Travel with Terri: The place southern appeal meets timeless luxurious at The Roosevelt New Orleans – Cross Timbers Gazette | Southern Denton County | Flower Mound

There are lodges you keep in, after which there are lodges you come to—particularly the romantic, timeless ones that linger in your reminiscence lengthy after checkout. For me, The Roosevelt New Orleans, A Waldorf Astoria Hotel, has all the time been that type of place. Growing up just some hours away, New Orleans grew to become a part of my private geography, a metropolis I slipped out and in of all through my life. And someplace alongside the best way, The Roosevelt grew to become my anchor, my dwelling base, and the lodge that embodies the soul—and the posh—of the Crescent City.

A Block‑Long Masterpiece with a Story to Tell 

The Roosevelt’s magic begins the second you step inside. Its foyer — a full metropolis block lengthy from Roosevelt Way to Baronne Street — is among the most iconic lodge entrances in America. Gleaming marble flooring, hovering columns, glittering chandeliers, and contemporary floral preparations create a promenade that feels each cinematic and deeply Southern. It’s a foyer that doesn’t simply welcome you; it proclaims you.

The 2009 restoration returned the house to its authentic Art Deco and Beaux‑Arts glory, and each December it transforms into the beloved Waldorf Wonderland. Locals and guests flock to see:

• 112,000 twinkling lights wrapped round birch timber
• 4,000 glass ornaments
• 42 fantastically adorned Christmas timber

It’s dazzling, nostalgic, and considered one of New Orleans’ most cherished vacation traditions.

A Hotel Born within the Gilded Age

The Roosevelt’s story begins in 1893, when it opened as The Grunewald, named for proprietor Louis Grunewald. New Orleans was booming, and town demanded a grand lodge worthy of its cultural and business rise. The Grunewald rapidly grew to become the place the place society gathered, offers had been struck and celebrations unfolded.

In 1923, the Vaccaro brothers renamed it The Roosevelt in honor of President Theodore Roosevelt, whose affect on the Panama Canal reshaped Gulf Coast commerce. The identify caught — and the legend grew.

Through Prohibition, the Great Depression, and World War II, The Roosevelt remained a beacon of magnificence. Its Blue Room grew to become considered one of America’s most well-known leisure venues, internet hosting Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Judy Garland, Cab Calloway, and Ray Charles. National radio broadcasts carried the lodge’s music throughout the nation.

Politicians beloved it too. Louisiana’s flamboyant governor Huey P. Long virtually lived on the twelfth ground. He held court docket within the foyer, carried out enterprise from his suite and, in line with native lore, had a secret passageway constructed so he may slip into the Sazerac Bar unnoticed.

Long’s cocktail devotion is famous. When a bartender on the New Yorker Hotel botched his beloved Ramos Gin Fizz, he flew The Roosevelt’s head bartender to New York to show them the correct recipe.

The lodge survived fires, possession modifications, and shifting eras. But its biggest check got here after Hurricane Katrina, when the constructing suffered intensive harm. A $170 million restoration — one of the meticulous in U.S. lodge historical past — introduced it again to life. In 2009, The Roosevelt reopened as a part of the Waldorf Astoria assortment, mixing its storied previous with trendy luxurious. Today, it stands because the crown jewel of New Orleans.

Why I Always Return

I’ve stayed in lodges around the globe, however The Roosevelt holds a particular place in my coronary heart. Maybe it’s the historical past. Maybe it’s the sweetness. Maybe it’s the best way the workers greets you want household. Or perhaps it’s merely that, after a long time of visiting New Orleans, this lodge looks like dwelling.

The location is unbeatable — steps from the French Quarter, but simply far sufficient to really feel like a peaceable retreat. I can wander to Café du Monde, stroll Jackson Square, or slip right into a jazz membership on Frenchmen Street, then return to the Roosevelt’s quiet, elegant embrace.

The rooms are refined and cozy, with plush Waldorf mattresses, marble loos, and a timeless design that nods to the lodge’s heritage. Waking up right here looks like waking up inside town’s historical past.

Signature Spaces That Define the Roosevelt

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  The Sazerac Bar: Older than the lodge itself, the Sazerac Bar is a restored Art Deco landmark. The Paul Ninas murals depict scenes of New Orleans life, and the bar’s namesake cocktail — usually known as America’s first — stays a ceremony of passage. Its most well-known second got here in 1949, when girls “Stormed the Sazerac” to demand equal entry. Today, the lodge celebrates the milestone yearly with a Nineteen Forties‑apparel girls’ luncheon and a second‑line march by way of the foyer. I’d like to attend this historic occasion.

• The Fountain Lounge: A glamorous supper‑membership environment with reside music, cocktails, and French‑impressed seafood from Chef Joe Turley. It’s full of life, heat, and unmistakably New Orleans.
• Teddy’s Café: Home to Chef Kareena Dennis’ elite pastries — together with her well-known Red Velvet King Cake, a Mardi Gras sensation mixing conventional dough with purple velvet richness, chocolate chips, cream cheese frosting, and a dusting of gold. It sells out virtually immediately.
• The Blue Room: Once the most well liked leisure venue within the South, the Blue Room nonetheless hosts particular occasions. Standing inside, you’ll be able to virtually hear the echoes of Armstrong, Fitzgerald and Sinatra.
• The Rooftop Pool: A serene escape with fascinating skyline views, personal cabanas, and seasonal meals and bar service — the right place to chill out after a day of exploring the Big Easy.
• The Waldorf Astoria Spa: A world‑class spa designed for restoration and leisure. Contrast remedy suites, saunas, chilly plunges, anti‑gravity restoration chairs, Therabody leg compression and infrared masks assist friends reset after indulging in New Orleans’ wealthy meals and cocktails. Make your reservations early.

A Hotel That Feels Like Home

Maybe it’s as a result of I grew up close by. Maybe it’s as a result of I’ve spent a lot time in New Orleans. Or perhaps it’s just because The Roosevelt captures every part I really like about this metropolis — its magnificence, resilience, appeal and soul.

Each keep jogs my memory why this lodge has endured for greater than a century. It’s historic, luxurious, romantic and is unmistakably New Orleans. And for me, the Roosevelt will all the time be the place the place my Southern coronary heart feels most at dwelling.

Learn extra about Terri’s travels:
– Travel with Terri: travelwithterri.com
– The Luxe Explorer Magazine: travelwithterri.com/magazine