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Featured in Gambit
Monday, June 15th, 2009 | News | 1 Comment
The cover story of this week’s Gambit features The Roosevelt New Orleans.
“We have the largest economic renovation in New Orleans post-Katrina,” Chambers says, leading the group up a narrow stairwell. “I think it’s the largest private investment in the city since Katrina — $145 million. Six-hundred-something jobs.”
Read the article!
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Our Name Is Going Up in Lights
Thursday, May 28th, 2009 | News | No Comments
General Manager Tod Chambers watches as Kurt Weigle, CEO of the Downtown Development District, talks about the importance of The Roosevelt to New Orleans during The Roosevelt’s champagne lighting ceremony held May 20.
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The Roosevelt New Orleans Hiring Extravaganza
Monday, May 4th, 2009 | News | 1 Comment
May 12 – 15, 2009
New Orleans Convention Center, Hall A
- Tuesday: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
- Wednesday: 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.
- Thursday: 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
- Friday: 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
For more information log on to www.hiltonfamily.jobs
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Luxury Guest Room Accommodations Displayed at Louis Armstrong Airport
Tuesday, April 21st, 2009 | News | 1 Comment
Even before the famed Roosevelt New Orleans officially opens in June this year, its luxurious rooms already are attracting lots of attention in one of the most unlikely locations: the main lobby of New Orleans’ Louis Armstrong International Airport.
The downtown New Orleans hotel, which is undergoing a $145-million historic restoration as a Waldorf Astoria Collection property, has faithfully recreated one of its well-appointed guest rooms in a former retail location in the airport’s 1950s-era main terminal. Complete with everything a Roosevelt New Orleans guest will experience when the hotel opens this summer - minus the bathroom, of course - the model room is seen by thousands of travelers and visitors every day, thanks to its location at the intersection of concourses C and D and adjacent to the bustling ticket and check-in terminal.
“This is the first time an actual hotel guest room has been set up in the New Orleans airport. One of the most exciting aspects about this campaign is the partnership between the airport and The Roosevelt to promote New Orleans tourism from a different perspective,” said Mark Wilson, director of sales and marketing for the hotel. “The era of grandeur and elegance is being reborn in New Orleans with the return of The Roosevelt New Orleans, so we wanted to give visitors and the general public a preview of the luxury they’ll experience when they visit us.”
Marked with a red carpet and signage bearing The Roosevelt’s distinctive “R” logo, the room, visible through a clear wall, features a king-size bed, a desk, tables, chairs, a dresser and other items straight from the hotel’s collection of furniture destined for actual guest rooms. Approximately 80 percent of the hotel’s 504 rooms will feature king-size beds, and 135 will be luxury suites, some named for celebrities who once visited the hotel.
“To create the space, we brought in the same carpenters, electricians and other craftsmen who are restoring the hotel,” Wilson said. “We told them, ‘Build a Roosevelt New Orleans guest room right on this spot,’ and they did in two days. It’s so authentic that every time I see it I want to ‘check in’ and enjoy the luxury myself.”
The room will remain at the airport through June.
The hotel, shuttered since Hurricane Katrina in 2005, originally opened in 1893 as the Grunewald. In 1923, it was rebranded as The Roosevelt in honor of President Theodore Roosevelt and retained its distinctive moniker until the hotel changed hands in 1965 and was renamed The Fairmont.
Returning to The Roosevelt New Orleans are the Blue Room, legendary with locals, visitors and celebrities, offering Sunday brunch and regular entertainment and available for receptions; and the Sazerac Bar, again serving its signature Sazerac and Ramos Gin Fizz cocktails. The hotel will feature nearly 60,000 square feet of event and meeting space, including three spectacular ballrooms and 23 distinctive meeting and event rooms that span two floors; a 12,000-square-foot Guerlain Spa; John Besh’s new Domenica Restaurant; and more.
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The Roosevelt New Orleans Launches New Web Site and Blog
Monday, April 13th, 2009 | News | 1 Comment
The Roosevelt New Orleans, a Waldorf Astoria Collection hotel, has launched both a Web site and a blog designed to bring the landmark property, currently undergoing a $145-million historic restoration, back to life once again prior to its June 2009 opening.
The Web site at www.therooseveltneworleans.com provides an opportunity for visitors to book guest rooms and suites; obtain information about meeting and event rooms; plan weddings and receptions; explore the return of the legendary Blue Room and Sazerac Bar; and read about the Guerlain Spa, dining and entertainment opportunities, and the hotel’s rich history.
In addition, the hotel has launched a blog that allows readers to follow the hotel’s historic restoration, preview its rebirth, participate in discussions about experiences and memories associated with the hotel, and make the kinds of emotional connections that will help re-introduce The Roosevelt New Orleans as the Gulf South’s premiere grand-hotel destination.
