This Renovated Mansion in Uptown New Orleans Has Been Top of My Wishlist for Years

I've only been to New Orleans once, but it's on my wishlists for places I'd like to live someday (and vacation to, of course.) I'm weak for any city with a strong sense of place, and of course New Orleans fits that personality to a tee.

I visited in June 2018, dripping sweat in my sundress while I meandered along Magazine Street for hours at a time. Jogging through Audubon, romanticizing the heat and the wispy trees.

Since my foray into tried-and-true travel writing in my post-grad journalism career, I've been desperate to make it back at some point and have a myriad of boutique hotels on my wishlist. The Chloe has been top of mind as one of the prettiest, most homey properties in the Big Easy.

While y'all know I've got my eye on a revamped convent in the Marigny too, this boutique hotel has charmed me beyond reason ever since I stumbled upon its striking alligator-clad stairs. What I wouldn't give to sip a cocktail on its front porch.

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About New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans, Louisiana may be famous for the bacchian, glitter-fueled festivities of its Mardi Gras celebrations (contrasted with its devastating wreckage and resilience post-hurricane in the late '00s), which are two factors of many that unify the population. People in New Orleans are proud to be from there.

The city has birthed many a famous jazz act, with dancing spilling out onto the streets and buskers a-plenty. You'll hear thick accents and forever stumble upon arts and treasures. Its cuisine is legendary too: powdered beignets, rich gumbo, and plenty of fusion including Spanish, French, and Creole influences. The ironwork balconies make my heart flutter in the best way. I have a full-on crush on this city: sweep me away and ravish me, NOLA. (I want to belong to it someday.)

For now, I will settle for weekend visitation i.e. situationship I can pretend is more serious than it is. And I want to do so, at some point, at The Chloe.

Where is The Chloe?

Credit / The Chloe

The Chloe is right along Saint Charles Avenue in Uptown New Orleans, a renovated 19th-century mansion blending historical elegance with modern convenience (and packed with city-specific quirks and details.)

Uptown New Orleans is quieter than the French Quarter or Marigny, and it's always felt safe to me. Visitors can quickly access other parts of town with a short car or trolley ride, and I actually did a lot of it on foot last time I visited.

If you have a mom like I do who always wants to look at all the stunning houses, the Garden District is catty corner to the neighborhood, ranging about a thirty minute walk with plenty of eye-candy. Nearby Magazine Street (which runs parallel to Saint Charles Ave below it) is also packed with adorable boutiques, alluring restaurants, and plenty of activity that's easy to weave in and out of at your leisure.

If you wander along the whole stretch, be sure to drop into The Vintage, which was easily my favorite food & drink spot I visited when I was in New Orleans, whether you grab a coffee, champagne, truffle fries, or a full-on meal.

A Quick Overview of the Hotel & Rooms

The boutique hotel by NOLA-based hospitality group LeBlanc + Smith has 14 rooms, each uniquely appointed with local art and décor (and perhaps featuring a secretive "sunny nook or tucked-away bathroom.") The property also has a restaurant, bar, pool, and patio. Plus, should an event be drawing you into the city, room blocks are definitely available.

Everything from the handwoven robes to the bath salts are produced and designed within New Orleans by local artisans. The beds are dressed in Bellino Fine Linens or Sferra Luxury Linens (my mom's prized possession—these sheets are practically royal-quality.)

Booking a stay includes a welcome beverage and complimentary breakfast (and chocolates, should that sway you.) There's room service available too, and a minibar stocked with Southern snacks and drinks. Of course, there's also turn-down service, Apple TVs, and other creature comforts I love from a luxe stay.

The property itself is an ode to the creativity of NOLA residents, with features like a record player playing the city's greats in every room (and a vinyl library courtesy of local family-owned shop Peaches Records) and a rotating artist residency for inspiration. That one flourish absolutely floored me when I first heard about it.

The Chloe also offers a rotation of discounts or exclusives for those who are tempted to extend their stay, so keep an eye out for ways you can tack on an extra night or two. They make it oh-so-possible in a way that definitely feels a little dangerous. (What's the harm in one more night? Like I said, NOLA knows how to seduce.)

I'd Probably Beeline for the Pool

The pool itself is especially a draw for me; I can just imagine the relief of plunging into the water on a sticky, 100-degree-plus day, maybe with a sazerac or daiquiri in hand.

