Cocktail Culture Meets Southern Charm at The Celestine Hotel
This Michelin key New Orleans bolthole is steeped in history.
Mixology aficionados are likely familiar with the licorice cherry punch of Peychaud’s Cocktail Bitters, a key ingredient in New Orleans’s iconic cocktail, the Sazerac. Now, they have the chance to stay at The Celestine, in the historic building where the Creole apothecary Antoine Amédée Peychaud, who created the herbal bitters, once resided. For guests more impressed by literary delights, head to the hotel’s lush inner courtyard, a favourite spot of Tennessee Williams and where he is said to have penned A Streetcar Named Desire. Whatever brings a person to New Orleans, they are sure to find a memorable and comfortable retreat in The Celestine, where the sweet aromas of gardenias waft in through the open windows in the summertime and jazz can be heard.
In the short time since its opening, the French Quarter bolthole has earned itself a Michelin key, designating it as a “very special stay” and joining fewer than 300 hotels on this elite list (for context, that’s less than 0.2 per cent of hotels in the U.S). Don’t expect over-the-top opulence or a pool—for the latter head uptown to the sister hotel, The Chloe. At The Celestine, it’s all about simple luxury, designed for retreating into quiet comforts and immersing yourself in the charms of the neighbourhood.
Photo by Trevor Mark
Photo by Rush Jagoe
The hotel is a joint venture between hotelier Robért LeBlanc of LeBlanc+Smith and the rest of the team behind The Chloe Hotel and Neal Bodenheimer, the beverage expert whose award-winning bar Cure has helped shape New Orleans’ craft cocktail movement. Blending French, Spanish, and Afro-Caribbean influences plus just a bit of 1950s glamour, the interiors were brought to life by local designer Sara Ruffin Costello. Old World character meets contemporary Southern charm, and whimsical and unexpected details—like wallpapered closets and room numbers incorporated into the bathroom floor tiling—make the place feel more like a hip friend’s apartment than a hotel.
Photo by Trevor Mark
Photo by Trevor Mark
Each of The Celestine’s 10 rooms is unique, appointed with antique furnishings, original artwork, custom linens, and a personalized in-room bar inspired by Peychaud. Balconies, with doors framed by green shutters, either overlook picturesque Toulouse Street or the hotel’s inner courtyard. Some rooms have decadent soaker tubs with window views or stately four-poster beds.
The two suites are bright and comfortable. Suite Henriette, named for the nun and philanthropist Henriette deLille, whose family owned the building at the beginning of the 1800s, is 340 square feet and features charming French doors that lead out to a courtyard. The crème de la crème, the Suite Madeline (named for Madeline Erlich, who turned the building into a hotel in the 1940s) spans the third floor. Vaulted ceilings are treated to verdant floral wallpaper, and a built-in seating nook makes for the perfect place to catch up on work or share an intimate meal. Best of all, with windows facing the garden and the street, you don’t have to compromise on views.
Photo by Randy Schmidt
To imbibe the NoLa (New Orleans) way, head to the hotel’s Peychaud’s bar—the brainchild of Bodenheimer—where the expert mixologists whip up new concoctions and plenty of historic local favourites, like the Vieux Carre, Pimm’s cup, and of course the Sazerac. Call it a history lesson.
