285-Key Loews New Orleans Completes $4M Update; 106-Key Pontchartrain Hotel Embarks on $10M Remodel

By Eliza Theiss, Associate Editor

Loews New Orleans

The 285-key Loews New Orleans, a landmark downtown New Orleans hotel, has announced completing a $4 million renovation. The three-month project updates guest rooms and renovated corridors and the hotel restaurant, Café Adelaide. Updated features include new carpeting, lighting fixtures, sofas, chairs and new art. The renovation was led by New Orleans firm Lisambiance Interior Design.

“New Orleans has experienced an incredible surge in visitors these past few years, which means everyone in the city wants to put their best face forward,”  said Loris Menfi, the hotel’s general manager.

Located at 300 Poydras St., the 21-story hotel features amenities such as an indoor heated saltwater pool, co-ed whirlpool, dry sauna, fitness center, spa, business center, on-site parking and 17,000 square feet of flexible meeting space, as well as an outdoor events venue.

Loews New Orleans is owned by Inland American Real Estate Trust Inc. through wholly owned subsidiary Xenia Hotels & Resorts. As previously reported, the REIT purchased the hotel for $74.5 million, or $261,000 per key, a little over a year ago. Loews Hotels & Resorts manages the asset. Formerly an office high-rise, the building was converted in 2004.

Pontchartrain Hotel

In other hospitality news, Chicago real estate investment firm AJ Capital Partners has picked up the 106-key Pontchartrain Hotel for an undisclosed sum. According to The Times-Picayune, the new owners plan to renovate the property and reopen it as a full-service hotel. IberaBank will finance the $10 million project. The property was built in 1927 as an apartment hotel and hosted the likes of Rita Hayworth and Frank Sinatra.

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Photo credits: Infrogmation via Wikimedia Commons and Inland American Lodging Group