- Next »
- Previous
New Orleans is truly OPEN...
Just returned from total immersion in the polite grittiness of New Orleans for the past 4 days. And the verdict is clear, that New Orleans is OPEN FOR BUSINESS & more eager to do business than ever!
If you are like me, I expected the old New Orleans to charm me. However, the NEW New Orleans stepped up to woo me, spinning me around like a skilled leading dancer. It was an effortless, yet intoxicatingly seductive dance. What a different city New Orleans is since Katrina rolled through town & quite simply it has never been more real. The sites are the same & the food is still divine, yet the the people are different, with a new resolution. Cancer survivors know something that the rest of us don't. And the people of New Orleans are stronger for surviving.
My mission for traveling to NOLA? To experience New Orleans first-hand so that I could report my findings back to my customers on the viability of New Orleans for meetings & conventions. My Findings? Again, that New Orleans has NEVER been cleaner, nor more eager to do business with meeting planners, conventions and tourists alike. In fact, we even encountered some former NOLA residents while sitting across the counter eating Muffelatta sandwichs at the Central Grocery who confided in us that the city was SO clean, that they actually missed the Pre-Katrina odors in the French Quarter which they remembered as distinctly New Orleans. Those locals were in good company, as Anderson Cooper stated last July "The French Quarter is cleaner than I've ever seen it."
One thing which has NOT changed is the stalwart Cafe Du Monde. In fact, Cafe Du Monde is to the morning what Bourbon Street is to the night-- something which you simply should not miss. Sitting strongly in
the French Quarter at 800 Decatur St, the fare is simple-- warm, heavenly beignets sprinkled inches high with loose powdered sugar (3 for $1.85) and dark roasted Coffee au Lait with chickory. Yes, please. Open early and late, Cafe Du Monde's sidewalk tables are the quintessential spot for people watching as they stroll past Jackson Square. If you're lucky, perhaps the musicians who serenaded us during a lazy Sunday morning breakfast with my very favorite song, Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World" might set up shop on the sidewalk. (Be sure to click on icon to the right to experience impromptu jazz first-hand at Cafe Du Monde.)
And speaking of Bourbon Street... Pat O'Briens is THE perfect spot to rent out the Briar Suite on the top floor for groups up to say 120. Click here to email Vicky Landry for more info. You can stand atop the famed balcony & hurl shiny beaded necklaces
down to party-goers below. It's like playing with human cats as they dance, perform, bat at & dive for those crazy, coveted beads. Oh YES. There WAS one incident which involved OUR beads, a man, his pants, his bared posterior AND the Police. It happened so quickly that we nearly questioned whether it really happened at all. Where DID all those police come from? And where DID they take that man so quickly with his pants around his thighs? Watching the event unfold from above, we were stunned.
Meanwhile, back on Canal Street, I was gleefully happy to see the New Orleans Marriott on Canal Street's transforming renovation since Katrina rolled through town. The Hotel looks AMAZING with a friendlier & embracing lobby bar, beautiful ruby red blown-glass chandeliers, new artwork, front desk pods-- all projecting a feeling of intimacy. The lobby welcomes you in & invites you to stay awhile. The New Orleans Marriott offers meeting space for groups to self-contain within 80,000 sq ft of meeting space-- meet & feed up to 2,000 attendees. Sleeping rooms at the New Orleans Marriott offer the new crisp Marriott-branded "Revive" bedding which confidently ushers the standard Marriott room into the very-now residential feel of a current hotel. The tufted feather-bed topper lulls you right into sleep when you lie down. Click here to email me if you are interested in good value dates for your group at the New Orleans Marriott.
Directly across Canal street, sits the Sheraton New Orleans. With it's wide-open, spacious glass lobby, you are assured of plenty of sunlight & great people-watching. The Sheraton also has great space one floor up for groups wanting to self-contain their program for up to 1,200 attendees using up to 1,000 rooms on peaknight. The Sheraton New Orleans sleeping rooms offer Sealy Posturepedic Plush top mattresses, famous "Sweet Sleeper beds" surrounded in warm, earthy tones. Again, a very residential feel. Click here to email me for Value Dates if you are interested in availability for your group at the New Orleans Sheraton.
Which other hotels TOTALLY blew my hair back? Check back for my next blog!
USA Host served as our group's DMC (destination management company) escorting us around the city, down the streets of the French Quarters during a scavenger hunt-- passing by the Cabildo, the fortress-like building where the Louisiana Purchase was signed, through Lafitte's pub, the oldest in the city dating back to 1722, past the grammatically-rebellious William Faulkner's home & into Margaritaville with the most comfortable tire swings dangling as bar chairs in front of the upstairs bar. I'll share more about USA Host in my next blog on New Orleans, such as how to arrange your very own private Parade right down Canal Street complete with a Marching Band performing "When the Saints go Marching In" and a Police Escort. USA Host really are the people to know to make it happen!
Lastly, you might have seen some negative press in the past few months about New Orleans, about how the 9th Ward is still wiped out along with other internal issues in New Orleans. And while it is true that certain areas within the greater New Orleans metropolitan area are still unacceptably under-served-- YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE & breathe life back into the areas most needing our help. Support New Orleans by booking your meetings-- both large & small. The Trickle-Down effect can substantially impact those areas most devastated by securing jobs for those desperately needing to support themselves & their families. These very families are the ones who lost it all. Also, Consider signing your group up for a Community Service Project while in town. And hey, you just might have fun! In fact, the vast majority of groups meeting in New Orleans sign up for Community Service Projects. Click here to email me for more information on Community Service Projects. Again, the convention district & Bourbon Street are safer & cleaner than ever. SUPPORT NEW ORLEANS!
Comments
I agree with all of your comments, Christine - New Orleans has gone through some very challenging times as a community and now we have the opportunity to share our experiences first-hand and help them grow.
In addition to having our own private parade (complete with band) leading us into dinner, we were able to hear stories direct from hoteliers on how they personally contributed to the success of volunteers and emergency personnel during the first crucial weeks during and after Katrina. I have a renewed respect and appreciation for them personally, not just professionally now.
I extended my stay by a day and hopped on a convenient trolley located just outside our hotel. For a mere $5/day, you can hop on limitless trolleys throughout the city and surrounding areas and experience beautiful architecture, historical sites and intimate museums (such as the Degas House, once home to the French Impressionist Edgar Degas). We also went back to the downtown and riverside areas and stopped for a cold brew on an upstairs deck overlooking short-sleeved tourists exploring the riverside shopping area by foor and horse-drawn carriages.
Yes, New Orleans has something for everyone - I hope you will see for yourself!
Christine,
Great site! Nice job assisting the great
Christine
I'm so impressed.