In what has been billed as one of the largest private investments in downtown New Orleans since Hurricane Katrina, the historical Roosevelt Hotel will reopen in June after a $145 million restoration.
The hotel has been closed since it was flooded in the 2005 hurricane.
With its reopening, the 126-year-old hotel will join Hilton's fast-growing Waldorf-Astoria Collection.
The Roosevelt opened as the Grunewald in 1893, was renamed the Roosevelt in 1923 and had been a Fairmont from 1965 through its closing.
Tod Chambers, general manager of the Roosevelt, said New Orleans is in a better position than other cities for a property that is expected to charge rates at the top of the market.
"New Orleans is still growing into itself after Katrina, and we expect more rooms to be sold in the city next year than in 2008," Chambers said.
Chambers also believes that the Rooseveltenjoys a niche as a luxury meeting destination. The property boasts 50,000 square feet of meetings space and, said Chambers, "enjoys the best rooms/meeting space ratio in the city."
During the renovation, 135 suites were created by joining smaller rooms, so the hotel now has 505 rooms.
"We will still be a 75% group hotel, with weekends dominated by leisure travelers," said Chambers. As part of its restoration, the hotel has added a 12,000-square-foot Guerlain Spa.
Chambers said that the Roosevelt "is selling two brands. The Roosevelt name is very well known regionally, while the Waldorf-Astoria name is known domestically and internationally."
Since the Blackstone Group bought Hilton Hotels almost two years ago, it has been working to build its luxury portfolio, in part by adding former LXR resorts and historical properties to the Waldorf Collection.
There are currently more than a dozen properties in the collection, many of which have been added in the past year.
Last week Hilton announced the El San Juan Hotel & Casino in Puerto Rico was joining the collection.
The company is also developing new Waldorf-Astoria hotels, including the Waldorf-Astoria Orlando adjacent to Disney World.
Asked the difference between Waldorf-Astoria hotels and those in the collection, Chambers said the collection properties "offer historical luxury with nostalgic hotels that feature amenities like original art. We offer a classy elegance and a relaxing, peaceful experience."
The Roosevelt houses a number of historically important facilities, including the Sazerac Bar, where the Sazerac cocktail was popularized; and the Blue Room, which as a supper club welcomed entertainers such as Tony Bennett and Louis Armstrong.
"We keep finding historic elements; we even have a vault and a jail cell that dates back to the time when Louisiana Gov. Huey P. Long spent time at the hotel," said Chambers.
The hotel will have a restaurant called Domenica, operated by John Besh, a chef who operates four other New Orleans restaurants.