Hotel Monteleone

The Hotel Monteleone is a landmark hotel on Royal Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded in 1886 by Antonio Monteleone, an Italian immigrant and cobbler, it has remained family-owned across generations and grown into one of the city's grandest hotels, marked by its Beaux-Arts frontage and famous revolving Carousel Bar. Long associated with literary New Orleans, it has counted writers such as Tennessee Williams and Ernest Hemingway among its guests.

As one of the French Quarter's oldest and most storied hotels, the Monteleone features prominently in local ghost tradition. Guests and staff have reported unexplained sounds, a child said to be seen or heard on certain floors, and other phenomena, the kind of anecdotes common to grand historic hotels. These accounts are subjective and unverified, and are best regarded as part of the hotel's atmosphere and folklore.

The hotel's real distinction lies in its long family ownership, its architecture and its deep connection to the literary and cultural life of New Orleans. That well-documented heritage, together with its celebrated bar, gives it a character that far outweighs any ghost story.

The Hotel Monteleone is an operating luxury hotel in the French Quarter, open year-round to overnight guests and to visitors using its restaurants and the Carousel Bar. It is a working commercial hotel rather than a museum, so there is no general admission to guest floors; public areas are accessible to patrons.

Visitors who are not guests are welcome to enjoy the bar and dining but should respect other patrons and hotel staff. Those wishing to experience the historic interiors are best served by booking a stay or a table.