A Pet-Friendly Getaway to Ace Hotel New Orleans
Let’s begin by being fully transparent.
New Orleans was at the bottom of our travel bucket list. And I mean way down …. all the way at the bottom.
I personally had never been to New Orleans prior to meeting my husband, Ryan. And upon meeting him, he made his dislike for New Orleans abundantly clear. To him, New Orleans was the dirty, immoral city next door, built off the slave trade and white tourism driven by the motto that in NOLA, anything goes.
His view of the city meant that even after years of being together, my only experience of New Orleans was a quick bite to eat after dropping someone off or picking some up from the airport. But to be honest, at that point I didn’t really mind.
What was I really missing after all?
Bourbon street? Saints football? Neither of these things were of interest to me.
New Orleans got the really short end of the stick. And we never went.
So what finally changed?
My perception of the “big-easy” starting to shift after we found ourselves temporarily relocated from Atlanta, Georgia to Gulfport, Mississippi as a result of the pandemic. Gulfport (where Ryan grew up) is on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and sits a short one-hour drive from New Orleans.
After a few airport runs over our time living here, and even a family photoshoot in New Orleans City Park, my curiosity of the city I had learned to brush aside started to get the best of me.
My curiosity, plus the necessary travel precautions taken during COVID, eventually lead to me perceiving New Orleans, not as the grimy city I had once thought of it, but as a city bursting with food and history that was just waiting to be explored.
As my curiosity grew, I began to drop hints to Ryan about how it could be “fun” to do a NOLA weekend getaway, hoping he would eventually bite. I pitched a trip where we could simply stay in a nice hotel that was clean and safe, during a night or weekend that wouldn’t be overcrowded (for social distancing reasons, of course), while trying some delicious New Orleans cuisine and taking an early morning stroll through the French Quarter.
Good pitch - right?
Ryan still wasn’t convinced.
At least, not until I did what I do best: discovered the perfect place for us to stay. This time, the place was a hotel with a moody aesthetic, a plethora of extra COVID precautions and a location in the Central Business District (vs. in the more unruly French Quarter).
I cast out my line and Ryan took the bait.
The Ace Hotel New Orleans
My first discovery of the Ace Hotel group came by the way of my dear friend and Jackson, Mississippi photographer, Mary Boyett Rooks.
Every year for her New Year’s Eve birthday, Mary and her family ring in the new year at the Ace Hotel New Orleans. After she shared about her first stay at the hotel, I began following the entire Ace Hotel group, which offers unique stays in Chicago, Downtown Los Angeles, New York, Pittsburgh, Seattle, Kyoto, New Orleans, Palm Springs, Portland, and coming soon to Toronto and Brooklyn.
Personally, I’d been keeping my eye on both the Seattle and Portland locations, as we have family in the Seattle area and loved Portland from our previous short stay in the city.
Nonetheless, for the sake of all things pandemic, for this trip, we would not be traveling across the country and instead decided to be intentional about going local. Hence - New Orleans.
Ultimately, after I did my full Airbnb/Hotel research in the city, I decided that based on my friend’s high recommendation plus my general admiration of the hotel group as whole, we landed on the Ace New Orleans.
And was it everything we could have imagined?
Keep reading to see for yourself.
Here’s how they ACED it:
All puns intended.
Let’s start with an overview of the property - which their website describes best:
“Ace Hotel New Orleans hangs its hat at 600 Carondelet in a beautiful 1928 Art Deco building, flanked by museums and galleries in the city's culturally-rich Warehouse District, long ago called the American Sector, and before that Faubourg Ste. Marie. The historic nine-story building stood until the middle 1970s as Barnett’s Furniture Store, a family business and the first importers of Scandinavian modern furniture in New Orleans.
We're close to up-and-coming art galleries and shopping, museums, cocktails and just a jaunt to the classics of the French Quarter and the modernity of the burgeoning South Market District, a stone's throw to many of New Orleans' best gems like the Sports and Arts Districts, and just a bike ride to the lively Bywater and Marigny neighborhoods, as well as mystical nooks and corners you can explore on your own.”
