Omni Royal Orleans Hotel

A Grand Hotel Built to Look Like Paris, in the Middle of the Quarter

The site at 621 St. Louis Street has been a hotel since 1843, when Creole businessman James Hewlett converted a former merchants' exchange into The St. Louis Hotel, with architect Jacques Nicholas Bussiere De Poilly giving it a facade of white marble, Spanish wrought-iron balconies, and a Paris-style mansard roof modeled on the Rue de Rivoli. The current building carries that lineage forward as the Omni Royal Orleans, a AAA Four Diamond property with 345 rooms a block off Jackson Square, a multilevel lobby of marble, chandeliers, and grand pianos, and a guest book that has included Paul Newman, Patti LaBelle, and Muhammad Ali.

Why It Works

We recommend Omni Royal Orleans because it delivers the French Quarter fantasy without the Quarter's usual noise and clutter — a few steps off Royal Street, but set back enough to sleep through the night. Service runs at AAA Four Diamond standard, the Rib Room has anchored the hotel's dining for decades rather than rotating through concepts, and the 2026 rooftop renovation gave the hotel a pool worth staying in for, not just a photo op on the way to dinner.

Why This Location

St. Louis Street sits inside the Vieux Carré's quietest residential blocks, a two-minute walk from Jackson Square, St. Louis Cathedral, and the antique galleries of Royal Street, and close enough to Bourbon Street to reach it on foot without needing to stay on it. The French Market and the river are a short walk east; the Central Business District's convention venues are a longer one west. For a first visit to New Orleans built around walking rather than driving, this is close to the geographic center of what people come to see.

Fast Facts

• Price: $$$ (upper-midscale to upscale)

• Vibe: Historic French Quarter grand hotel, AAA Four Diamond

• Rooms: 345, guest rooms renovating in phases through early 2027

• Best For: First-time visitors, jazz and history fans, special occasions

• Our Favorite Thing About the Hotel: La Riviera, the reimagined rooftop pool deck overlooking the Quarter

• Dining: The Rib Room (prime rib, jazz brunch), Fifi Parée coffee shop

• Amenities: Rooftop pool, Three Maries Jazz Club, barber shop, 17 meeting rooms

• Attractions: Jackson Square, St. Louis Cathedral, Royal Street antiques, French Market

Rooms Mid-Renovation

All 345 guest rooms and suites are being refreshed in phases, with the full project expected to wrap in early 2027; Deluxe Rooms, Premier Rooms with balconies overlooking Royal or St. Louis Street, and a Royal Suite make up the current categories. Travelers booking before the renovation finishes should expect some floors to be mid-construction and ask at reservation time which wing is furthest along — a detail the hotel's own team is usually upfront about, and one worth confirming before paying for an upper category.

The Rib Room and Three Maries

The Rib Room has been the hotel's signature restaurant for decades, built around prime rib carved tableside and a Sunday jazz brunch that draws locals as much as guests; it's the kind of hotel dining room that would survive on its own without the rooms upstairs. Three Maries Jazz Club picks up the music Thursday through Sunday nights, and Fifi Parée, the hotel's coffee shop, covers the gap between the two for a quick espresso before a day on Royal Street.

La Riviera and Practical Details

The rooftop pool deck reopened in July 2026 after a renovation the general manager called one of the most significant investments in the hotel's history, with a French-coastal look of bold stripes and terracotta pavers, a retractable awning, and private cabanas that seat up to six with a stocked mini-fridge. The deck looks out over Jackson Square and the Mississippi River, and while hotel guests get full access included in their stay, locals and other visitors can buy day passes or book a cabana through ResortPass — worth knowing if the pool deck gets crowded during a festival weekend.