The Warehouse District earned its name honestly. Before the galleries and restaurants moved in, these blocks were the working infrastructure of a port city, full of cotton, coffee, tobacco, and ship’s provisions moving in and out of the Mississippi. The three hotels below occupy different corners of that history.
The Old No. 77 Hotel & Chandlery— 535 Tchoupitoulas St., Warehouse District
The building dates to 1854, when the area was the commercial engine of the busiest port in America. It started as a coffee warehouse, then passed to E.J. Hart & Company, who turned it into a chandlery supplying canvas, rope, tobacco, patent medicines, and everything else the shipping trade required. The address was originally 77 Tchoupitoulas, which is how the hotel got its name after the city renumbered its streets at the turn of the 20th century.
The renovation in 2015 kept the exposed brick, original hardwood floors, and ceiling beams that make the 167 rooms feel embedded in the building rather than installed inside it. Every room carries artwork from students at the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts, the city’s tuition-free arts high school, and the lobby rotates exhibitions from local artists in partnership with Where Y’Art Works. Compère Lapin, Nina Compton’s James Beard Award-winning restaurant, anchors the ground floor. Visit old77hotel.com for rates.
Renaissance New Orleans Arts Warehouse District Hotel— 700 Tchoupitoulas St., Warehouse District
Housed in a historic warehouse dating to the early 20th century, the Renaissance leans hard into the artistic identity of the district around it. The lobby holds Dale Chihuly glass chandeliers with their asymmetrical, flowing forms, and the on-site gallery rotates exhibitions of work by regional artists. The second floor houses an indoor sculpture garden with a carved path, abundant greenery, and an atrium ceiling that pulls natural light through the industrial bones of the building.
The rooftop pool deck opens views of the district skyline, and St. James Cheese Company operates poolside for food service, which is as good a pairing as the neighborhood offers. Three blocks separate the hotel from the Convention Center and a short walk reaches the French Quarter, the WWII Museum, and the Ogden Museum of Southern Art. Book via marriott.com.
The Higgins Hotel & Conference Center— 1000 Magazine St., Warehouse District
The Higgins is not a converted warehouse but earns its place here for a specific reason: every dollar it generates funds the educational mission of the National WWII Museum next door, which makes it the only hotel in the country structured as a direct extension of a major museum’s purpose. It opened in December 2019 with 230 rooms and a full Art Deco design program that draws from the 1940s aesthetic of New Orleans’ own built environment.
The name honors Andrew Higgins, the New Orleans shipbuilder whose Higgins boats carried Allied troops onto the beaches of Normandy and every other major amphibious landing of the war. General Patton’s piano sits in the lobby. Suites on the eighth floor are named for Eisenhower, Truman, and Roosevelt, each with balconies framing the Museum’s campus. Rosie’s on the Roof pays tribute to the women of the Home Front with panoramic views of the city skyline. Hotel guests can purchase bundled Museum access at check-in.
