With Mardi Gras in full swing, SeaTurtle Sports thought as an ambassador to New Orleans, we should share a few of our favorite hotels to give you an insider scoop on where to stay when visiting our city. New Orleans is known for its flair for the dramatic. Examples of this stretch from Mardi Gras to the everyday eclectic performances in the French Quarter. There is also a plethora of history, interesting architecture, and beautiful hotels in New Orleans. New Orleans is home to many hotels that monopolize the hospitality industry across the country like Holiday Inn, The Sheraton, La Quinta, and the others we all know, but in New Orleans there are a few hotels that have been around since the city got its start and we are happy to call some of our favorites. The Roosevelt, The Monteleone, and the Bourbon Orleans Hotel are perhaps some of the most famous historical hotels that offer amazing sights and sounds and are all within walking distance to the French Quarter.

If you’re looking for a high-end experience, look no further than Waldorf Astoria-branded The Roosevelt (http://waldorfastoria3.hilton.com/en/hotels/louisiana/the-roosevelt-new-orleans-a-waldorf-astoria-hotel-MSYRHWA/index.html). Originally built by Louis Grunewald in 1893, the hotel opened right before the Mardi Gras season began for the 1894 season. In the beginning of the 1900’s, Grunewald decided to add on a $2.5 million Annex to the hotel. The project gave the hotel new and exciting places to visit within. Among these new restaurants and party spots was The Cave. The Cave was designed to give the feel of being inside of a subterranean cave with waterfalls, stalactites, glass topped tables and statues of gnomes and nymphs. Throughout the next century, The Roosevelt changed names three times, owners twice, and added some of the most beautiful restaurants and bars known to the city. Among this is the must see Sazerac Bar which opened on September 26, 1949 and still is operating today. Visit this gorgeous hotel that has survived numerous hurricanes, patrons, and now has 504 rooms for rent (note that this is the city’s area code). This is one of the most iconic and long-living hotels in New Orleans. Visit this hotel and see pianos old jazz legends played on or the old pendulum clock that graces the lobby.

If you love the beauty of a historical hotel, but want a little more, visiting The Hotel Monteleone (http://hotelmonteleone.com) with its haunted history will be more up your alley. In 1886 Antonio Monteleone bought the Commercial Hotel which he shaped into the iconic hotel we know today. From the time of its opening, guests have claimed to have strange experiences while staying at the hotel. A couple reported the hotel elevator stopping on the wrong floor and not starting again causing the couple to exit the elevator and explore the odd hallway. As the couple explored the hallway, they felt the temperature drastically change and even heard children playing somewhere along the deserted hallway. In March 2003 the International Society of Paranormal Research visited the hotel and claimed to have encountered over a dozen “earthbound” entities. Among the spirits they met were employees that died within the hotel. One spirit they met was a little boy that died in the hotel many years ago. Many guests say they have seen a “little boy of toddler age” around the room that he died. The Hotel Monteleone is a hotel that definitely offers a full experience.

If you love beauty but hauntings aren’t for you and you’d love to be right in the middle of all of the craze that is the beautiful city of New Orleans, check out the Bourbon Orleans Hotel (http://www.bourbonorleans.com), located directly behind the St. Louis Cathedral in the middle of the French Quarter. Before the hotel became a hotel, John Davis created a ballroom where only the elite of the city would gather. The Orleans Ballroom has become one of the most historic and oldest ballrooms in the city. The success of the ballroom led Davis to create the Orleans Theatre. This theatre became the place that opera was introduced to America. Unfortunately, the Theatre and Ballroom did not escape the trial of war and the Sisters of the Holy Family took over the site to use as a school and convent for the next 83 years. The need for expansion eventually forced the Sisters out and returned the hotel and ballroom back to its former glory. Today it offers the perfect view of the French Quarter with access to the best shops in town.

These three hotels, along with the dozens of other hotels in the New Orleans area, have helped to shape this magnificent city that Seaturtle Sports is proud to call home. With its history from the rich to the haunted, New Orleans can provide whatever you are looking for.