452 Guestrooms
25,000 Square Feet Meeting Space

Opened Oct. 6, 2000 the renovated historic Maison Blanche Building on Canal Street located in downtown New Orleans, Louisiana, now is home to a 452-room Ritz-Carlton Hotel. The complex also includes the luxurious Ritz Carlton Spa, as well as two smaller hotels The building has been renovated into the understated elegance that is traditionally Ritz-Carlton. Says General Manager John Russell, "We want to make our Guests feel that this building has been a Ritz Carlton for the last 100 years". The project involves obtaining a full 20% tax credit on both the historic Maison Blanche Building as well as the adjacent historic Kress Building. The Hotel offers 25,000 SF of Meeting Space, including a 10,000 SF Grand Ballroom that was carved out of former retail space

The main lobby and Public Spaces are located on the building's third floor. A traditional New Orleans Courtyard was constructed over the new column free ballroom, by demolishing several bays on two floors. This courtyard serves for lounging, dining and special functions adjacent to the lobby. Guests can also relax in the lobby lounge, as well as the Library. Both areas look out into the Courtyard.

Since the Maison Blanche Building was originally a Retail and Office Building, the column spacing would not permit a standard Hotel Room layout being repeated throughout the building. Some fifty different room designs were established to accommodate the existing structure. This initial problem has ultimately lead to one of the major success stories of the project. While all rooms meet the high standards of the Ritz Carlton, they all are somewhat different. Generally, rooms take advantage of the higher ceiling spaces available in the existing structure to compensate for some floor plan arrangements that are not usually found in Hotels.

A new Penthouse was created on top of the building, which contains the fabulous 3,500 SF Ritz Carlton Suite, as well as a private residence.