We've driven by this impressive hotel with the festive porch on St. Charles, many a time!  At last, we stopped... and stayed!

Long Ago

It used to look quite a bit different when it was a private residence, built in 1883 by a wealthy tobacco merchant.

We didn't want to press our luck, so we took the stairs the rest of our stay.  They were probably just as dangerous as the elevator, though.  There was so much distraction in that extraordinary stairwell!  There was the domed skylight to stare up at and the hypnotizing, patterns on wall and floors. 

The dim, eerie lighting added to the dreamlike setting. Then there was a blast of bright color in the wall mural!

Reaching the Top

Then when we reached the top, the ceiling became so low that "some of us" almost had to duck.  I wasn't one of those tall people, but I suddenly felt tall when I leaned over the low railing to peer down. That felt oddly, disorienting... like I might tumble over.

After Five!

It was too nice outside to be in the dark bar, but what a place!  It was hard to believe this room was not aways a cozy lounge.  Before the residence became a hotel in 1915, this was the family dining room, with dark carved mahogany walls and gilded bronze chandeliers.

Looking Up!

Above the chandelier we could see the paneled mahogany ceiling that was imported from Honduras.  The Greek design wrapping around the upper room, was evident in some old photographs. 

Posing

Chali and I had some fun posing in the adjoining room, which got a little more crowded later.  The velvety Victorian seat, looked like something right out of a movie.  In fact we were in the midst of an old movie set.

"Pretty Baby" and "Twelve Years a Slave"

At least 2 films have been shot at The Columns.  I love being in a place where a movie was filmed and imagining the interaction between actors and crew. However, Chali and I were having a hard time thinking too much about the filming of Pretty Baby, starring 12 year old Brooke Shields playing the part of a prostitute. The movie was controversial enough in 1978.  I'm not even sure they could make that movie today.
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Ballroom

It's funny how staying in old hotels often makes my mind wander to past places and even relatives.  Seeing the same room in the later evening made me think of my grandmother, Aunt Mary's older sister.

But whenever I'm in New Orleans I always recall my sweet and proper Daw raving about visiting the French Quarter and hearing the jazz performance at Preservation Hall.  I have always regretted missing that trip in 1978, with my mom, brother and Daw.  I wish Daw could have been right there with us, sitting in one of the formal chairs, barely swinging her crossed ankles... feet never reaching the floor. 

I was busy being impressed by the size of the door, when Don pointed out the massive, brass hinges. It took 8 screws to attach that ornate piece of hardware to the door.

The Upper Porch!

After dinner we wandered out to the porch on the second floor and had it to ourselves.  At least two guest rooms actually have giant windows that open to the porch, so we didn't exactly pull out our ukuleles!

Morning

the day, watching the wind blow the flags and listening to the streetcars rattle and clank on the street below.

Our Room
I should mention that we did sleep before that morning coffee! Our 3rd floor room was comfy and spacious.  It was also reasonably priced.  Under $150. in NOLA is good.

We could have taken the Pretty Baby Room on the 3rd floor, where scenes were filmed.  But that was just too weird.  We took this room which faced St. Charles, but really only had a view of the porch roof.  The king bed was built high, with shelves below and a set of steps... for short people.

And...

Just getting into the bathroom was entertaining.  You got to hoist open the door with a glass knob and climb up a step to get inside. Luckily there were no mishaps in the night.  And if we'd had wrinkled clothes that needed tending, not only did our room provide an iron and board, but we had a handy antique iron holder... or at least a silver radiator that did the job!

Halls

The halls sort of cracked me up with their decor.  The brownish hall shows the view from our guest room door.  The pillars were almost modern. The oil paintings, knight's armor and taxidermy gave the space a... unique vibe.  And the boldly-blue hall that took us to the porch on the second floor was lined with couches, lamps and racks of tourist pamphlets. In other words, there was no snobby perfection here.  I felt comfortable in our homey surroundings.

Ghosts?

It seems like every place we've stayed in the last few years has had a resident ghost or a few tales of eerie interest.  I don't even think about it anymore.  But our "home for the night" did look very creepy as we headed back after dinner.  Luckily (or sadly)  we had no encounters!

Breakfast in Albertine's Tea Room

By ten, Don and I were ready to hit the road and Scott was ready to hit the books... I'm guessing!  

We headed to our car, parked right on the curb.  It was as if this was just any neighborhood home.  What a fun overnight in the big old white house!

This wonderful inn, on St. Charles Avenue across from Audubon Park was out of a storybook.  It was built in 1884 as a hotel for the World International and Cotton Exposition.  It felt like we were staying in a gracious old home, but without that B & B feeling that makes you feel like you're intruding and need to whisper. 

