[CrescentCitySteve]

Just opened, the 217-room Rennaissance Arts Hotel, located in the heart of the Warehouse District. This hotel is stunning. Built in a 1910 warehouse, it houses an Arthur Rogers art gallery in the lobby, as well as a fine restaurant, La Cote Brasserie. This is the 2nd Rennaissance Hotel in New Orleans...the other being the 18-story Rennaissance Pere Marquette, located in the Central Business District.

Opening in December is Lowe's New Orleans Hotel. This hotel is located on Poydras Street in the CBD, across from Harrah's Casino. Every room will be afforded an amazing view, as the rooms do not start until floor 11. The Piazza D'Italia sculpture park...located next to the hotel...is being renovated and will be used for special funtions when the hotel opens.

On the less grand side, but still a nice looking place, is the 17-story Staybridge Suites hotel, which will open next to the Texaco Center office tower in the CBD in a few months.

It looks like Westin will return to the New Orleans market in the next few years with the conversion of the first 18 floors of the World Trade Center. The details of this project are still being worked out, but it looks like it will move forward. The trade center will still lease 10 floors of office space, which is used primarily by consulates and other international businesses, especially port-related ones. This will be a great project that will revitalize of the city's first skyscrapers. A restaurant on the 31st floor is currently under construction, which will feature outdoor seating.

[goldnola]

I love the Arts Hotel. They did a great job on that place. The whole warehouse district is turning into a second French Quarter. We are soooo lucky to live in this city. Everyday when I drive home up St Charles Ave I can't believe how beautiful this city is.

[CrescentCitySteve]

Hey goldnola, good to see a fellow New Orleanian on this board! I for one think NOLA is a great city...has a nice mix of everything really. I love driving down St. Charles....easily one of the top five most beautiful streets in America! I don't need need a huge, sprawling metropolis to make me happy...NOLA is the perfect size, and the character of this city is hard to beat.

[sleepy]

As far as the hotels go, they're better than nothing, but I would rather see NO's economy pick up more to fill the office buildings. I just hate to see the New Orleans economy's increased reliance on low-paying tourism.

[goldnola]

People make very good money in tourism jobs. Its just not all declared on taxes so the stats show the city is low paid.

I know bell boys who take in 50K a year.

Sleepy our office buildings are not empty either. We hold our own considering how Houston has been so mean to us.

We don't compare well to other citys but if they rated how happy the people are we would win !

[sleepy]

People make very good money in tourism jobs. Its just not all declared on taxes so the stats show the city is low paid.

I know bell boys who take in 50K a year.

Sleepy our office buildings are not empty either. We hold our own considering how Houston has been so mean to us.

We don't compare well to other citys but if they rated how happy the people are we would win !

Most people make low wages in tourism and any bellboy who makes $50,000 is very, very much the exception, and to say otherwise is to ignore the reality of the New Orleans economy. And none of those jobs compensate for the thousands of white collar jobs which have left.

Happy is fine, but thousands have left in order to earn a decent living. I did after 26 years.

[LouisianaRush]

I think New Orleans' tourism is only the tip of the ice burg. If the mayor could clean the city up more and lower crime tourism would sky rocket. I just wish people could see the city out side the French quarter and during Mardi Gras. We know that the energy business is on its way out in New Orleans because of the consolidation of energy firms to Houston. So, the question is what should New Orleans invest in now? Tourism? Technology? Communication? The Port? Medicine?

[LouisianaRush]

I really miss New Orleans. I would move back in a heartbeat if I were rich. It is by far my favorite city in America.

[sleepy]

I think New Orleans' tourism is only the tip of the ice burg. If the mayor could clean the city up more and lower crime tourism would sky rocket. I just wish people could see the city out side the French quarter and during Mardi Gras. We know that the energy business is on its way out in New Orleans because of the consolidation of energy firms to Houston. So, the question is what should New Orleans invest in now? Tourism? Technology? Communication? The Port? Medicine?

There was a study put out by UNO in the late 70's entitled the Bobo Report which detailed the problems associated with what appeared even back then as the city's increased reliance on tourism. Among those problems were increased crime, increased poverty, and increased flight.

However, that report did say that at the time--25 years ago--there was still time to make some hard choices about the city's future, and the number one choice was not to rely on tourism, but do the hard work at attracting business and industry as the way to increase the quality of life in the city.

Apparently, no one listened.

Aside from that, too much tourism ends up destroying the culture it depends on.

[LouisianaRush]

I do not see the correlation between increasing tourism and crime; maybe it just me. I think New Orleans should whore tourism to its fullest. Many cities rely on tourism but they not have the crime rate even close to New Orleans. If not tourism, then what else? The Port is loosing power to mainly Houston and the Mississippi River is hard to navigate. Energy is moving out slowly. So what is the next big thing for New Orleans if not tourism? Technology would be difficult for the city because that requires a large educated work force, which well I will not go there but we all know the state of NOLA school system. Maybe Medical research with Tulane and LSU in town they would expand on that. NOLA needs to make some hard choices soon if it wants to be competitive in the 21st century. It has the potential to be so much, yet most of it is just wasted.

