Andrew Jackson Hotel, French Quarter, New Orleans, LA
A Hotel Review and a Ghost Story
The courtyard is adorable! The continental breakfast of buttery, flaky croissants and jam is lovely and the coffee very good. It can even be delivered to your room or the courtyard if you like. This is not a full breakfast for some, but it's a great start for the day.
This building is old folks!
The site was originally a boarding school and orphanage for boys who had lost their parents to Yellow Fever, opening its doors in 1792. The fires that consumed much of New Orleans in 1774 also laid rest to the boarding school with five young boys inside. After the fire, a U.S. Federal Courthouse was almost immediately built and remained there until before the turn of the 20th Century, where General Andrew Jackson, who later became the seventh U.S. president, was held in contempt of court and charged with obstruction of justice. The courthouse was demolished and the current building was erected in 1890.
This information comes from The Hotel Website. You can click here to see more about it's history.
A resident hotel kitty
This is the back of the hotel, a beautiful well shaded courtyard where kitty lives. A beautiful place to hang out day or night. It makes a wonderful gathering place for groups if you happen to be part of one.
The scroll of history under the pillow is neat souvenir!
Our room was clean and we never had a problem with water pressure or temperature and we were on the 2 floor. Rooms are small but very well appointed. The bathrooms have been fairly recently updated and are quite nice.
We new what we were getting into as far as old building go and yes there are gaps in the doors and some missing paint outside. The walkways around the upper floor are very narrow and everything seems small. That's the way things were built back then and this is an historic building. Well cared for really, but well used as well.
If you are not into small historic buildings this might not be the hotel for you. If you are, then you will be charmed off your feet!
Inside the cabinet under the television is a mini fridge and microwave.
The small door at the far end to the right takes you back into the Hotel Lobby.
The staff is very attentive for the most part. Only a few items forgotten by housekeeping that were remedied immediately by the front desk. The Desk and Valet staff were wonderful about having our car ready both days we needed it.
The location couldn't be better for us, It's away from the noise of Bourbon street and very central for walking to shopping, Jackson Square and the French Market. Cafe Amelie is a fantastic restaurant right across the street. Be sure to make reservations there.
Cafe Amelie
At night the atmosphere of the French Quarter really shines!
The Andrew Jackson Hotel is right next to the Cornstalk Fence Hotel. Below is the view looking left down Royal Street from the Andrew Jackson hotel.
From across Royal Street you can see both of the hotels.
This is a very popular location for tours, as you can see, during early evening the horse drawn carriages are plentiful and numerous walking tours wander past and stop to give tourists the low down on the ghostly history of these beautiful buildings.
The ghosts of the Andrew Jackson Hotel are said to be those of the five boys that died in the orphanage fire of 1774.
We were hoping to hear or see some of the resident ghosts but unfortunately they were quiet when we visited.
Rooms 204 and 208 are said to be the most haunted rooms in the Hotel.
The boys are usually heard playing and laughing in this courtyard late at night.
Directly across from our room was a room labeled as 208. I was surprised to turn around and see that the room next to ours had also once been labeled as 208. The numbers have been removed but through the old layers of paint the numbers are still plainly visible. No new numbers have been placed on the door. I wonder if they use that room any more. No one seemed to be there during our stay.
Other ghost stories from the Andrew Jackson Hotel include reports of children pulling on guests toes or playing with their hair as they sleep.
I hope you've enjoyed reading about our stay in this quaint historic hotel. If you love the charm of old buildings and want to be in the heart of the French Quarter this could be the hotel for you.
Happy Travels!
~Melisa
