As one of the last family-owned hotels in New Orleans' French Quarter, the Hotel Monteleone mixes glamour, history and luxury in a celebratory setting.
Antonio Monteleone was the owner of a shoe factory in Sicily who decided to seek opportunities in America. Arriving in New Orleans around 1880, Monteleone opened a cobbler shop on Royal Street, in the heart of the city's commerce and banking district. In 1886, he opened a 64-room hotel in the French Quarter that has remained in the family for five generations.
Since then, the hotel has been renovated five times, adding floors, guestrooms, dining rooms and cocktail lounges.
The hotel is located on Royal Street, one block from Bourbon Street, and within walking distance of many of the city's most notable attractions, including Harrah's New Orleans Casino, the largest casino in the southern U.S.; the St. Louis Cathedral; and the docking point for the Steamboat Natchez, the last authentic steamboat on the Mississippi River that offers daytime and nighttime jazz cruises with meals.
The Hotel Monteleone now features 570 guestrooms, 55 of which are luxury suites or literary author suites.
A literary author suite is a designation given out by the Friends of Libraries USA. Hotel Monteleone is one of only three hotels in the U.S. to earn this designation.
The suites include rooms named for authors William Faulkner, Truman Capote, Tennessee Williams, Ernest Hemingway and Eudora Welty. Capote would often tell people he was born in the hotel, though this was a bit of a stretch. His mother stayed at the Monteleone while she was pregnant but delivered Capote at a nearby hospital.
The one-bedroom Capote suite overlooks the French Quarter and has its own parlor room, which can accommodate 25 to 30 people.
A member of the Historic Hotels of America, a program from the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the Hotel Monteleone has a gym and fitness center with free weights and cardio equipment; a heated outdoor, rooftop pool; and a spa offering massages, pedicures, manicures and body wraps.
The Monteleone contains the Carousel Bar & Lounge, the only revolving bar in New Orleans. A playground for adults with its revolving carousel plus an elaborate cocktail menu, the bar and lounge is a favorite haunt for visitors to the city as well as residents.
On a recent press trip sponsored by Insight Vacations, I stayed at the hotel and enjoyed the prime location in the French Quarter, making it easy for shopping, dining and walking. The property was often the center of activity and was very busy in the lobby and bar. But once I went upstairs to my room, it was easy to rest, relax and enjoy the many amenities available.
Room rates start at about $150 per night, and a variety of packages are available. Visit www.hotelmonteleone.com for more information.