Eight offbeat hotels in historic New Orleans buildings
A convent, an infant asylum and a mid-century motel are among the buildings converted into eight unusual and stylish hotels you can stay at in New Orleans.
Hotel Saint Vincent in the Lower Garden District, New Orleans, by Lambert McGuire Design
Built back in 1862, this red brick building used to be the Saint Vincent's Infant Asylum. Austin-based Lambert McGuire Design has converted it into a 75-room hotel that mixes 20th-century Italianate style and mid-century modern design.
Bathrooms feature cherry-red tubs and psychedelic wallpaper, and the guest-only cocktail bar the Chapel Club is reached via a dramatic neon-lit corridor.
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The Chloe in Uptown, New Orleans, by Sara Ruffin Costello
The Chloe occupies a former mansion house designed in 1981 by American architect Thomas Sully. Local decorator Sara Ruffin Costello created moody interiors for the hotel, with inky blue walls and an alligator-print carpet running up the stairs.
Antiques fill the halls and the bedrooms feature four-poster beds and freestanding tubs. Guests can sip cocktails out on the porch, which is lined with 19th-century tiles.
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Maison De La Luz in the Arts District, New Orleans, by Atelier Ace
Kelly Sawdon and Studio Shamshiri co-founder Pamela Shamshiri describe their design for the 67-room Maison De La Luz as "madcap and fun", featuring snake-themed iconography and eccentric decor in a converted historic building.
The hotel includes Bar Marilou, a public bar painted a glossy red colour with tiger-print fringed bar stools. Private bedrooms are decorated with a calmer colour scheme to encourage guests to relax and recharge.
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Hotel Peter and Paul in Marigny, New Orleans, by StudioWTA and ASH NYC
Hotel Peter and Paul was originally a church, rectory, convent and school from the 1800s and remained in use up to the 20th century. New Orleans-based StudioWTA and New York studio ASH NYC have created a 71-bed hotel in the building, repairing the stained glass windows and preserving cypress wood mouldings and marble fireplaces.
Religious iconography features throughout, including four-poster beds topped with crucifixes and paintings of saints hanging in the bedrooms.
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The Eliza Jane in the Central Business District, New Orleans, by Stonehill Taylor
New York studio Stonehill Taylor knocked through seven warehouses to create the 196-bed Eliza Jane hotel. The buildings used to house businesses, such as the Peychaud Bitters factory and local paper The Daily Picayune.
Antique typewriters decorate the bar area and exposed beams and brickwork nod to the building's industrial past.
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Ace Hotel New Orleans in the Warehouse District, New Orleans, by Eskew+Dumez+Ripple
Local firm Eskew+Dumez+Ripple converted and extended this nine-storey art deco furniture factory, originally designed in 1928 by Weiss, Dreyfous and Seiferth, into a 234-room hotel for the Ace Hotel chain.
Original terrazzo floors and dramatic columns have been restored and preserved in the lobby and restaurant, while rooms feature dark wood furniture and a colour palette of smokey blues and greys.
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Drifter in Mid-City, New Orleans, by Concordia Architecture
Concordia Architecture converted a mid-century modern motel into the 20-room Drifter hotel, which features tiles from Oaxaca in Mexico and a bar with tropical decor.
Period-appropriate furniture decorates the common areas, while bedrooms contain double bunk beds. Out back, a giant disco ball hangs near a pool set in a brickwork terrace.
Henry Howard Hotel in the Garden District, New Orleans, by Hunter Mabry Design
A pair of townhouses originally designed in the 1860s for two sisters have been converted into the 18-room Henry Howard Hotel.
Grand white-painted columns and walk-through windows line the exterior, while interiors feature high ceilings and an eclectic mix of furniture. Musical instruments in the bedrooms nod to the city's jazz connections.
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