The hotel’s blog site can be reached at www.therooseveltneworleans.com/blog.
“Many generations of visitors have come to The Roosevelt New Orleans because of its reputation for glamour, luxury and excitement,” said general manager Tod Chambers. “Now, as we plan for the hotel’s re-opening, this time as a Waldorf Astoria Collection property, we encourage visitors present and past to visit our sites to learn more and to share in our excitement.”
When The Roosevelt New Orleans reopens, it will offer 504 guest accommodations, of which 135 will be suites, and nearly 60,000 square feet of meeting and event space, including the spacious 20,000-square-foot Roosevelt Ballroom, 12,000-square-foot Crescent City Ballroom and 7,000-square-foot Waldorf Astoria Ballroom, along with 23 distinctive meeting and event rooms. The historic Roosevelt New Orleans, first opened as the Grunewald in 1893, once again will feature the famous Blue Room and the Sazerac Bar.
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Hiring Fair
Sunday, April 12th, 2009 | News | 1 Comment
The famed Roosevelt New Orleans is hosting a hiring fair at the New Orleans Convention Center May 12 - 15 as it prepares to open in the summer of 2009 as a Waldorf Astoria Collection property, with a work force of approximately 400.
“Today’s luxury travelers have high expectations for service,” said general manager Tod Chambers, “so hiring employees who know how to put customers first in everything they do is critical. We want The Roosevelt New Orleans to be a grand-hotel destination. Having the right staff, as well as first-class accommodations, will make that a reality.”
“In addition to restoring a New Orleans landmark, we’ll have a positive impact on employment in the community at a time when it needs it most,” Chambers said.
Among the qualities the hotel is seeking in its service professionals are a positive attitude, a passion for guest service and an eye for detail. “Guests who visit any Waldorf Astoria Collection property experience a level of service from employees that makes them realize they are in one of the world’s best hotels,” Chambers said. “We want to deliver that kind of unrivaled experience at The Roosevelt New Orleans.”
The hotel will be searching for top performers in all aspects of delivering luxury accommodations. Positions will be available in the following disciplines: finance/accounting, food and beverage outlets, culinary, guest services, housekeeping, property operations/engineering, retail/gift shop and security. On-the-spot job offers will be made at the hiring fair where the exact fit is found, contingent upon pre-employment processes.
To be part of the legend, job seekers must go online to www.hiltonfamily.jobs and complete an application. Once the application is received, applicants meeting basic qualifications will be invited to attend the hiring extravaganza for the interview process. The invitation will include instructions for being identified as what Chambers called a VIP, or “very important professional.” VIPs will have the option to call the hotel in advance and set up an interview time to avoid the crowds.
As part of the Hilton Family of Brands, professionals may be eligible for a complete benefits package, including medical care, dental care, vision care, prescription drug coverage, team member travel program and a 401(k) savings plan.
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The Roosevelt New Orleans Ranked as “Walker’s Paradise”
Tuesday, March 24th, 2009 | News | No Comments
Walk Score, a web site that rates locations based on nearby restaurants, stores, parks and other amenities, ranks The Roosevelt New Orleans a 98 out of 100.
Walk Score Map
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Featured in the Times-Picayune
Monday, March 16th, 2009 | News | No Comments
The Roosevelt New Orleans was noted by Judy Walker in the Times-Picayune earlier this month.
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Not All Hotels Are Re-created Equal
Monday, March 16th, 2009 | News | No Comments
Starting Sunday, March 15, watch for the first print advertising by The Roosevelt New Orleans to appear, this time in the Times-Picayune. The series will run for several weeks, each time on a Sunday, all designed to convey the elegance and rebirth of the hotel. Look for it in the “Living” section.
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John Besh And Alon Shaya Partner To Open Domenica
Monday, March 9th, 2009 | Domenica, News | 6 Comments
In New Orleans, the heart of a neighborhood often is defined by its corner restaurant or bar, a warm and inviting space where patrons are almost certain to know who will be dining at what time and table - a place so welcoming and with characters so congenial that diners feel they could slide in and join them at that table.
Take that neighborhood spot, increase the size, drop it into a world-renowned Waldorf Astoria hotel in downtown New Orleans, and you’ve got Domenica, a new look and idea for the Besh Restaurant Group. With Alon Shaya, former chef de cuisine at Besh Steak in New Orleans, as executive chef and partner with John Besh, Domenica will open in June 2009, serving an extensive menu of rustic Italian fare in a lively, open dining room seating about 120 at private or long communal tables.
Shaya is smitten to the point of obsession with the unpretentious country fare he encountered during his year-long sabbatical in Italy, and the dishes and setting of Domenica are smartly fitted to suit his passion.
