BACKSTORY: After my fourth visit to New Orleans, this Waldorf Astoria property located a block from Canal Street has become my favorite place to stay near the French Quarter. Originally, it operated as a 6-story hotel called the Gruenwald (you can still see the "G" on the façade) in 1893. By October 1923, the extended and renovated hotel was renamed The Roosevelt in honor of President Theodore Roosevelt whose accomplishment in opening the Panama Canal had greatly increased trade between Louisiana and South America. Historic, well-appointed, and friendly service. My kind of hotel!.
