Who Are You, Said The Caterpillar

This Halloween, Trina was the Cheshire Cat from Lewis Carroll's Alice In Wonderland.

She was not impressed. 

Ukulele Rock Star

 Few cities have such an active culture of street performance as New Orleans. From impromptu, improvised jazz concerts to gold- and silver-painted "statues" who remain stationery until you least expect it, here in New Orleans we are proud of our artistic nature and love nothing more than to entertain you, our guests.

So it was with great excitement that we learned that the daughter of one of our guests had so wholly embraced our street art culture that she had donned a fedora and a ukulele, erected a chair and begun busking on Royal Street. Her mom, Susan, sent us these pictures:

This is Jensen. And she is a ukulele rock star. 

Historic Hotel (No, Really)

As you might expect, a big part of running such an old, historic hotel is speaking to people about the multitude of fascinating things that have happened within these walls. "If walls could talk" is an expression that's found new meaning since I discovered this intriguing place. 

Many know the basics. Hotel Maison de Ville includes buildings that are some of the few of French architecture that survived the Fires of New Orleans in 1788; that's true. New Orleans is old, but most of the city was rebuilt in the late 18th century after a series of fires - and our cottages and carriage houses hold the honor of being some of the few (and when I say few, I mean less than half a dozen) buildings that were not rebuilt. Maison de Ville is, at it's heart, a phoenix that has risen from the ashes multiple times (like our beautiful city itself). 

And some know of our building's early inhabitant, Antoine Peychaud, who invented the now widely used Peychaud's Bitters and, later, the Sazerac, the world's first cocktail and now Louisiana's state cocktail. 

And of course, everyone knows about Tennessee Williams - but not everyone knows that he stayed with us before he bought his first home in the French Quarter (which was right across the street - he didn't go far!). In fact, we named a Suite after him - the very rooms in which Williams wrote the manuscript that became A Streetcar Named Desire. 

To come to the Maison de Ville - and by extension, New Orleans herself - has and will always be to take a walk through history, but it's not always in the most obvious sense. Sure, there are the greats, the stories told over and over again, but I prefer the smaller ways that Maison de Ville has so deeply entrenched itself in the psyche of America and the world. Every day, we find our hotel cropping up in places we didn't possibly know about - books set partly in our famous courtyard; old paintings of our fountain. The other day, I picked up a book about New Orleans' fine dining, and on the inside cover was a picture of our well-loved Bistro. I can't help but find it fascinating, that our name - and our charm - is woven so deeply into the history of New Orleans and of the United States that we are constantly finding mentions of it when we least expect it.

Today I ran across a book originally in French called American Hotel Stories. And how could I resist when the inside cover was a charming, hand-drawn map of the Unites States, with a wonderful little red building inked over where New Orleans would be, our name scrawled next to it? I flipped through, and lo and behold, there was a now very familiar image of our courtyard in the evening, with - of course - "Tennessee Williams" beneath. 

I can't help but be tickled when I open these huge, heavy books to find gigantic glossy images of the place where I spend  my days. I forget, sometimes, all the things this hotel has seen. It's high time I remembered. 

Click through for the article text.

The Time We Met Doctor Who (And He Liked Our Hotel)

And there we were, expecting to relax this summer!


You wouldn't believe how excited we were to receive a phone-call from a lovely lady with a very strong, very beautiful British accent, telling us all about how she loves our little hotel and wants to include it in a series by the name of Hotel Secrets. Here at the Maison de Ville we are very proud of our historical background in particular; any of you who have had the experience of talking to us for more than five minutes knows how we love to talk about all the fascinating things that our property is famous for. And they were just as excited!

Hotel Secrets follows renowned actor Richard E Grant (of such titles as Coppola's Dracula, Tim Burton's Corpse Bride, and as both The Doctor himself and a villain in the long-running Doctor Who) around the world's most "eye-poppingly opulent" hotels in the world. And of course, they couldn't resist making a trip to New Orleans during their second series (who would?) and visiting us here, at the Hotel Maison de Ville, to film a short segment on our historic roots before the Great New Orleans Fires, our connection to Tennessee Williams, and even our shy hotel ghosts!

It was a blast! We don't know yet when the show will debut, but stay tuned - I, for one, can't wait to see our little hotel on TV!

Richard Grant views antiques with us at our favorite store!

Voodoo in the South

As most of you already know, voodoo and magic are a big part of the culture of New Orleans. You can't toss a stick around here without hitting a hoodoo store or a tarot reader - and that's one of the things we love about our city! So to celebrate our mystical heritage and part of what makes our city so special, we're thrilled to announce that we've added a little character to each of our unique rooms....

