The Old No. 77 Hotel & Chandlery

There was a time when all the action in New Orleans was in the French Quarter, but lately the neighborhood formerly known as the Central Business District — now the rather more descriptive Warehouse Arts District — has seen something of a renaissance. It used to be about as nondescript as you’d guess from the old name, but establishments like the Old No. 77 Hotel & Chandlery are busy proving that “Arts” is more than just aspirational thinking, and that the city’s got much more to offer than the old familiar tourist haunts.

After all, the warehouses for which the district is named date back to at least the 19th century, and the Old No. 77 is no different — this former coffee warehouse provides a lively backdrop, full of rich textures in exposed brick and aged wood. And the art isn’t confined to the galleries in the neighborhood surrounding the hotel — impressively accomplished work by students from the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts, a tuition-free arts-focused high school, fills the hotel’s guest rooms and public spaces. Meanwhile the Old No. 77’s restaurant, Compère Lapin, draws on chef Nina Compton’s formative influences, marrying Caribbean flavors with French brasserie cuisine.