JW Marriott Hotel New Orleans

History

The Hotel Meridien New Orleans was designed by August Perez & Associates and opened in 1984 to accommodate crowds attending the 1984 Louisiana World Exposition. Its name was later changed slightly to Le Meridien New Orleans. In 2002 the hotel's owners, La Salle Hotel Properties, concluded a lengthy legal battle with the Le Meridien management company. La Salle first announced their intention to convert the hotel to The Westin New Orleans, but instead they signed Interstate Hotels & Resorts to manage the property, and it was renamed without a brand in December 2002 as the New Orleans Grande Hotel. Four months later, in April 2003, La Salle sold the hotel for $92.5 million to CNL Hospitality Properties. The new owners contracted Marriott to manage the hotel and renamed it the JW Marriott New Orleans in June, 2003.

The hotel suffered some flooding during Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. It was evacuated on late August 28, and the flooding included some water filling the basement and part of the first floor. The hotel also lost electricity, much like the other buildings in Downtown New Orleans, although it had generators that remained operational after the city lost power. Despite this, the generators began running out of fuel, and the hotels lost air conditioning, but there was still enough energy to use lights.

References

References

1. (20 December 2002). "LeMéridien To Leave New Orleans Hotel; Interstate To Manage LaSalle-Owned Property - Hotel Business".
2. Johnson, Richard L.. "LaSalle Hotel Properties Removes Le Meridien from New Orleans Hotel; Interstate to Manage the Renamed New Orleans Grande Hotel / Dec 2002".
3. Johnson, Richard L.. "LaSalle Hotel Properties Sells New Orleans Grande Hotel (formerly Le Meridien New Orleans) for $91.5 million / April 2003".
4. (18 June 2003). "First JW Marriott Opens In New Orleans Via CNL - Hotel Business".
5. (August 29, 2005). "Marriott Customer Update on Hurricane Katrina".
6. Joyce, Amy. (September 26, 2005). "Marriott Pulls It Together". Washington Post.
7. Williams, Jessica. (February 9, 2015). "NBC anchor Brian Williams' Katrina account challenged by ex-French Quarter hotel manager".
8. Milligan, Michael. (September 1, 2005). "Marriott evacuates its remaining guests from New Orleans".