I love staying in a good historic building, and you can feel the history of the architecture as you look upon the exterior art deco details of the nine-story building upon arrival.
Let’s talk cleanliness.
As our country still recovers from the dark times of COVID, I think we can all agree on the importance of cleanliness and extra precautions. Ryan and I traveled a handful of times during the pandemic, and plane safety, accommodation cleanliness, capacity limitations and social distance measures were top priority for us as we determined whether or not to travel to a destination.
Upon entering the lobby of the Ace Hotel New Orleans, it was immediately evident that the hotel did not play games (not even the Ace of spades 😉) when it comes to cleanliness.
At check-in, there was a rope blocking hotel arrivals from the check-in desk, which sat six feet behind the rope. There was hand sanitizer available for us, and a bowl to drop off keys for check-out. The card reader also sat on one of these tables, so there was no human interaction or exchanging of papers or cards at check-in. I even spotted a thermometer on the counter for employee temp checking. When receiving our room keys, we also received a packet that included multiple face masks and hand sanitizing wipes.
Cleanliness: ACED.
Now for a room-tour:
As I made the journey to room 711, I noticed the previously mentioned hand sanitizer stations, elevator capacity limitations and stickers on room doors that read: Ace Hotel Dept. of Safety. This room has been ✖️ cleaned ✖️sanitized ✖️ inspected ✖️sealed. I felt like I’d arrived on a COVID crime scene. I felt comfort and ease knowing our room was safe and clean as I opened the door and broke the seal of our very own dept. of safety sticker.
I entered our room.
Or should I say, our hip New Orleans apartment?
As I stood in the doorway of room 711, I took in the scale of the space and the endless windows. I was standing in a living room of sorts, complete with only the most hip details: a black leather couch and chair, a green Smeg refrigerator, a funky white lamp shade, music playing for us on the radio that sat beneath the record player, and even an all black guitar in the corner (which Ryan put to good use).
Should all hotel rooms include instruments? I think so.
After soaking this first room in, I couldn’t resist seeing the rest of what our accommodations had to offer. I shifted my focus towards the bedroom and was welcomed by a hand-painted armoire, muted mauve pink pillows atop white bedding and an all black vanity nestled in the corner. This room also featured those giant open windows with views over the city. I let out a sight of relief.
This room was good.
Those two rooms in and of themselves would have been more than enough, yet one room remained to be explored: the bathroom.
I’ve always considered myself a bit of a bathroom junkie. It’s a weird obsession, I admit, but nonetheless whenever we travel and go to a hotel, eat in a restaurant, go to a venue or literally enter any well designed building, I go check out the bathroom. There’s just something about the dynamic between mirror and tiles and toilets and soaps that I can’t resist.
And this bathroom?
ACED it.
At my first impression, I was somewhat jarred by what I took in. This was not the trendy, all-white bathroom I was used to, and in all the bathrooms I’d explored, I’d never been in one quite like this: all black.
Well, shades of black that is. Black floor tiles, black mirrors, black shower head and faucets and yes, even an all black toilet.
I was in bathroom heaven.
And the best part? An in-shower bathtub.
Sign me up.
Spending an evening at the Ace New Orleans:
After enjoying my full tour of our space, Ryan + Boo joined me. They were both as impressed as I was and Boo made himself at home while Ryan began to serenade us on the guitar.
Only a few minutes in and we all agreed: we loved the Ace New Orleans.
As the sun began to set, Ryan and I headed to the rooftop to get the best sunset views and get the lay of the land. The pool and bar sit on floor nine of the building and are open to local residents of New Orleans as well as hotel guests. The roof featured a mid-sized heated pool, a bar and lounge seating around small fire pits. Our stay coincided with the night of a Saints game, and the hotel had set up a projector and screen to have a watch party of the game.
