The key addresses in New Orleans — verified and regularly updated. Clicking takes you straight to the location page.
Founded in 1886, Hotel Monteleone is an institution in the French Quarter and is a short walk from the gay bars at the bottom of Bourbon Street. It is famous for its Carousel Bar – a revolving carousel bar that has attracted writers such as Hemingway and Tennessee Williams. In addition, a rooftop pool with a view over the old town.
The Burgundy is a small, cozy bed and breakfast in the Faubourg Marigny, gay-owned and just a few blocks from the French Quarter. The four en-suite rooms are grouped around a tropical courtyard – a relaxed, personal alternative to the big hotels, right in the middle of the creative Marigny district with its live music bars on Frenchmen Street.
Gay hotels and gay-friendly accommodations in New Orleans are best chosen according to their location to the scene. If you want short distances to the bars on the Fruit Loop, you live in the middle of the French Quarter and have the nightlife around lower Bourbon Street practically on your doorstep. Touristy, lively and never completely quiet, being close to the action is an advantage and sometimes a disadvantage when it comes to sleeping.
Things get a little quieter and more local in the adjacent Faubourg Marigny, which borders directly on the quarter and has had a visible queer community for generations. In restored old buildings, you will find smaller, often gay-run guesthouses and bed-and-breakfast houses, for example along Esplanade Avenue, plus Frenchmen Street with its live music just around the corner. Neighboring Bywater is also predominantly residential, with a large queer presence and a more relaxed pace. New Orleans is considered an open city overall, so in most central houses no one looks at you askance when two men book a double room. When booking, the timing of travel is what counts most: During Southern Decadence on Labor Day weekend and during Mardi Gras in February, central accommodations are booked up early and expensive. The following selection shows you which location suits your stay.