New Orleans has a proud history of creativity which is evident in our food music art and culture. We also have an innovative spirit that is seen across the hospitality industry and in business. The combination of the two are what make us Built To Host. These are just a few of the exciting developments happening now in New Orleans.
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The new, $1 billion world-class terminal complex at the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport is the first new terminal of its kind to be built in more than a decade. The new 972,000-square-foot terminal, which completely replaced the old facility, features three concourses, 35 gates, improved passenger experience with a consolidated checkpoint for ease and efficiency going through security, an in-line baggage system where passengers can drop off their checked baggage at the ticket counters. New food, beverage, news, gift and specialty retail options include local icons like Emeril's, Fleurty Girl, Dirty Coast and MoPho in addition to nationally recognized brands.
New Orleans is home to hundreds of hotels, hostels and B&B’s (26,000 downtown hotel rooms and counting!) with more opening and/or renovating every year. Whether you’re looking to live luxuriously, immerse yourself in history or simply rest your head at eco-conscious hotels, these new places to stay give you somewhere unique to reenergize. Almost $1 billion dollars in renovations have been recently completed and are anticipated to begin in our hotel community.
Caesars Entertainment, Inc. is investing $325 million to renovate and rebrand Harrah’s Hotel and Casino with additional plans for a 340-room hotel tower by 2024. Nobu Hotel New Orleans and restaurant are also set to open within the Caesars Hotel New Orleans. In addition to this, the Superdome has been renamed the Caesars Superdome.
The Dew Drop Inn Hotel and Lounge, on Lasalle Street in Central City opened in February 2024. The boutique hotel will include 17 hotel rooms, a live music venue and a resort style pool. First opened in 1938 by Frank Painia, the Dew Drop was a hotel, music venue and barber shop. Legendary musicians played on its stage including Ray Charles, Little Richard, Deacon John and Irma Thomas.
Copper Vine’s expansion will evolve the brand into Copper Vine Winepub & Inn, a ‘restaurant-first’ take on a traditional bed-and-breakfast with 11 rooms and increased restaurant floor plan for expanded dining and private events.
The first Four Seasons-branded property in New Orleans is now open in the former World Trade Center building along the Mississippi Riverfront. The 34-story, mixed-use development houses a 341-key hotel on the lower floors and 81 luxury condominiums on the upper floors. The property includes two restaurants, approximately 22,500 square feet of meeting space, a spa and fitness center, a roof-top pool and bar area, and a cultural museum. A two-story roof-top cupola on floors 33 and 34 will be used as a public observation floor and roof deck.
Celebrating its 100th anniversary, Rubensteins, a cornerstone of New Orleans' retail scene, embodies quality, service and fashion as one of America's oldest menswear stores. Founded in 1924 by Morris Rubenstein as a haberdashery, it flourished with brothers Sam and Elkin expanding into an iconic establishment. Key milestones include expansion in the 1950s-60s, All American Jeans launch in 1971 and its swift reopening post-Katrina. Managed by multiple generations, Rubensteins transcends retail, deeply embedding itself in the New Orleans’ community. The centennial marks both reflection on a storied past and excitement for the future, like newly opened Rubensteins Hotel on St. Charles.
Virgin Hotels New Orleans located in the Warehouse District at 550 Baronne Street, sits directly next to the Central Business District close to a growing number of new restaurants, galleries and shops. The property features over 200 chambers, multiple dining and drinking outlets such as the brand’s signature Commons Club and Funny Library Coffee Shop, a rooftop pool and lounge, gym and dedicated meetings and event spaces. Common spaces like the lush rooftop pool deck and the Jazz Age-inspired Commons Club inspire curiosity and exploration around every turn.
