The Ace moves down South.
This March, Ace Hotels—the Portland-based brand known for its bustling lobbies and sleek design sense—is opening an outpost in New Orleans’ gallery-filled Warehouse District.
"We've been deeply inspired by the culture and romanticism of New Orleans for years. Its tremendous history is celebrated daily by the people of the city who are sharing its energy, flavor, music, and art. We're really excited to learn from them, and to take part in that celebration,” Kelly Sawdon, Ace Hotel Partner and Chief Brand Officer, told Travel + Leisure.
The 234-room hotel will be housed in an Art Deco building that dates back to 1928. To design the new digs, the hotel teamed up with Roman and Williams to pay homage to the hotel’s Art Deco past and the city’s history, while keeping in line with Ace’s signature modernism. Fittingly, each room comes with a full-sized retro SMEG refrigerator stocked with ingredients for mixing cocktails in your own room—just in case you can’t get in at Sylvain or Cure or any of New Orleans myriad drinking establishments.
The hotel will also feature Stumptown Coffee’s first foray into the South, as well as a new restaurant by the James Beard Award-nominated chefs Andy Ticer and Michael Hudman, who are known for their Italian food with a Southern twist.
The Ace Hotel’s opening is planned to coincide with the New Orleans Jazz Festival, which runs from April 22 to May 1st. The lineup for this year’s festival hasn’t been announced yet, but last year’s Jazz Fest attendees saw everyone from Elton John to Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga to Keith Urban and Wilco. To help promote one of their new city’s biggest events—and show that they are good neighbors—the Ace Hotel is collaborating with some of New Orleans’s notable musical acts like the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and local radio station WWOZ to host events (and guests) during the festival.
Curious to see it all first hand? Ace Hotel New Orleans is already taking reservations, here.
