One of the best spots to stay in New Orleans as a visitor is the infamous French Quarter. With so many hotel options it can be overwhelming to choose the right hotel with all the right options with an incredible location. We were lucky enough to have spent all our nights in New Orleans in the heart of the French Quarter between Bourbon Street and Jackson Square at the Bourbon Orleans Hotel.
The Bourbon Orleans not only has an incredible location walking distance from almost everything you’re going to want to see in the city, but it has an incredible pool, professional staff, opulent decor, an amazing bar with live jazz music 7 days a week, and oh yeah, it’s also said to be haunted!
You basically get almost everything you want out of your trip in one spot, a great place to rest, great drinks, music, and location. Check out our experience at the Bourbon Orleans Hotel in the French Quarter.
First Impressions
Driving up to the Bourbon Orleans Hotel we were already excited as we had just got to see how close we were to all the beautiful buildings of the French Quarter. The entrance to the hotel leads you directly through the elegant lobby complete with chandeliers and fancy sofas.
One thing we weren’t totally prepared for visiting New Orleans would be the high temperatures and humidity. We were immediately cooled off by walking through the entrance from the comfortable air and refreshing ice tea available every afternoon and evening right as you walk through the door.
We were greeted and checked in quickly by the friendly staff and couldn’t help but notice a few people heading towards the amazing pool courtyard. Surrounded by lounge chairs this looked like the perfect place to cool off. Unfortunately we never we able to take advantage of this because during all of our down time the rest of the stay it was raining.
The Room
Our room was exquisitely decorated with a cozy king size bed, 42″ flat screen tv, mini fridge, coffee machine (Scott’s favorite) and my favorite feature the beautiful shutters and view overlooking the courtyard pool. The best part of the bathroom would have been the great water pressure. The entire room had an old New Orleans feel to it from the furniture to the crescent shutters.
Bourbon “O” Bar
Another awesome feature of the Bourbon Orleans Hotel would be the bar located on the first floor. The bar opens up to Bourbon Street and offers signature and designer cocktails. The bartenders here are premium mixologists with famous local cocktails like the Gin Fizz and Sazerac and seasonal specials they create themselves.
The famous Ramos Gin Fizz
When you’re here you have to try the famous Ramos Gin Fizz. The award-winning head bartender, Cheryl Charming went to extra lengths to make Gin Fizz the same way Carl Ramos did when he invented the drink in 1888 at his New Orleans bar.
Ramos famously hired “shaker boys” off the street to come in and shake each fizz for 12 minutes before being served to customers. Charming wanted the cocktail to still have that same frothiness that Ramos fizz’s had so she had a special shaker made to shake the fizz for several minutes making Bourbon “O” the only place to get the original Gin Fizz around in the same town it was invented in! The results are amazing and the drink was divine.
Tasty Pim’s Cup
What’s also incredible is that Bourbon “O” features live jazz performances seven nights a week! Bourbon “O” is one of only two places in the entire historic district that have live traditional jazz every night of the week making it the perfect hangout spot in the evenings with great cocktails.
Location
One of the most important features when looking for a hotel anywhere is the location. Bourbon Orleans Hotel has a prime location in the heart of the French Quarter making it easy to casually walk anywhere nearby such as the Mississippi River and easily to Marigny and the popular nighttime Frenchmen Street.
Even though Bourbon Orleans Hotel shares part of the popular Bourbon Street you really don’t feel like you’re right there where all the party action is. We were close to the party, but far enough removed that we still enjoyed peace and quiet in a place that parties all night!
Haunted History
The staircase to the famous haunted ballroom
Many of the buildings in the French Quarter have an interesting history if you can find a tour or a local to share it with you. We found out by one of our tour guides that Bourbon Orleans Hotel’s ballroom is where Andrew Jackson announced he was going to be running for president of the United States.
The ballroom itself is loaded with history being the oldest and most historic ballroom in the city.Also in the late 1880s, the Sisters of the Holy Family were the main occupants and used this space for a school and convent. Imagine if the walls could speak and tell us stories from over the years. This kind of history fascinates the both of us.
Along with the history comes tales of ghosts and hauntings within the hotel too. I suggest only digging more into these stories if it won’t scare you too much. New Orleans is one of the most haunted cities in the United States, so you can imagine that many of the buildings in the French Quarter have had their fair share of stories over the years.
If you’re interested in learning more you can ask to hear the stories told by guests over the years from sightings in the grand ballroom to around the hotel where a yellow fever epidemic hit during the time it was a convent and orphanage to someone mysteriously pulling sheets off of people during the middle of the night. This sort of stuff fascinates us as well, there’s sort of a creeposity factor to it that draws us in.
Overall
We loved our time here at the Bourbon Orleans Hotel and would totally stay here again on a future visit to the city. Not only was the location ideal and walking distance to many of the best activities in the city, but were really in love with the comfort and quietness of the rooms.
Not to mention we spent time each night listening to jazz and sipping on incredible cocktails at the Bourbon “O” bar. We also found the history and hauntings to be fascinating and to us, it was even more of a draw to the hotel.
Don’t forget that amazing pool to cool off in on those hot and humid Louisianna days either. We just felt this place was overall knockout and would recommend it to any of our family, friends, and readers.
Bourbon Orleans Hotel
717 Orleans St, New Orleans, LA 70116
Check out Bourbon Orleans rates by visiting their website.