The New Kimpton Hotel Fontenot and King Brasserie's Restaurant pays homeage to the city's rich musical history and the inspirational musicians behind it. With a prime location just blocks from the Central Business District and the French Quarter, the project converted an existing hotel into a 202-room property. The hotel, at the intersection of Poydras and Tchoupitoulas Streets, attracts a broad spectrum of travelers with its proximity to the Convention Center, Caesars Superdome.
New Orleans is home to some of the top museums and attractions in the country including The National World War II Museum, ranked No. 3 in the country and No. 8 in the world by TripAdvisor. Several attractions around the city are undergoing renovation and expansion. Read on and discover the new ways you can immerse yourself in history and fun in the city.
New Orleans’ newest attraction, Vue Orleans, located at the foot of Canal Street, on top of the newly renovated Four Seasons Hotel New Orleans, is a one-of-a-kind experience and observatory featuring the city’s only 360-degree views of New Orleans and the Mississippi River. Guests enjoy interactive cultural experiences that explore the rich 300-year history, the diverse people who created the unique culture, and those who continue to shape it today. High-tech, touchless exhibits feature legendary New Orleans figures, such as the Soul Queen of New Orleans Irma Thomas, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Big Freedia and other famed culture bearers.
The Expressions of America exhibit premiered on Veterans Day Weekend to rave reviews. Expressions of America uniquely combines the latest outdoor projection technology with wartime letters and oral histories from the Museum’s collection to allow audiences to experience the stories of the WWII generation like never before.
The National WWII Museum opened the highly anticipated Liberation Pavilion, its final permanent exhibit hall, and officially dedicate the Col. Battle Barksdale Parade Ground, an outdoor gathering space in the heart of the New Orleans campus in November 2023. The Pavilion marked the completion of the $400 million Road to Victory Capital Campaign that has propelled the extraordinary growth of the Museum’s campus from one exhibit hall to seven pavilions over the past two decades.
A $34 million renovation at the Audubon Aquarium of the Americas is underway. A new entrance and lobby area along with an additional 17,000 square feet of new exhibit space will be added. Also, the Butterfly Garden, and Insectarium will call the Aquarium home.
Embracing the personality and feel of the city's many cultural gems, JAMNOLA is a 5,400 sq ft experiential pop-up that engages audiences of all ages in a topsy-turvy journey celebrating the art, music and culture of New Orleans.
The Bollinger Canopy of Peace takes its place as a new landmark on the New Orleans skyline. The iconic architectural structure rises 148 feet above the center of the institution's campus. During the daytime, the towering bright-white Canopy will serve as a beacon to visitors and locals alike; after sundown, a state-of-the-art lighting system will transform the Canopy and its support legs into a stunning new nighttime landmark for the city. The Canopy is made possible through a generous donation from longtime WWII Museum Board of Trustees member Boysie and Joy Bollinger.
LEED Certification
The Ernest N. Morial New Orleans Exhibition Hall Authority Adopts Development Agreement with River District Neighborhood Investors for a mixed-use development of 39-acres of land adjacent to the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center (NOENMCC) on the Mississippi Riverbank.
LM Wind Power’s Technology Center Americas facility (TCA), based on the NASA Michoud campus, has built the world’s longest offshore wind turbine blade at 107 meters in length.
The Beach at UNO, the University’s Research and Technology park, hosts the Gulf’s premier ecosystem for innovation, entrepreneurship, and education in offshore wind energy, which strives to accelerate the growth of the state’s wind energy innovation ecosystem.
CRCL partners with more than 2 dozen restaurants in the New Orleans area, as well as two drop-off locations, to collect oyster shell and return it to the water, where oyster reefs slow erosion and create habitat for new oysters to grow. Since 2014, CRCL has recycled more than 13 million pounds of shell, making this Oyster Shell Recycling Program one of the largest such programs in the country. CRCL partners with coastal communities and volunteers to place the shell into biodegradable mesh bags and then place the shell in the water. They’ve built five reefs so far, and they're just getting started.
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New Orleans' monthly Media Update covers the latest travel and tourism developments around town.