In New Orleans’ trendy Faubourg Marigny district, a former church, school house, rectory and convent, is now the sprawling Hotel Peter and Paul – an Ash property. The hotel’s check-in and concierge is tucked to the side of a grand staircase that takes guests to compact but thoughtfully designed guest rooms where hues like pale blue, deep green, or rich burgundy reflect the city’s standing in the American South and its French history.
Steps from the hotel, doors open to a host stand where a cheery local seats guests and visitors at The Elysian Bar’s small lunch counter or at a table in one of several dining rooms. In the back of the building is a cocktail space that feels opulent and inviting at once: a generous bar framed by wooden columns is lit by modern sconces and pendant lights which live alongside vintage candelabras.
Hotel Peter and Paul captures the quirks and charms of one of America’s most iconic cities while feeling somehow otherworldly. According to Xavier Donnelly, Ash’s creative director, this feeling is intentional. “We are designing properties that feel very tailored to a city and evoke your fantasy of being in that place.” The Ash portfolio of hotels currently includes The Dean in Providence, Rhode Island, Hotel Peter and Paul in New Orleans, Louisiana, The Siren in Detroit, Michigan, and Ulysses in Baltimore, Maryland.
There are no signature aesthetic or design traits that run through Ash’s four properties. Donnelly says, “It’s important to us that we’re not creating a chain hotel in a way that a lot of recognizable brands are by achieving a specific look.” There are, instead, small consistencies and myriad details that connect the properties – like curated scents in the hotels’ public spaces which now populate a best-selling candle line. What also links the properties is their connection to the communities in which they’re built.
The Ash team spends a lot of time in a community, even before they acquire a building. This includes developing relationships with local businesses – like a florist to do weekly arrangements for the lobby or a local coffee producer to stock the hotel’s cafe. It also means prioritizing community with interiors: sourcing furnishing, lighting, artwork, and decor from local shops with an emphasis on antique and vintage.
The guests who stay in Ash properties are as eclectic as the hotels’ aesthetics. Donnelly says there aren’t many consistencies in booking reports in terms of age or geography; it’s everyone. Extrapolating from guest feedback and reviews, Donnelly says the typical Ash guest is someone simply looking for the opposite of a standard chain hotel experience. “Our guests want somewhere that’s going to connect them with the city they’re visiting. They want a restaurant that’s enticing, a bar you have to go to. That’s what we offer: ways to engage with a place and a space.”
Donnelly was introduced to Ash through The Dean when he was a student at Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, Rhode Island. He says The Dean, which opened in 2014, changed the entire scene in Providence. “There was no cool hotel.”
The former brothel preserves some of the building’s history (like a cage elevator) while infusing the town’s art scene aesthetic into its rooms. Anthony Pellegrino, a Providence native who is head of operations for The Dean, says the town’s art scene is a great reason to visit. “Providence WaterFire is a biweekly citywide arts festival that takes place in the summer attracting both locals and tourists while The Providence Art Club is more under-the-radar and a great way to support local artists.” While The Dean does have a karaoke lounge, it’s the only Ash property without a full-service restaurant. Pellegrino recommends Al Forno, which he calls a Providence institution and adds, "Regulars know they have a secret menu.”
If Providence has an unfair reputation for being no more than a college town, Baltimore can be unjustly viewed as an Amtrak stop on the way from New York to D.C. Baltimore is much more than that, with a rich history and thriving art and food scene. In many ways Ulysses’ design reflects the city being a hidden gem. “The Latrobe building is stoic and unassuming from the outside, but once you walk through the doors, you’re transported into a magical world you can be lost in, which feels very Baltimore,” says Lauren Sandler, Ash’s Director of Food and Beverage. The hotel’s design influence ranges from James Joyce (who penned the novel it's named after) to Baltimore icon and camp king John Waters.
Xavier Donnelly reminisces about one of his favorite experiences at an Ash property: a one- night stay at Ulysses. It started with dinner in Ulysses’ restaurant, Ash—Bar, followed by a trip to a chic wine bar recommended by hotel staff (“It doesn’t get any better than Le Comptoir du Vin,” Sandler says.) When Donnelly got back to the hotel, he made his way to the bar to chat with other guests. The end of his evening is one of the things he loves most about Ash hotels, “That tends to happen in Ash hotels, especially when I’m alone: I talk to people, I meet people. In Ash hotels, you’re always wondering who the other guests are and I love the mystery of that.”
One of Donnelly’s favorite hotel setups is The Siren in Detroit where there’s a record bar off the lobby and an eight-seat chef’s tasting counter at the bar. The hotel was formerly the Wurlitzer headquarters, and its lavish interiors, including an Italian Renaissance style lobby, honor Detroit’s Golden Age of the 1920s when the building was constructed.
The Siren has more public spaces than any other Ash property, beyond its record bar and tasting counter, there’s a full-service restaurant and bar, a small cafe, a cocktail bar, and a piano karaoke lounge. While The Siren provides myriad options for having a drink on property, the Detroit bar scene gets more crowded every year and hotel staff recommends Ladder 4 Wine Bar as a must when in town.
While Baltimore, Detroit, and Providence fit the bill of cities that are having a bit of a resurgence, fervor around visiting New Orleans has almost always been high. While visiting during one of the city’s popular celebrations such as Mardi Gras or Jazz Fest can feel intimidating, the hotel’s cofounder Nathalie Jordi says the city is less crowded than you’d think if you stay a bit off the beaten path. “I’m a festival devotee. I love the after-hours shows that pop up after Jazz Fest and how the smell of jasmine and boiling crawfish permeate the streets. And although Mardi Gras Day is definitely a highlight, my favorite Carnival rituals involve the smaller neighborhood-specific parades earlier in the season - creative, irreverent, intimate, and handmade.”
Peter and Paul is a short walk from Bourbon Street and so qualifies as off the beaten path. That said, the neighborhood is not without must-visit local spots. According to Jordi, they include Baldwin & Co bookstore, Bar Pomona for jelly donuts, Thursday night jazz piano at Buffa’s, vermouth and tapas at Anna’s, and even wandering Crescent Park at twilight to see barges trundle down the Mississippi.
Despite New Orleans' reputation for debauchery, it’s also a city with an intense sense of community. As such, Ash maintains relationships with the property’s former nuns and students and distributes bread to the entire community on the Feast Day of Saints Peter and Paul, in keeping with tradition. It’s a detail that’s likely unknown to many guests but is reflective of Ash’s ethos around ensuring their hotels – and anyone who stays in them – feel part of the building’s past, present, and future. And while Ash’s staff spends much of their time immersed in a building and community’s history, they remain acutely focused on the company’s future.
In November of 2023, Ash announced Shenandoah Mansions in Richmond, Virginia which is set to open in autumn of 2024. More recently, they teased a project in Charleston, South Carolina on social media. While there are few details and no opening date has been shared, the Ash team is no doubt already spending plenty of time in town.
Hero image: The Siren, Christian Harder
