GETAWAYS • New Orleans
The thing about New Orleans: You can visit again and again, and have a different experience each time. A mere three-hour flight from NYC makes it a doable long-weekend destination (or even fit for a 36-hour jaunt).
On a recent trip, my group settled into Hotel Saint Vincent, which opened three years ago in the Lower Garden District, just a few blocks away from bustling Magazine Street and its heavenly homes. The building, a former asylum, was re-imagined by hotelier queen Liz Lambert of El Cosmico (Marfa) and Saint Cecilia (Austin) fame, with just as much design flair and attention to detail as those Texas properties.
While it’s hard to justify eating at your hotel in one of the food capitals of the country, the on-site options are solid. My favorite was a stand-alone coffee and bánh mì café — a mini offshoot of the French-Vietnamese cafe Elizabeth St. — in the front courtyard. There, you can pick up pastries and a latte, or grab something like a sticky rice bowl or Dan Dan Noodles later in the day. Within the hotel, there’s San Lorenzo and Paradise Lounge, an all-day restaurant offering myriad oyster options and good cocktails.
To round out the trip, we all did tarot card readings and a ghost tour to get into the metaphysical spirit and learn more about New Orleans’s history and fabled past. Whether or not you choose to believe in the lore, there’s little debate to be had about the city’s powerful past and extraordinary present — all on grand display at Hotel Saint Vincent. –Zoe Schaeffer
→ Hotel Saint Vincent (Lower Garden District, New Orleans) • 1507 Magazine St • Weekend king rates from $523.