The next generation: The rooms of the Iberville Tower have enjoyed a $50million upgrade
The Hotel Monteleone: Iberville Tower rooms
review by Paul Oswell
The Hotel Monteleone is one of the city’s legitimate historical treasures. One of the few remaining multi-generational, family-owned properties in the country, it’s been part of French Quarter life since Anotnio Monteleone welcomed his first ever guests in 1886 - doors that only a couple of fierce weather events have closed since.
There’s a lot to love about the place, from its literary history, to the novelty of the Carousel Bar to the sense of family that the owners encourage. Eudora Watley, William Faulkner and Tennessee Williams all routinely propped up the bar and Truman Capote claimed - falsely, of course! - to have been born there. The owners have by all accounts looked after their people with compassion when times have been tough, and some employees can count their time there in decades.
1954 saw the hotel’s last major redevelopment, an almost total demolition and overhaul that resulted in the hotel we see today. It became the only real high-rise building in the French Quarter at the time, not a universally-popular move at the time. By 1964, however, the hotel was boasting a penthouse space and Sky Terrace that included a Presidential Suite for visiting dignitaries and even a rooftop putting green for hotel guests.
You couldn’t imagine the Quarter today without it, and the heady mix of locals and visitors in the bar are a sign of a dynamic property that figures in the consciousness of the native population as much as it does those who travel here to stay at this grand dame of the New Orleans hotel landscape.
Being such a vibrant epicenter for the city’s culture means that a little wear and tear takes place over the years, and the hotel recently unveiled a striking, $50 million renovation of its Iberville Tower Rooms, bringing them well into the modern age and making them some of the most tempting new hotel rooms in town.
These fully-renovated guest rooms and luxury suites feature thoughtfully-detailed interiors, beautiful new artwork, spacious marble bathrooms with rain head showers, 55” TVs, and luxe-forward vanities and amenities. From Superior Kings to the high-end suites, this upgrade breathes new life into the accommodations, and has them ready to welcome a new generation of loyal Monteleone guests.
The rooms are a symphony of tasteful creams and silvers, with delicate and subtle patterns that deliver a calmingly regal aesthetic. It’s luxury that you can relax into, and of course there’s all the tech-friendly charging ports and room controls. In short, it’s the character of the hotel that your grandparents (or even great-grandparents) would have enjoyed, but upgraded for a modern guest: the best of tradition and contemporary design.
If you haven’t been to or recommended the Hotel Montelone in a while, it’s time to look at one of our oldest hotels with new eyes. The upgraded Iberville Tower is an inspiring redesign, and one that new generations of guests will be enjoying well into the Montelone’s future.
For more room information and rates, go to the Hotel Monteleone website - click here.
The Carousel Bar Cocktail Experience is typically offered to guests who stay in the Iberville Tower. However, in celebration of the 75th anniversary, the experience will be open to any hotel guests during the week of the celebration, September 16-20, 2024. Grab a coveted seat at the Carousel Bar before it opens to the public and delve into the bar’s illustrious history of legendary patrons and celebrated cocktails at the Carousel Bar Experience. Indulge in a complimentary cocktail as you’re relegated with tales of the past. This experience is offered exclusively to hotel guests, September 16 – 20 for $75 per person.
THE HISTORY OF THE MONTELEONE HOTEL
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