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by Debra C. Argen
Hotel Monteleone
214 Royal Street
New Orleans, Louisiana 70130-2201
Telephone: 504-523-3341
Fax: Â 504-681-4491
Toll-free: 800-535-9595
Web Site: www.hotelmonteleone.com
E-mail: reservations@hotelmonteleone.com
New Orleans, Louisiana - Mardi Gras, Bourbon Street and Jazz! Although that is what most people think of, when they think of New Orleans, there is much, much more to New Orleans. I decided to explore “The Best of New Orleans”, specifically, the French Quarter’s Royal Street, or Rue Royale.
First and foremost, Royal Street has the premier advantage of location, location, and location.
The French Quarter begins at Iberville Street, and since it is noted that the French Quarter begins in the lobby of the Hotel Monteleone, located at 214 Royal Street, I chose the hotel as the perfect spot to explore the luxurious side of New Orleans.
 The Hotel Monteleone has been a family-owned hotel for four generations. Founded by Antonio Monteleone in 1886, as a 65 room hotel, the hotel has continued to expand, and boasts being the oldest and largest hotel in the French Quarter, with 573 rooms and 46 suites. As you enter the marble lobby, you are immediately impressed with such luxurious appointments as the hand-carved mahogany clock, designed by Toledano, Wagan and Bernard in New Orleans and sculpted by Antonio Puccio in 1909, the four crystal chandeliers on the hand-painted ceiling, the comfortable sofas, and the multi-lingual concierges.
The hotel has the distinction of being a Literary Landmark by Friends of Libraries USA, as well as a Historic Hotel of America. It received its Literary Landmark standing in 1999. There are only three hotels in the United States with that designation, The Plaza in New York, The Algonquin in New York and the Hotel Monteleone. The hotel has had many literary greats stay at the hotel including Truman Capote, Tennessee Williams, William Faulkner and Sherwood Anderson. The hotel’s Carousel Bar is featured in Eudora Welty’s short-story, “The Purple Hat”, and the hotel is also noted in Pulitzer Prize winner Richard Ford’s first novel, “A Piece of My Heart”, among others.
The Monteleone philosophy is the guest comes first”, and with 400 employees with a total tenure of 3,400 years of service, it is no wonder that the hotel just received the Four Diamond Award on June 24, 2003. The hotel has been undergoing a $65 million dollar renovation, which will be completed by December 2003. Whether you are looking for a deluxe room or a suite, the hotel has thoughtfully and tastefully added just the right room amenities.
I had the pleasure of touring various rooms and suites in the hotel, and I toured Room 1600, which is the Penthouse Suite. It can be connected to Room 1601 to make a 2-bedroom suite. The suite features a marble foyer, a kitchen, and a living room with a non-working fireplace, a sofa and 2 chairs. There are 2 sets of French doors, which open onto a balcony to enjoy a rooftop view of the French Quarter. The large bedroom features a king-size pillow-top bed, and has 2 sets of French doors, which lead out to the balcony and the pool. The marble bathroom has a Jacuzzi tub, and a separate walk-in shower. All of the suites have a CD player, perfect for listening to the sounds of New Orleans jazz in your room or on the balcony. There is high-speed Internet access and a wireless keyboard should you feel the need to surf the internet. Room 1601 has 2 double beds in the room, and has a tub-shower combination in the bathroom.
 There are two special suites per floor called Vieux Carre suites. An example of a Vieux Carre suite is Room 1180, which connects with Room 1181. Room 1180 consists of a powder room, and sitting room with windows on 2-sides of the room. Room 1181 has a king bed and 2 fabulous views - the Riverview and the French Quarter. There is a large bathroom with a garden tub perfect for soaking in after a long day of exploring the French Quarter, as well as a walk-in shower.
Room 1447 is an example of a large deluxe room with a desk and chair, 2 double beds, a marble bath and tub/shower combination, and a plush upholstered chair to read over the tour brochures.