Credit / The Chloe

Lucky for those just in the area, you can also purchase a day pass ($30-40) or even an annual pass (price/availability uncertain) to use the 21+ pool. I'm still in a stage of life in which I try not to spend much on day-to-day activities (if I'm splurging, it's an overnight for sure) but the price feels incredibly reasonable for a special day with friends if living there, or a vacation treat if just passing through. I'm from Tampa and live on O'ahu, so normally see resort and pool passes that are significantly more expensive.

About the Restaurant + Bar

Credit / The Chloe

The food and beverage scene is so competitive in New Orleans (with excellence so baked into the city's identity, sometimes literally) that any hotel restaurant and bar has to be top-tier. The Chloe offers the restaurant proper, the front porch, and the pool bar, plus options for room service.

Most of the dining and bar options are open for lunch hours and onwards (plus the included breakfast for hotel guests), with happy hours hovering from 3-5 p.m. Brunch on the weekends starts at 10 a.m. Dinners may feel like they close on the earlier side for all y'all night owls visiting the city to hit the town, with stop times ranging from 9 p.m. on Sundays to 11 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.

“Our kitchen is led by Chef Ben Triola, a celebrated talent. Formerly the esteemed sous chef at August, Warbucks, and Sylvain, Chef Ben consistently delivers fresh, exciting take on Creole classics.”

Menu highlights? I'm not big on gumbo myself, but on a brave day, I'd try the Smoked Chicken and Alligator Sausage Gumbo. This is absolutely the Floridian in me talking, but don't knock gator until you try it. (For example, the gator bites at Ulëlē in Tampa are delicious.) On a more realistic day, I'd opt for a Croque Madame (NOLA's French influence is *chef's kiss*) or maybe Shrimp and Pork Dumplings.

Who Will Love It Most

• Visitors like me who not-so-secretly want to live there: I love a hotel stay that feels like you're living in an upscale home, crafting a daydream of a life. It's a quality that properties like Zero George in Charleston, South Carolina and Hotel Ella in Austin, Texas do enormously successfully, and I have no doubt that The Chloe does too. I'd zone out into a thousand what-if alternate universes daydreaming on its porch and people-watching on Saint Charles Avenue. Plus, I do think details like hidden nooks and the record players would make it feel especially easy to relax into.
  
  
  
• Partiers and event-goers, of course: Often times, when I hear folks say they can't do NOLA, they really mean they burned themselves out on a booze-fueled 48-hour fraternity formal razing Bourbon Street with a date. Props to y'all, sounds fun, etc,. but I promise you there is more to this city and the experience than an extra-tall, unnaturally-blue slushy cocktail guaranteed to force you awake with the worst headache of your life. Should you still be within your window of reckless abandonment, you can still access the bars and the chaos from The Chloe (and enjoy plenty of the city's alcohol culture in-house) but graduate to a more adult stay. The trolleys and Ubers are easy.
  
  
  
• Art- and music-lovers: Like I've said, The Chloe has done a phenomenal job with its artistic and cultural programming. Right now, The Chloe is putting on a songwriter series to spotlight the area's talent, and it's previously hosted pop-up shops, discussions and showings with the artists in residence, cookouts, and more. You can check out their events calendar here.
  
• Interior design fans — The décor of The Chloe is moody and lush, but meticulously balanced. Just when it gets practically Gothic in its alligator steps and deep charcoal shades, the porch opens up to jewel-toned blues and greens. The overall effect between the velvet booths and brocade tapestries — below walls spattered with whimsical local artworks — is alluring, mysterious, and inviting. According to the interior designer Sara Ruffin Costello in Dezeen Magazine, she played around with the idea of NOLA as a port city, capturing both the specificity of the area and the historical daydream of "what news do you bring from the outside?"
  
  
  
• Couples: Honestly, The Chloe looks romantic as hell, and it's the type of place I'd get to and immediately not want to leave. Which, hey, could serve its purpose for a sentimental weekend away for an anniversary, special occasion, or reconnection. The dim and sumptuous atmosphere combined with the food, drinks, porch, pool? It'd be so easy to narrow in on just being absorbed in where you are and who you're with.
  

Unfortunately, I just talked myself into straight-up yearning. I absolutely need to book a plane ticket and experience The Chloe in real life.