When in Rome (or New Orleans) you want to experience some of the historic flavor.  We weren't even in the French Quarter, but we still got a feel for the festive history of Mardi Gras.  Throughout the inn there were colorful prints of the parade floats going far back. 

It was a warm August afternoon when we arrived.  We climbed the porch stairs and entered the grand hallway with 12 foot ceilings.  Even before days of air-conditioning I imagine there was a nice flow of air through the windows.  Our room turned out to be conveniently located right beside the dining room.   

Again, there was a nice mix. Cozy old house meets classy hotel.  The  lobby desk was located beside the staircase, with a glow of yellow light coming through the stained glass.  We had spoken with our hostess Lorie on the phone earlier and she seemed downright delighted to have us. She showed us our room and the dining area with complimentary wine, snacks and breakfast in the morning.  We were starting to relax.

After checking in, we did a little wandering. We could have played a little piano in the parlor.

We could have pulled up chairs in the dining room to enjoy some of the complimentary wine, but we were a little too eager to make use of the front porch.  

Yes, we did have a ukulele with us.  It's not every day that you can stay in a hotel and strum a ukulele tune on a porch... across from Audubon Park!

It was mighty hard to believe this room was 2 dollars cheaper than the cost of our stay at the place the night before.  We had an antique canopy bed and a lovely mahogany armoire.  And even a step up to the bed. Which I used!

Our bathroom was less comical than the one we'd had the night before. This one had a great shower and spotless black and white tile.  The toilet was new and did not run all night and it was NOT housed inside an antique phone booth. 

Morning
We had a great night's sleep. I even turned on the very fun "noise machine" to crickets.  The evening before, Lorie had insisted we invite Scott and Chali for breakfast, which was beyond nice.  We ate a lovely meal with peacock feathers in the vases and soft classical music playing and a view of the park.  A sweet woman named Pam made sure everything was perfect. She said the small pastel colored hardboiled eggs were naturally colored and freshly gathered. There was a sausage and egg dish and stuffed French toast and homemade biscuits.  What a way to end our stay!

This purple and green building is what we saw when we turned down Dryades from Napoleon.  We parked and fumbled with the buzzer and intercom, while a few neighbors congregated on a porch nearby and waiters took a break at Pascal's Manale across the street.  I was sure these folks in the neighborhood were used to having some fun, evaluating the guests who arrived at The Dive.  

Wayne seemed a little weary.  He admitted he usually lets his more sociable wife greet the guests, but then he ended up giving us a 25 minute tour.  He showed us the antique bar and the beer stocked fridge that works on the honor system. He pointed out the domed "lamella" structure over the pool, which was quite a big deal in 1927.  He showed Don how to open the cover of the pool and then turned to me with a little chuckle,  "Just knock on my door when you're ready to swim. " By this time I had already winced at a few of his joking comments about the perks of owning a "clothing op" hotel.  I hated to inform him that I had no intention of nuding up, so I just asked more questions about the history.

Back when they first opened, the guests wore clothes.  Folks were probably drawn to the place because it was different than your typical touristy French Quarter getaway.  Some, like actor Dennis Quaid came because it was away from the crowds and nosy fans.  After a few years of ownership, an upper level was added. The costly addition was completed just before 9/11.  The plunge in tourism that followed caused the owners to search for a gimmick to attract customers.  That's when The Dive began catering to the nudist community.

This was the room we chose online.  It was one of 4 rooms that were part of the original 1847 Creole Cottage, which was on the property when the Consulate purchased in 1908. I grinned to see that the decor was even more entertaining than I'd expected.  The woodwork and claw footed tub were pink. The toilet was enclosed in what was once a wooden phone booth.  The thick wood floors creaked underneath the carpets and a musty smell hung in the air.  But old sounds and smells are part of old hotels, so I was okay with that.

Wayne pointed out the tropical mural surrounding the bed.  He motioned to the wobbly bed post and explained,  "I think the woman last night thought she was Demi Moore doing a pole dance!"  (TMI, Wayne!) Wayne attempted to screw the post back in, but we found the wobbly thing a little precarious at bedtime...and removed it.

Our suite actually included a little sitting room with stained glass windows, a tiny kitchen area and a back door to the "garden".  

I guess $137. is a good price for a suite in New Orleans, but this is no typical hotel suite.  Guests need to be reminded that the white glove test would fail here.  Not complaining.  You get a little dusty when you're 167 years old and filled with hard to dust knickknacks.  I have a feeling the nude crowd is willing to pay a little more for the privilege.  I didn't get my money's worth by nuding up, but I did enjoy the figures in the window above the door.  And I was entertained by counting the duck figures on the inside of the phone booth toilet.  I think there were 39.

Don got his money's worth by swimming laps before we checked out in the morning. Yes, he's wearing a suit, but he didn't have to.  I was too busy back in the room trying to figure out how to pull the curtain around the old tub for a shower.