Pontchartrain Hotel St. Charles Avenue

A 1927 Apartment House That Became New Orleans's Living Room

The Pontchartrain opened in 1927 as a luxury apartment building, named for the Count de Pontchartrain of Louis XIV's court, before converting into a hotel in the 1940s. The guest list over the decades reads like a cross-section of the twentieth century: Frank Sinatra, Rita Hayworth, The Doors, presidents Gerald Ford and George H. W. Bush, and Tennessee Williams, who is said to have worked on A Streetcar Named Desire during a stay here. A full renovation reopened the hotel in 2016, keeping the original bones and the residential scale while adding the rooftop bar and restaurant that now anchor its ground floor.

Why It Works

We chose the Pontchartrain for the rare thing a converted apartment building gives a hotel: rooms that feel inhabited rather than issued, on a street where the past is still doing active work. The Bayou Bar alone, a wood-paneled lobby room where the New Orleans Saints are said to have been founded over drinks, carries more history than most hotels manage in a lobby plaque. Add a rooftop bar with its own weekend line and a restaurant with a sidewalk terrace, and the ground floor justifies a stay on its own.

Why This Location

St. Charles Avenue runs through the Garden District under a canopy of oak trees that locals drape in Mardi Gras beads every February, and the streetcar line stops at the hotel's door. The French Quarter, the Central Business District and Faubourg Marigny are a streetcar ride away rather than a taxi fare, and Tulane and Loyola, along with the shops of Magazine Street, sit within easy reach on the same line. Audubon Park and its zoo close out the avenue to the west, reachable on foot, by bike or by streetcar depending on the mood.

Fast Facts

• Prix: Luxe

• Vibe: Grand dame, residential scale, old New Orleans glamour

• Chambres: 106, including suites named for the Greek Muses

• Best For: Travelers drawn to history, streetcar-line stays, a lively lobby and rooftop scene on weekends

• Our Favorite Thing About the Hotel: the Bayou Bar, where the New Orleans Saints are said to have been founded over drinks

• Dining: Jack Rose restaurant, Hot Tin rooftop bar, Bayou Bar, Silver Whistle Cafe for coffee and pastries

• Amenities: dedicated rooftop-bar elevator, sidewalk terrace dining, Le Labo toiletries in-room

• Attractions: St. Charles streetcar at the door, French Quarter and CBD a streetcar ride away, Magazine Street and Audubon Park within reach

Rooms Named for the Muses

Because the building started life as apartments, the rooms run larger and more residential than a typical hotel floor plan, with golds, mint greens and tufted headboards standing in for anything generic, plus antique furniture and original artwork throughout. Categories carry names drawn from the Greek Muses, from compact Clio Kings to the two-bedroom Melpomene suites, and bathrooms keep subway tile and pharmacy-style cabinets in step with the building's age rather than stripping it out. The effect reads closer to a well-kept apartment than a hotel room, which is precisely the point.

Hot Tin, Bayou Bar and the Rest of the Ground Floor

Hot Tin, reached by its own lobby elevator, is the rooftop draw: craft cocktails, skyline views and a line behind a velvet rope most weekend nights. The Bayou Bar downstairs is the quieter fallback and the more storied room of the two, wood-paneled and built for a lingering drink rather than a photo. Jack Rose handles the restaurant side with a colorful dining room and a sidewalk terrace, while the Silver Whistle Cafe off the lobby covers coffee and pastries before either bar opens for the day.

Before You Book

There is no pool and no fitness center here: the hotel leans fully into its lobby life, its bars and its street-level history instead, which suits a traveler visiting for the city rather than the gym. Check-in runs from 3pm, check-out at noon, and both children and pets are accepted. With the streetcar stopping outside, a rental car is optional for anyone sticking to the Garden District, Uptown and the Quarter.