Looking for luxury as well as a convenient location, we stayed at the 285-room Loews New Orleans Hotel, in New Orleans, Louisiana which opened in December 2003 adjacent to the Arts District, and a short three block stroll from the French Quarter.

The hotel has an upscale restaurant, Café Adelaide featuring cuisine by award-winning Executive Chef Chris Lusk, and a fabulous Art Deco bar, the Swizzle Stick Bar featuring the celebrated bartender, Lu Brow who definitely knows a thing or two about cocktails. Vintage cocktail shakers and other barware accent the shelves, colorful paintings of Aunt Adelaide Brennan, aka Queenie, or Auntie Mame, grace the walls, and a large block of ice with lipstick red ice tongs dominates the center of the bar, where the bartenders chip off large chunks of ice for scotch and whiskey aficionados. 

Loews New Orleans Hotel

During our stay at the hotel in July 2011, we had an excellent lunch at Café Adelaide, operated by the Commander's Palace Family of Restaurants where we indulged in quarter Martinis to pair with our "power lunch", yes, there really is such a thing. Highlights of our lunch included the Shrimp & Tasso "Corndogs" with five pepper jelly, pickled okra, chicory greens, and Crystal Hot Sauce butter, and the New Orleans Shrimp Rémoulade Salad with shrimp boil vegetables, mixed greens, and preserved lemon. 

Café Adelaide

A few of the highlights from dinner at Café Adelaide included Foie Gras Poutine, which was potato crusted onion rings delicately golden and crispy, with salted ricotta and foie gras black pepper gravy; Caramel Onion Redfish with pearl barley-arugula risotto, grape tomato raisins and crawfish red gravy; and the White Chocolate BISCUIT Pudding, awarded the 2010 NOWFE Gold Medal Dessert. 

Caramel Onion Redfish

We also experienced the Swizzle Stick Bar, where the cocktail menu features creations by Lu Brow, her team, and co-proprietors, Ti Adelaide Martin and Lally Brennan, who wrote, "In the Land of Cocktails, Recipes and Adventures by The Cocktail Chicks," which has interesting recipes and great anecdotes about their Aunt Adelaide Brennan who wore a gold swizzle stick around her neck, for whom Café Adelaide is named.  

Swizzle Stick Bar

Other hotel amenities include an indoor lap swimming pool, whirlpool, sauna, large Fitness Center with state-of-the-art Life Fitness and Cybex equipment, a Business Center, and Balance Spa for sheer indulgence.  

Loews New Orleans Hotel - Swimming Pool  

Guestrooms are spacious with well-appointed amenities and have stunning views of the Riverfront where you can watch the steamboats cruise along the Mississippi River, or of the New Orleans skyline.  

View from Guestroom

We stayed in a large King Bed Riverfront room, which featured 10-foot ceilings, and a bed pristinely dressed with a white quilted duvet, quilted shams, and a blue and white print decorative pillow. Interesting artwork and oversized mirrors graced the walls, and a live floor plant added to the ambience and décor. Reading lights and nightstands flanked either side of the bed and held a cordless telephone as well as a Panasonic CD/Radio/Alarm, which was loaded with a New Orleans CD for our listening pleasure.

Guestroom

There was a large bureau opposite the bed and a plasma LG television, and another television in an armoire opposite the sofa with decorative pillows in the sitting area of the room. Other details included a comfortable blue armchair with a reading light, and a desk chair and guest chair on either side of the working desk that held an assortment of magazines. 

Other in-room amenities included wireless and wired Internet access, a safe in the closet, iron and ironing board, two robes, and an umbrella. There was a mini-bar in the armoire, as well as a Keurig coffeemaker with a selection of complimentary coffee and Celestial Teas, and a complimentary newspaper delivered to the room each morning.  

The marble bathroom had an iris in a vase on the ample vanity, a deep soaking tub with a selection of amenities, a large walk-in shower, a hairdryer, and a magnified vanity/shaving mirror. 

Business as well as leisure travelers will appreciate its convenient location to the Central Business District, Arts District, French Quarter, historic St. Charles Streetcar convenient for visiting the Garden District, and that it is only 20 minutes from the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport. There are several interesting programs for families, "Loews Loves Kids" and "Loews Loves Teens," and guests traveling with pets will appreciate "Loews Loves Pets program" with its extensive amenity program to their pamper pets.

Loews New Orleans Hotel - Lobby

Read about Loews New Orleans Hotel and all of its programs and offers by visiting their website: www.LoewsHotels.com/en/New-Orleans-Hotel. 

Read about Café Adelaide in the Restaurants section, and in the Chefs' Recipes section where Executive Chef Chris Lusk shares a few of his tasty recipes.  

Read about "In the Land of Cocktails, Recipes and Adventures from the Cocktail Chicks by Ti Adelaide Martin and Lally Brennan" in the Luxury Products - Gifts section. 

Loews New Orleans Hotel
300 Poydras Street
New Orleans, Louisiana 70130
United States
Telephone:                     +1-504-595-3300                                                                       
Fax:                                +1-504-595-3310
Toll Free Reservations: +1-866-211-6411
Email:                             This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Website:                        www.loewshotels.com/en/New-Orleans-Hotel

Read other articles on the Tales of the Cocktail and New Orleans in the Destinations, Restaurants, Chefs' Recipes, Liquor Cabinet, and Music Scene sections.

For information on Tales of the Cocktail, please visit: www.TalesoftheCocktail.com. 

For information on New Orleans, please visit: www.NewOrleansCVB.com.  

© October 2011. Luxury Experience. www.LuxuryExperience.com. All rights reserved.