New Orleans is a burst of loud, musical charm in America’s South; a playground for jazz fans, minibreakers, and road-trippers, where fun and delicious food stretch long into the early hours.
Hotel Saint Vincent, which began life as a 19th century orphanage, takes the city’s infectious style up to the chicest possible level, making it a coveted spot both for guests and holidaymakers in search of a killer cocktail.
Where is it?
In the Lower Garden District — the cool, luxe antidote to the perma-pumped vibes of the Old Quarter. Hotel Saint Vincent is on oak-lined Magazine Street, where mansions, boutique stores, and cutesy cafés abound; you can walk for an hour and still find things to do stretching beyond where the eye can see. The area was added to the National Register for Historic Places in 1972, and it’s obvious why.
Style
Chic, playful, and a place to party. The pool feels like a private members’ club, with pink and white candy-striped furniture along with a bar and all-day music. Its main restaurant, San Lorenzo, and boutique ByGeorge, are more aspirational Italian luxe, with food and clothes befitting the person you wish you were (or can pretend you are, at least during your stay).
Hotel Saint Vincent has nailed stylish fun; from the lobby to the corridors and rooms, each space has its own eclectic mix of psychedelic colours, art, and soft furnishings, making every one unique in the best possible way.
Facilities
Two bars and two restaurants, a tropical tree-shaded pool, a tie-up with a local gym (which you can use and attend classes at as a guest of the hotel), and ByGeorge. They also host Sounds of Saint Vincent — intimate gigs showing off the best of New Orleans’ music scene — on various dates each month. You could easily while away an entire stay in the hotel alone.
Extracurricular
The French Quarter is the first and last stop for many visitors to NOLA, with every shade of jazz spilling out from the area’s glut of bars. Part of the joy of the city is simply wandering into whichever one takes your fancy; bring your (comfiest) dancing shoes, a wodge of tips, and soak it up (along with the bourbon). By day, there’s plenty of music, too, but you can also get your fill of eclectic shopping and delicious food and drink to try. Don’t leave New Orleans (pronounced ‘N’Orlins) without trying a crawfish boil, gumbo, with beignets for dessert. The list could go on (and on).
Food & Drink
Louisiana and Italy make for unbelievable fusion cuisine at San Lorenzo. The dishes are totally unique; particularly at breakfast, where shrimp and polenta and doughy muffins stand out (the dinner menu features handmade pasta, and a raw bar). The hotel has the onsite Vietnamese- French Elizabeth Street Café (for when you fancy swapping your po’boys for a banh mi), while drinks and light bites are available all day at the Paradise Lounge — the room a vision with blue, white, and terracotta mosaic floors, floral scenes across the walls (along with stunning fresh arrangements), and bamboo light shades. Scratch your speakeasy itch at the Chapel Club, or order a drink poolside. Or do them all, repeatedly.
Which room?
There are 75 spaces, most of which feature a psychedelic pop of pink along with bold velvet hues, so room choices are as much a question of personal style as amenities. The suites have their own dressing rooms (where even the robes are different) and several, like the Sister Suite, have writers’ nooks — perfect for finishing off that novel of yours, or staring pensively out of the window.
Best for...
Music lovers, or pal trips. The hotel has so much to offer that you can easily bring a group along and leave everyone to their own devices, with a plethora of rendezvous options in its many food and drink spots, or the pool, to make the best of a bigger affair.
Price
Rooms from £319 per night; saintvincentnola.com.
