The Columns
Old-school Southern sophisticate
The Grand Ave
From your patio seat flanked by Doric-style columns, with a benign ice-to-glass clink in your ears, the Columns hotel invites you to drift back through the decades. This 19th-century pillared pile on one of NOLA’s most dignified avenues offers a colour-rich refurb with many a theatrical wink. From the sensual red and gleaming mahogany of the hallway to the playful wall prints, twinkling period chandeliers and fringed bedside lamps, it’s a makeover that celebrates, rather than masks, the building’s ageing glamour. The prime St Charles Avenue location puts some of New Orleans’s nicest spots within easy reach, allowing you to saunter back into the gloriously restored hotel bar ready to usher in the evening. You’ll be surprised how quickly that clink of cocktail hour comes around here…
Facilities
Rooms
18 rooms, including some suites.
Checkout
11am, but flexible, subject to availability. Earliest check-in, 3pm.
More Details
Rates don’t include breakfast, but you can enjoy pastries ($3) and small plates ($14–20) at the coffee shop from 7am daily.
Also
There’s a ramp to access the public areas of the hotel, plus a lift to the upper floors, but due to the age and nature of the building it might not be as comfortable for wheelchair users as some more modern hotels.
Free Internet Access
On-Site Restaurant
Room Service
At the Hotel
Free WiFi, umbrellas, robes, patio, landscaped garden with fountains, covered first-floor porch, private gallery/porch area for hire. In rooms: TV, Tivoli radio, selection of spirits, free bottled water, Parachute bed linens and towels, Aesop toiletries.
Our Favourite Rooms
The rooms are all individually decorated, using items found in the hotel loft, restored antiques, and vintage and modern pieces from around the world, giving it a multi-layered Southern glamour with a global spin. The Premier Avenue Suite is perhaps the most joyful of rooms, a clash-happy riot of colour and preserved features, with heaps of throwback charm, along with extra space and elegant avenue views. If you book room 17, you’ve got the option of also booking the spacious and character-packed guest lounge, which has an additional seating area with sofas, an extra bathroom, a bar and access to the upper outdoor porch.
Packing Tips
Your Polaroid camera and your most fearsome print shirts – see if you can outdo your surroundings.
Children
The Columns is a particular treat for the gently soused cocktail crowd, but children are welcome to stay here too. Nightly rates are charged per room, so there’s no extra charge for kids to stay. You’ll need to supervise your under-16s at all times.
Gallery
Food & Drink
Top Table
The tables on the patio are great for when the weather holds up, and offer a decent view of the passing people and streetcars.
Dress Code
Casual attire, but a bow tie wouldn’t look out of place here.
Hotel Restaurant
Chef Paul Terrebonne is at the helm of the casual New American dishes you’ll find at the Columns. The menu changes seasonally, offering plates such as pickled beet salad with cashew butter, pistachio and pecorino, or the Columns burger, served with bacon marmalade, rocket and provolone. Lunch is available on Friday from 11.30am to 3pm and dinner is served Sunday to Thursday 4pm to 9pm, and Friday and Saturday 4pm to 10pm. For brunch (11.30am to 4pm on Saturdays and Sundays), try the breakfast plate of ham, scrambled eggs and biscuits, or the little gem lettuce served with parmesan dressing and bacon. There’s no dedicated dining area; instead, guests can choose a spot anywhere in the low-lit bar, genteel parlour, on the patio or in the garden.
Hotel Bar
The polished mahogany features of the Columns bar have been carefully restored and are softly lit by a glowing antique chandelier. Take a pew on a plush stool and order your cocktail – we recommend the Gold Rush, made with bourbon, honey, lemon and thyme, or the Columns Bloody Mary.
Last Orders
9pm Sunday to Thursday and 10pm Friday and Saturday.
Room Service
You can order room service during restaurant opening hours through the in-room ordering platform.
Planes
Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport is around half an hour’s drive away.
Trains
If you’re arriving by train into New Orleans Union Passenger Terminal, you can reach the hotel by car in about ten minutes or on foot in around 45 minutes.
Automobiles
There’s no car park on site, but you can park on the street.
Worth Getting Out of Bed For
First up, you’ll want a good look at those eye-popping mansions that line leafy St Charles Avenue (you’re already staying in one of them). If you like fancy columns, turrets and brightly painted clapboard, an avenue stroll (or streetcar tour) is just what you need. Head to Magazine Street to shop homewares, jewellery and clothing, followed by coffee or brunch from a whole heap of great cafés and restaurants. It’s a short streetcar ride or drive (or 35-minute walk) to Audubon Park, where you can hit the golf course or relax at the Fly, a popular waterfront stretch of park that’s great for a picnic and glass of something cold at sunset.
Earn or Redeem Points with World of Hyatt
This Mr & Mrs Smith hotel participates in the World of Hyatt loyalty program. As a member, you can earn and redeem points and enjoy exclusive benefits for qualifying nights. .