Whether you dabble in a little hoodoo yourself or want to take a walk on the wild side, these little guardians will be there to watch over our old townhouse and make your dreams a reality! But remember - be careful what you wish for!

Our voodoo dolls are also available for purchase. Call (504) 324 4888 for details.

Megan & Liz premier the New Orleans leg of their Great American Road Trip!

We can't tell you guys how excited we are to be able to announce that Megan and Liz, who graced us with their presence six weeks ago for an intimate acoustic set on our balcony, have just unveiled the video they made while here with us!

(No one can resist Trina. No one.)

As you may recall, in mid-April we were super thrilled to have Megan and Liz - and a small group of their loyal fans - spend some time with us, filming an acoustic set on our balcony to finish up their tour of New Orleans. Since then, we've been waiting impatiently to see what they got up to in the Big Easy before coming to see us - and we haven't been disappointed!

Watch the video to see Megan and Liz eat oysters and crawfish, learn about some old New Orleans landmarks and hauntings, visit the Cafe du Monde (because who can resist beignets?) and finish up in what you may recognize as our lounge!

Thanks so much, girls, and please come see us again!

(If you don't know what I'm talking about, here is the original entry talking about the girls.)

Maison de Ville featured in Travel + Leisure's "World's Quirkiest Adult Camps".

We are so excited to have our Ghost Hunter University featured in Travel + Leisure Magazine's The World's Quirkiest Adult Camps!

As many of y'all know by now, here at Maison de Ville we have been planning a return of one of our favorite events, the Ghost Hunter University! Over the span of two nights in August, guests will be treated to two ghost hunting expeditions (one in the hotel itself and one at another famously haunted property), a series of seminars by leading Paranormal investigators, a cocktail meet & greet, and a catered dinner from The Court of Two Sisters!

Some of you may remember a similar package that the hotel offered years ago, and we are so thrilled to be bringing back this iconic event!

Click here to see the article alongside other intriguing adult camps!

Click here to read a little bit more about the event from New Orleans' Visitor and Convention Bureau. 

For more information or to make a booking, give us a call on (504) 324 4888 before we totally book out!

Megan and Liz

So I kept it under wraps for as long as I could, but I can't wait any longer - Hotel Maison de Ville is thrilled to announce that we are currently hosting Megan & Liz as part of the Macy's Great American Road Trip, and they are shooting an intimate acoustic set on one of our beautiful balconies as I type!

Megan & Liz are a pop-rock duo of twin sisters from Michigan. They first rose to fame on their Youtube channel (which now holds the position of the world's 34th most subscribed Youtube channel - no small feat) when they posted a clip of the two of them - both on vocals, with Megan on guitar - singing a song entitled "This Note", which they wrote at the age of 15. Since then, they have been steadily releasing their own songs as well as a range of covers. Since 2012, they have released an EP, partnered with Macy's for a national commercial and iHeartRadio's Rising Star contest, and are due to release their debut album in the coming months!

We are so excited to have Megan & Liz here filming. The girls are absolutely lovely, and their crew has been fantastic. Thanks so much, guys! We are looking forward to seeing the footage - and so is Trina, who of course had a starring role.

Maison de Ville Featured in US Airways magazine, April 2013 edition!

It's been a dark and dreary week here in New Orleans, with rainclouds and thunderstorms keeping us all locked up inside. Thankfully, something came in the mail the other day to brighten our spirits:

Hotel Maison de Ville has been featured this month in US Airways Magazine!

We are so thankful to be featured in this publication, which will be available in all US Airways flights as well as online. Click here to read. 

Champagne, anyone?

Fancy a little champagne? 

Soon, you and that special someone will be able to come down to the Big Easy for the ultimate romantic weekend. Moët & Chandon, rose petals, candles and bubble bath... What more could you ask for? A secluded romantic oasis in the center of sultry New Orleans, that's what!

More details to come on our new romance package. 

If that fails, I'm proud to introduce our new, limited edition Maison de Ville champagne flutes! Yours to own for only $20 each. I'm thinking of getting some myself... 

Easter Sunday at Maison de Ville

Since it's Easter Sunday and all our guests are off seeing the parades, I thought it the perfect time to start our new Hotel Maison de Ville blog. So much happens daily here that I can't resist sharing it - from our new romantic packages (and our Tennessee Williams Experience!) to the evidence we recently uncovered while investigating ghosts in the hotel!

As for today, it's been sunny and warm, and everyone is excited for the parades. Our hotel cat, Katrina, managed to escape briefly and had to be chased up to one of the balconies before she would come back inside - but after a lot of running around, she thankfully tired herself out. 

It's a hard life, being a cat.