Peacock Room at Kimpton Hotel Fontenot in New Orleans. Credit Cris Molina for Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants
Louisiana’s three most populous cities, New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Shreveport, are also the state’s best locations for meetings and events—and the places to stay and venues to dream up memorable events at are only expanding.
Following are some of the cities’ most notable openings and renovations that meeting and event planners should know about.
New Orleans
Ernest N. Morial Convention Center
New Orleans is a perennial favorite for meetings and events, home to some of the most famous festivals in the country, world-acclaimed food and a built-in experiential atmosphere. There are even more reasons to love meetings in New Orleans following recent updates in the city. In the last year, there have been significant investments in New Orleans by global, luxury and lifestyle brands. One of the most notable is the Four Seasons Hotel + Residences.
Located on the riverfront of the Mississippi at the foot of Canal Street, steps from the French Quarter, the Warehouse Arts Districts and many parks, the much-anticipated opening of the Four Seasons in 2021 brought 341 luxurious rooms and suites and 29,000 square feet of event space to New Orleans, including two ballrooms and an observation deck, Vue Orleans. The impressive indoor-outdoor space on the 34th floor of the hotel offers a 360-degreeview of the city and can accommodate up to 100 guests for events.
Food and drink are major allures of the hotel: Miss River offers elevated takes on New Orleans favorites by chef Alon Shaya, and chef Donald Link honors his Louisiana heritage at Chemin a la Mer, with Louisiana dishes prepared with French technique. Grab upscale cocktails under a 15,000-piece light-and-glass chandelier after meetings at the lobby-level Chandelier Bar.
More notable hotel news includes:
The Kimpton Hotel Fontenot opened in 2021 with 202 rooms in New Orleans’ Central Business District,Crawfish beignets at Kimpton Hotel Fontenot. Credit Steve Legato
debuting two signature dining and cocktail concepts—the Peacock Room and Gospel Coffee and Boozy Treats—and creative programming for locals and visitors. This spring, the property announced an expansion, bringing with it 12,000-plus square feet of meeting space, an additional 33 guest rooms and suites, and new restaurant, King Brasserie. Kimpton Hotel Fontenot Executive Chef Samuel Peery will serve up dishes like crawfish beignets, croque monsieur, prime steak tartare and King imperial caviar.
Caesars Entertainment is investing $325 million in a complete remodel, expansion and rebranding of the Harrah’s Hotel and Casino to Caesars New Orleans, scheduled to open in 2024. Massive exterior and interior renovations are planned, plus the addition of new amenities like a 340-room hotel tower, a Nobu Hotel and Restaurant, new dining options and a new adult circus-comedy experience from Spiegelworld. Additionally, the legendary Superdome has been renamed the Caesars Superdome.
The Ernest N. Morial Convention Center is also in the midst of a renovation., The $557 million project will upscale 140 meeting rooms and the entire exterior experience. A Pedestrian Park offers 7.5 acres of lush green space featuring interactive water elements, live event spaces, public art and shaded gathering places adjacent to a centrally located transportation hub. Additionally, the convention center recently received LEED Gold certification.
Many of New Orleans’ museums and cultural attractions double as unique event venues or add an interesting activity to the group agenda. A few of the city’s most notable are getting updates:
The National World War II Museum is in the midst of a mega $400 million expansion. The recently completed Bollinger Canopy of Peace rises nearly 150 feet above the center of the museum campus and is a new fixture in the city’s skyline. The Liberation Pavilion, set to open this year, will span three levels and explore the closing months of the war and immediate postwar years, concluding with an explanation of links to our lives today. Also, the new Expressions of America exhibit premiered on Veterans Day Weekend to rave reviews.
Audubon Aquarium of the Americas is undergoing a $34 million renovation, adding a new entrance and lobby area along with an additional 17,000 square feet of new exhibit space. Also, the Butterfly Garden and Insectarium will call the aquarium home.
Meetings and events in Louisiana’s capital city thrive within its unique offsite venues. From events at the Capitol Park Museum with the Louisiana State Capitol building (the tallest capitol building in the U.S. and a National Historic Landmark) as the backdrop to the multipurpose Red Stick Social, where groups can attend galas, hear live music, bowl and more, there is no shortage of interesting venues in Baton Rouge that can add extra flair to events.
Tunnel at Hilton Baton Rouge Capital Center
The city continues to add to its repertoire with new and renovated event spaces that will wow attendees. Some of the most notable venues include:
The 121: Originally built in 1928 in the style of a New Orleans French Quarter townhouse, this unique brick fixture in downtown Baton Rouge came under new ownership in 2020 and immediately underwent renovations. The charming historical structure is now available for special events, offering 5,200 square feet of space.
Hilton Baton Rouge Capital Center–Tunnel: This new event space at the 291-room historic Hilton Baton Rouge Capital Center is named for the tunnel that once ran beneath Lafayette Street connecting the hotel with Hotel Indigo, located across the street. The tunnel is infamous for when Gov. Huey P. Long allegedly used it to visit his mistress. Now, groups of up to 50 can convene at the Tunnel for special dinner events, cocktail parties and more. Hilton Baton Rouge Capital Center—on the list of Historic Hotels of America—has 34,000-plus square feet of event space and is just two blocks from Louisiana’s Old State Capitol on the banks of the Mississippi River.
A new hotel is also coming to Baton Rouge this year. The Origin Hotel will open in early fall 2023. This 91-room boutique hotel, located downtown by the Old Governor’s Mansion and Louisiana’s Old State Capitol, will open with a full onsite restaurant. As of publication time, additional amenities have yet to be announced.
The Shreveport-Bossier region in Northwest Louisiana offers a more affordable meetings destination for groups with plenty of meeting and hotel space, including the 350,000-square-foot Shreveport Convention Center, 21 additional unique offsite meeting venues and 10,500 hotel rooms.
One of the area’s main meetings hotels is getting a refresh. Renovations are wrapping up this spring at Hilton Shreveport, which is connected to the Shreveport Convention Center. The facelift will reveal a completely refreshed lobby area and a new mural on the rooftop pool deck from a local artist.
Sports event planners will be excited to learn the building formerly known as Stageworks in downtown Shreveport is being transformed into an indoor multi-sports facility that will be able to accommodate volleyball, basketball and more events, expected to open in early 2024.
Danielle started at Meetings Today in March 2019 after seven years of editorial experience in the travel and food industries. She oversees all of the destination content for Meetings Today and collaborates with the team on digital content strategy and content marketing initiatives.