“This is exactly the sort of food everyone likes to eat - simple, approachable and honest,” Shaya says, “prepared with skill and infinite care.”
The name “Domenica” means “Sunday” in Italian, and no matter what day of the week it is visitors will experience that warm and inviting Sunday-supper feeling.
Just as in the Besh Restaurant Group’s other restaurants - August, Besh Steak, Lüke and La Provence - the culinary emphasis will be on local, artisan-crafted products. At Domenica, the focus will be on traditional and regional Italian foods using many local Louisiana ingredients, as well as imported Italian artisan oils, cheese, flours and vinegars.
Occupying a spot in The Roosevelt New Orleans, the historic downtown hotel currently undergoing a $145-million historic restoration, Domenica becomes part of a rich example of New Orleans culture.
“By adding Domenica, we feel The Roosevelt New Orleans will reclaim its position as a premier dining location in a city that appreciates and expects fine dining,” says hotel general manager Tod Chambers.
At the corner of business-oriented Canal and Baronne streets, it will be perfectly situated to bring together neighbors with diverse interests but a shared taste for great food and camaraderie.
Entering Domenica, guests first encounter the raised bar area seating about 20. The bar itself is anchored by antique glass meat cases displaying Shaya’s estate-raised pork delicacies. To reach the private dining room, guests will be ushered right through the bustling kitchen for a fleeting, intimate look at the inner workings of an authentic Italian kitchen.
The main dining room, however, will be a cavernous, open space, packed with vintage character and dark masculine wood - for example, that of the sturdy, handmade tables weathered by the waters of the nearby Gulf of Mexico and salvaged from a barge submerged for more than 200 years. The long communal refectory tables will seat 10 to 12, with smaller parties at surrounding tables. The floors will be rustic heart pine, and the wooden tables will be topped not with tablecloths but with hearty placemats printed with the menu.
Shaya spent time northeast of Milan, traveling as much as he could to places like Venice, Tuscany and Trentino Alto Adige, tasting, watching and learning. He favored the small Italian towns and countryside establishments where proud artisans have created their products and, in turn, dishes under the same azure skies in the shade of the same ancient cedars using the same ingredients, techniques and equipment handed down through the generations.
“These were not Michelin-starred restaurants,” Shaya explains, “but what I came to understand was authentic Italian culture.”
Working in these tiny, family-run operations, Shaya has been privy to authentic, long-established recipes and techniques. Performing all tasks as a full-time line cook, he has had the opportunity to perfect the methods for perfectly crusted pizza, exquisitely handmade pastas, pillowy gnocchi, fire-roasted vegetables and creamy risotto. Luckily for New Orleans, he has brought all of his knowledge, experience and enthusiasm back with him, distinguishing his craft with an unmatched devotion and raising the bar of excellence for the region’s agricultural bounty.
The chef and his staff are not all that is awaiting Domenica’s opening: there is also a small stockpile of 1,500 pounds of salumi slowly curing, and prosciuttos and hams that have been aging for close to 12 months at the Besh Restaurant Group’s shared smoke house at La Provence in Lacombe, La. Shaya packed them away before his Italian adventure and is now refining his menu and preparing additional cured meats, hand-crafted Italian style cheeses, liqueurs and other time-intensive traditional Italian ingredients that cannot be hurried but which are integral to the authentic country Italian fare he learned “living over the store.”
Bread service sets the tone of each meal, with a basket of assorted house-made grissini, aromatic with fine sea salt and other seasonings. The fresh flavors of simple salads, pastas, and roasted meats braised with natural juices and a wide variety of antipasti using the freshest Louisiana produce will drive the menu. Each item will reflect the pure and unpretentious cuisine Shaya encountered in his travels, basic preparations with sometimes just two to three ingredients per dish. Pizzas will bake to blistered perfection in an authentic wood-burning oven. A portion of the menu will be dedicated to large platters heaped with savory fare brought to the table for all to share amid an atmosphere of excitement and anticipation, as food is typically presented on the day of rest among families in Italy.
“There’s a strong sense of community in rural Italy, just as there is here in New Orleans,” Shaya observes, “and this will be a place to rub elbows with neighbors - a loud, fun, boisterous and happy place.”
With custom-made beers and a wine list focusing on various regions of Italy, the libations at Domenica are ideally suited to the menu and to discriminating palates. Most bottles will be priced modestly under $35, with a special list of Barolos and Barbarescos on reserve. It also will be hard to resist Shaya’s own house-made nocino and limoncello, the latter of which started with Meyer lemons he recently picked in season in Louisiana’s countryside, Plaquemines Parish.
Domenica will be open seven days a week for lunch and dinner.
