JW Marriott Hotel New Orleans

The JW Marriott New Orleans is a 331 feet (101 m), modern 30-story high-rise hotel in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana. The 4-star, 501-room hotel currently stands as the 13th-tallest building in the city, and the 3rd-tallest hotel.

JW Marriott New Orleans
Map
General information
TypeHotel
Location614 Canal Street, New Orleans, Louisiana, United States
Coordinates29°57′10″N 90°04′07″W / 29.952668°N 90.068707°W / 29.952668; -90.068707
Completed1984
Opening1984
Height
Roof331 ft (101 m)
Design and construction
Architect(s)August Perez & Associates
Entrance to the JW Marriott on Canal Street.

History edit

The Hotel Meridien New Orleans was designed by August Perez & Associates and opened in 1984 to accommodate crowds attending the 1984 Louisiana World Exposition. Its name was later changed slightly to Le Meridien New Orleans. In 2002 the hotel's owners, La Salle Hotel Properties, concluded a lengthy legal battle with the Le Meridien management company.[1] La Salle first announced their intention to convert the hotel to The Westin New Orleans, but instead they signed Interstate Hotels & Resorts to manage the property, and it was renamed without a brand in December 2002 as the New Orleans Grande Hotel.[2] Four months later, in April 2003, La Salle sold the hotel for $92.5 million[3] to CNL Hospitality Properties. The new owners contracted Marriott to manage the hotel and renamed it the JW Marriott New Orleans in June, 2003.[4]

The hotel suffered some flooding during Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. It was evacuated on late August 28,[5] and the flooding included some water filling the basement and part of the first floor. The hotel also lost electricity, much like the other buildings in Downtown New Orleans, [6] although it had generators that remained operational after the city lost power. Despite this, the generators began running out of fuel, and the hotels lost air conditioning, but there was still enough energy to use lights.[7][8]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "LeMéridien To Leave New Orleans Hotel; Interstate To Manage LaSalle-Owned Property - Hotel Business". Hotelbusiness.com. 20 December 2002. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  2. ^ Johnson, Richard L. "LaSalle Hotel Properties Removes Le Meridien from New Orleans Hotel; Interstate to Manage the Renamed New Orleans Grande Hotel / Dec 2002". Hotel-online.com. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  3. ^ Johnson, Richard L. "LaSalle Hotel Properties Sells New Orleans Grande Hotel (formerly Le Meridien New Orleans) for $91.5 million / April 2003". Hotel-online.com. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  4. ^ "First JW Marriott Opens In New Orleans Via CNL - Hotel Business". Hotelbusiness.com. 18 June 2003. Retrieved 9 July 2018.
  5. ^ "Marriott Customer Update on Hurricane Katrina". Hospitality Net. August 29, 2005. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  6. ^ Joyce, Amy (September 26, 2005). "Marriott Pulls It Together". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  7. ^ Williams, Jessica (February 9, 2015). "NBC anchor Brian Williams' Katrina account challenged by ex-French Quarter hotel manager". Times Picayune. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
  8. ^ Milligan, Michael (September 1, 2005). "Marriott evacuates its remaining guests from New Orleans". www.travelweekly.com. Retrieved November 10, 2020.

External links edit