A spokesman for the Beverly Hills, CA-based Hilton Hotels Corp. tells GlobeSt.com that the hotel at 123 Baronne St. will be the first in the Southeast to carry the Waldorf-Astoria Collection flag. He says more Waldorf-Astoria Collection hotels are being planned for the Southeast and Southwest, but nothing definite has been released. "Examples of Waldorf-Astoria properties are the Biltmore Resort and Spa in Arizona and the La Quinta Resort and Club in California," he says.
Dimension Development, which has jumped into the renovation work, is completely redoing interior rooms and adding a spa and fitness center. The plan includes restoration of the hotel's "Blue Room," a restaurant that will periodically host live entertainment, and reopening of the Sazerac Bar, which was popular during the 1940s and 1950s. The ballrooms will be completely restored as well.
The hotel has been closed since 2005 when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. The property opened in 1893 as the Grunewald and was renamed to the Roosevelt in 1923 in honor of President Theodore Roosevelt. The Fairmont Hotels & Resorts Inc. of Toronto acquired the hotel in 1965.
The Hilton spokesman says the hotel fits perfectly into Waldorf-Astoria Collection's parameters, which feature distinct architecture and interesting surroundings. "The Fairmont has a legendary status in New Orleans," he adds. "It's very much in keeping with the Waldorf-Astoria Collection of unique and distinctive properties."
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