The Ritz-Carlton, New Orleans

Character and identity

Set in the former Maison Blanche department store, a Beaux Arts pile that takes up a full block on Canal Street at the edge of the French Quarter, this 527-room Ritz-Carlton trades on antebellum grandeur and a magnolia-scented lobby. Rooms and suites are styled like rooms in a fine uptown mansion, with embroidered headboards, jewel-toned upholstery and Italian marble baths. M Bistro turns Louisiana produce through a Norman lens, the Davenport Lounge anchors the social calendar with trumpeter Jeremy Davenport on weekends, and a 25,000-square-foot spa runs through 22 treatment rooms with local-leaning rituals like the Voodoo Massage.

Who's it for

Bottom line

The defining quality here is consistency of execution: the building, the service register and the New Orleans flourishes (crawfish boils in the courtyard, a sno-ball sommelier, Davenport on the trumpet) all line up with what you pay. Book a suite or Club Level for the marble foyer and lounge access, and time a visit around crawfish season or a Wednesday-to-Saturday Davenport set.