Dan Hansen, head of Americas development, Hyatt |
On the roof of The Barnett is the pool and High Five bar. |
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it, both the first and second rounds are soft, having begun with guestroom paint jobs to lighten up the spaces, which will be followed up by some FF & E changeouts later this summer. Beyond that, outlets were renamed, like Brutto Americano, the flagship restaurant at The Barnett.( All Good, the hotel’ s cafe, recently swapped out Ace holdover Stumptown coffee for local brew from Mammoth Coffee Company.) |
Most of Maison Métier has been preserved and held over given the unique character of the building and interior design.“ It’ s so thoughtfully curated,” Pati said of the hotel. It’ s really like an archive in a museum.” The hotel has looked to elevate the guest experience and amenities. Elemental changes have been renaming Bar Marilou to Salon Salon, but the space retains its clandestine charm and cache of top-shelf spirits. It was
A King Corner Room at The Barnett.
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reanimated in partnership with Paris’ Quixotic Projects.
“ The great thing about Hyatt is that when they acquire a property as unique as this, they really don’ t come in and dilute it heavily,” Pati said. Upon Hyatt’ s assumption of Maison Métier, it sent the hotel a list of brand standards and potential changes. Those soon were abandoned.“ They did the walkthrough and were like,‘ Don’ t change anything,’” Pati said.
She sees it as the best kind of scenario, where the hotel gets the backing of Hyatt with the ability to tap into its loyalty program and sales channels.“ We get all the benefits, but they let us remain unique,” she said.
NEW ORLEANS MISCONSTRUED New Orleans has always been defined as a party town and, sure, it’ s true: No cities do revelry and carousing better. Like Las Vegas, the city has endeavored to cast itself as more than that; it’ s something New Orleans & Company, the
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city’ s CVB, has led. As Pati tells it, beyond Bourbon Street, New Orleans is less bacchanalian and much more rooted in culture and family.“ We’ ve long been branded as a party location,” she said, with nothing for kids, for example, to do.“ If you dig down into the cultural fiber of New Orleans, it’ s so family oriented. I tell guests, if you’ re coming here for Mardi Gras, that’ s an adult experience. Every other neighborhood in the city is family oriented.”
New Orleans will always be a convivial, festive town, as it should be. For its hospitality industry, the biggest challenges are the dog days of summer, when it is excruciatingly hot, and the city’ s lack of heavy and perennial business travel.“ We don’ t have Fortune 500 companies coming here,” Pati said.“ We don’ t have a lot of business travel opportunities to fill those weekdays.”
What New Orleans lacks is more than made up for in its bounty of gifts. Laissez les bons temps rouler. Hyatt has.
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50 hotelsmag. com July / August 2025 |