcar Line. It is also famous for the dozens of mansions that adorn the tree-lined boulevard for much of the uptown section of the boulevard. It is named for St. Charles Borromeo, patron saint of Charles III of Spain, the monarch when France transferred the then-vast territory of Louisiana to Spain at the conclusion of the Seven Years' War in 1763.
St. Patrick's Church is a Catholic church and parish in the Archdiocese of New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. The parish was founded in 1833, and the current structure was completed in 1840. It is the second-oldest parish in New Orleans, located upriver from the French Quarter at 724 Camp Street in what is now the Central Business District. The building, a National Historic Landmark, is one of the nation's earliest and finest examples of Gothic Revival architecture.
The buildings and architecture of New Orleans reflect its history and multicultural heritage, from Creole cottages to historic mansions on St. Charles Avenue, from the balconies of the French Quarter to an Egyptian Revival U.S. Customs building and a rare example of a Moorish revival church.
St. Augustine Church is a Catholic parish in New Orleans. Established by free people of color, who also bought pews for slaves, it is said to be the oldest Black Catholic parish in the United States, established in 1841. It was one of the first 26 sites designated on the state's Louisiana African American Heritage Trail.
The Windsor Court is a luxury hotel in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana. The building rises 253 feet. It contains 23 floors, and was completed in 1984. In 2011, Travel + Leisure magazine ranked The Windsor Court as the 6th Best Large City Hotel in the United States and Canada. The Windsor Court currently stands as the 37th-tallest building in the city, and the 10th-tallest hotel. The building is an example of modern architecture.
Hotel Monteleone is a family-owned and operated hotel located at 214 Royal Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. The hotel includes the only high-rise building in the interior French Quarter and is well known for its Carousel Piano Bar & Lounge, a rotating bar.
The St. Louis Hotel was built in 1838 at the corner of St. Louis and Chartres Street in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Originally it was referred to as the City Exchange Hotel. Along with the St. Charles Hotel, the St. Louis has been described as the place where the history of New Orleans happened. The St. Louis "flourished at high tide" until the American Civil War, served as the de facto Louisiana state capital during Reconstruction, and then fell into a long slow decline until it was demolished around 1914.
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Historic Hotels of America is a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation that was founded in 1989 with 32 charter members; the program accepts nominations and identifies hotels in the United States that have maintained their authenticity, sense of place, and architectural integrity.