[sleepy]

I do not see the correlation between increasing tourism and crime; maybe it just me. I think New Orleans should whore tourism to its fullest. Many cities rely on tourism but they not have the crime rate even close to New Orleans. If not tourism, then what else? The Port is loosing power to mainly Houston and the Mississippi River is hard to navigate. Energy is moving out slowly. So what is the next big thing for New Orleans if not tourism? Technology would be difficult for the city because that requires a large educated work force, which well I will not go there but we all know the state of NOLA school system. Maybe Medical research with Tulane and LSU in town they would expand on that. NOLA needs to make some hard choices soon if it wants to be competitive in the 21st century. It has the potential to be so much, yet most of it is just wasted.

You listed all the things that preclude competition in the 21st century--the port, technology, energy, education, etc. I agree, at this point there's probably nothing left but tourism, but that doesn't make it competitive, except in tourism, or a place that people will return to.

As far as crime goes, that report I mentioned talked about the need to retain white-collar jobs instead of taking the easy route of tourism, and what would be left would be a middle-class exodus, and an increasingly low-wage, poverty stricken city, sprinkled here and there with enclaves of the wealthy--a recipe for crime.

[goldnola]

You guys make sound so bad here !

Yes there's crime but it not that bad !

There is mile after mile of affluent neighborhoods.

Going up river there is Bywater, The Marigny, The French Quarter, than the Warehouse District, Lower Garden Distrct, The Garden District, All of uptown, Carrollton, Lakeview, lakefront area, Gentilly, Old Metairie(I think one of most affluent places in the country), Metairie Lakefront, North Kenner, English Turn, Lower Algiers, Mandeville, Covington... not so shappy as you put it sleepy!!

Yes the Energy sector has down sized but there is still a lot of companies employing a lot of people. Shell, Texaco, Dominion, Amoco, Murphy, MobileExxon, Taylor...

The port just had it's biggest year ever. The port is number one for Coffee, Steel, Flowers, Bananas.. They just got all of the business for Nissan Motors. The Napoleon Ave Container port is about to open. We have the largest Carnival Cruise ship in the Fleet. A Royal Caribbean ship, A NCL ship, another Carnival Ship, special vists from Crystal and Silver seas..

We have Northup Grumman shipyards, Martin Marrietta, Folgers Coffee, The federal governments payroll center, The naval reserves H.Q. The navy information Center, Tulane, Loyola, Xavier, Dillard, UNO, SUNO, Holy Cross, 2 medical Schools, 2 law schools , A dental School,

And we live beautiful historic homes with great neighbors that throw crawfish boils for the whole street !!

[sleepy]

You guys make sound so bad here !

Yes there's crime but it not that bad !

There is mile after mile of affluent neighborhoods.

Going up river there is Bywater, The Marigny, The French Quarter, than the Warehouse District, Lower Garden Distrct, The Garden District, All of uptown, Carrollton, Lakeview, lakefront area, Gentilly, Old Metairie(I think one of most affluent places in the country), Metairie Lakefront, North Kenner, English Turn, Lower Algiers, Mandeville, Covington... not so shappy as you put it sleepy!!

Yes the Energy sector has down sized but there is still a lot of companies employing a lot of people. Shell, Texaco, Dominion, Amoco, Murphy, MobileExxon, Taylor...

The port just had it's biggest year ever. The port is number one for Coffee, Steel, Flowers, Bananas.. They just got all of the business for Nissan Motors. The Napoleon Ave Container port is about to open. We have the largest Carnival Cruise ship in the Fleet. A Royal Caribbean ship, A NCL ship, another Carnival Ship, special vists from Crystal and Silver seas..

We have Northup Grumman shipyards, Martin Marrietta, Folgers Coffee, The federal governments payroll center, The naval reserves H.Q. The navy information Center, Tulane, Loyola, Xavier, Dillard, UNO, SUNO, Holy Cross, 2 medical Schools, 2 law schools , A dental School,

And we live beautiful historic homes with great neighbors that throw crawfish boils for the whole street !!

Uh, you're speaking to the choir here. Most posters on this thread appear to be from New Orleans and recognize its charms.

Having said that, and having lived in the Bywater-Marigny area for 25 years, as well as uptown and the lower garden district, I and my family were the victims of umpteen crimes. That, the expense of private schooling, and the economy got us out. As for the nice suburban areas, they were just that--suburban--and I had no interest in living there.

[JPKneworleans]

Opening in December is Lowe's New Orleans Hotel. This hotel is located on Poydras Street in the CBD, across from Harrah's Casino. Every room will be afforded an amazing view, as the rooms do not start until floor 11. The Piazza D'Italia sculpture park...located next to the hotel...is being renovated and will be used for special funtions when the hotel opens.



I noticed the Piazza d'Italia was open today for the first time since the renovation. The Piazza looks incredible, and the St. Joseph Fountain was working for the first time that I can remember. Also, all of the neon piping is working. It's great to see this award-winning post-modernist masterpiece by Charles Moore fully restored.