After exploring the roof, we started to get hungry and ultimately decided that for convenience sake we would grab a bite to eat at the hotel restaurant: Josephine Estelle.
Josephine Estelle is an osteria helmed by James Beard Award-nominated chefs Andy Ticer and Michael Hudman — lifelong best friends from Memphis, Tennessee who take their wooden spoon to the seasonal, craft-centric philosophy of Italian cuisine, stirring it up with fresh flavors of New Orleans and the American South.
I ordered the tortellini and Ryan had the duck meatballs. Both were absolutely delicious.
I know that when visiting New Orleans, you are overwhelmed by the plethora of delicious restaurants and food options, but if you decide to stay at the Ace, I highly recommend giving Josephine Estelle a try. Lest you miss the delicious food and breathtaking dining experience enhanced by the hundreds of glowing lights in the ceiling and globe sconces around the room.
After our delicious meal, we headed back up to our room and Ryan settled in with some cable TV (his go-to when we stay somewhere, since we personally do not have cable) and I settled into to an irresistible bath in the deepest tub I’ve ever bathed in.
ACED it, yet again.
In the morning,
I couldn’t wait to wake and see how the room came to life under the rays of the morning sun. I was not disappointed.
The sun woke me up by way of it creeping through the cracks of the grey window shutters and reflecting rainbows off the mirror that hung on the wall across the room. It was pure morning magic.
While Ryan slept in (his one request of the trip), I headed down to grab a cup of coffee from the hotel coffeehouse, Lovage.
Lovage is your all-day cafe and market for farm-driven, responsibly sourced nourishment — brought to you by Ace Hotel New Orleans’ very own Executive Chef Chris Borges and Pastry Chef Breanne Kostyk. We serve Stumptown coffee and espresso, organic juices, teas, and freshly baked pastries plus grab-and-go sandwiches and salad goodness.
After grabbing my vanilla latte, I began to explore the additional spaces offered by the hotel like the lounge area outside the coffee shop, an additional working space complete with a long table of outlets and plugs, The Three Keys (intimate music venue inside Ace Hotel New Orleans), and the main lobby of the hotel (which supposedly turns into a club with a DJ in non-COVID times and boasts unique Bloody Mary drink offerings).
ACED it, yet again.
After waking Ryan up and getting ready for the day, we took a lovely five-minute walk to grab breakfast from the famous Willa Jean breakfast/brunch joint (highly recommend) and spent the rest of our day in New Orleans taking a stroll through the French Quarter and capturing as many photos as possible of all the colorful buildings and unique architecture.
I was a happy camper.
Ready to have your very own Ace New Orleans experience?
Odds are, if you took the time to read the entirety of this post and now find yourself at the end, you’re in one of two places:
You’re already itching to book your stay. Go for it using the link below.
You’re still not sure. Maybe you were like us and don’t like New Orleans. Maybe you’re worried the hotel might not be right for you and your family. If this is you - here’s my personal summation of why I loved our stay at the Ace:
The overall aesthetic is 100%
It was much quieter than staying in the French Quarter
Location - the hotel is walking distance from great restaurants, shops and even the Saint’s stadium
Full experience - if for some reason you have no desire to step foot outside of the hotel, the Ace New Orleans provided everything needed for a night in (good vibes, good food, rooftop bar, music lounge, comfy rooms and the deepest bathtub I’ve ever been in).
Oh, and let’s not forget that it’s pet-friendly. Pet-friendly hotels are few and far between.
Convinced? Book your stay below.
Bringing your fur-baby with you?
If you’re planning on bringing your pet (and why wouldn’t you, to be honest), here are some helpful tidbits we learned during our stay:
There’s a one-time $25 fee for your pet(s)
Pets need to be 25lbs. and under
You will sign a waiver at the front desk when you check in agreeing that you are responsible for any damage done by your pet in the hotel and in your room
There is not a pet-relief area on the property, however, the hotel sits 500 feet from a city park that is convenient for when pup needs to go!