All rooms have pillow-top beds, robes, hair dryers, ironing boards and irons, in-room safes large enough to accommodate laptops, mini bars, high-speed Internet access, in-room complimentary coffee makers, wireless keyboards, on-demand movies, and Nintendo 64s. The bathrooms feature toiletries by Gilchrest and Soames. There are lovely wood architectural details, and the furnishings in all of the rooms are tasteful and elegant.Â
 The hotel has a year-round heated rooftop pool, where weather permitting you can enjoy a swim, or just enjoy a drink from the poolside bar, and relax on a lounge chair overlooking New Orleans. There is also a fitness center, which has the wonderful advantage of being a room with a view. The well-equipped fitness center has state-of-the-art exercise machines facing large windows overlooking the river. As you exercise you can watch the steamboats and paddlewheel boats glide on by. To further motivate you, there is a free jukebox, where you can select your own music to exercise by. Towels, a water cooler, and complimentary fresh fruit enhance your workout. Both the Pool and the Fitness Center are open from 6:00 am until 10:00 pm, which allows for plenty of time for you to work up an appetite to indulge in all of New Orleans culinary specialties.
The hotel has 3 restaurants: Le Cafe, The Aft-Deck Oyster Bar, The Hunt Room, and their renowned lounge, The Carousel Bar, which has a revolving bar.
Le Cafe is open from 6:30 am to 2:00 pm, and serves breakfast, brunch and lunch. The restaurant features both buffet and a la carte dining. My husband and I went to Le Cafe for breakfast and had a hard time deciding between the ample buffet and the a la carte menu. We decided to try the pancakes, hash browns, crab cakes with a Choron sauce, grits, and biscuits, since we were in New Orleans. The pancakes were so large and fluffy that you could almost use them as a bed; the hash browns excellent; the crab cakes, well, if we had known how fabulous they were we would have made sure to eat breakfast everyday; the grits perfect; and the biscuits melted in your mouth. The service was timely, and our waiter almost magically appeared to refill our coffee cups – a must for mornings!
The Aft-Deck Oyster Bar is open from 11:00 am to 11:00 pm, and is the perfect place to enjoy a New Orleans-favorite, oysters on the half shell. The Aft-Deck has a decidedly nautical feel, right down to the boat in the restaurant area. The raw bar is an actual boat, that was cut in half and was registered to William A. Monteleone; the initials W.A.M are still on the bow of the boat. The afternoon we went there, we had oysters on the half shell and popcorn crawfish, both of which tasted “just caught” fresh.
 William A. Monteleone was a sportsman and an avid hunter, and The Hunt Room, the hotel’s fine dining restaurant, decorated in a masculine hunt theme, is testament to that. Award-winning Executive Chef Randy Buck, has been creating exceptional meals at The Hunt Room since 1995, and is joined by award-winning Pastry Chef, Minh Duong. Although I did not have enough time to eat at The Hunt Room, the setting is elegant and the menu is varied enough to appeal to a variety of culinary tastes. It is perhaps not an accident that time did not allow for me to have dinner at The Hunt Room on this trip, because I now have another reason to return to New Orleans and the Hotel Monteleone.
The Carousel Bar and Lounge is open from 11:00 am until 2:00 am. Liberace was the first pianist at the hotel, and now John Autin plays piano in the lounge from 9:00 pm on. There are two famous drinks created by Carousel bartenders that you might like to try, the Vieux Carre Cocktail, (Benedictine, Peychaud, Angostura, rye whiskey, cognac and dry vermouth with a twist of lemon), or The Goody, (dark rum, light rum, Orgeat, orange juice, and pineapple juice). Brandy Alexander was Tennessee Williams’ favorite drink, and perhaps it will be yours, as you enjoy your ride at the Carousel Bar.
New Orleans is a very old, and historic city full of interesting mysteries, and the Hotel Monteleone, which is over 117 years old, holds its own mysteries as well. Recently, the hotel was filmed by the International Society of Paranormal Research to check for paranormal energy levels. Although the results are not back yet, they seemed to think that there was a lot of energy on the 14th floor of the hotel, and also on the first floor, where the doors of Le Cafe, often will not stay closed, even when they are locked. I stayed in a room on the 14th floor of the hotel, and slept extremely well, so if there are ghosts present, perhaps it is the “Sandman”, because I had wonderful dreams.
The Hotel Monteleone located in the heart of the French Quarter is within walking distance of everything, but with world-class restaurants, shopping and antique galleries on Royal Street, why would you ever want to leave Royal Street? If New Orleans is your next travel destination, why not consider staying at the Hotel Monteleone; you won’t be disappointed.
© August/September 2003. All rights reserved.
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