In all his numerous and highly successful endeavors, Richard Branson is known for his entrepreneurial spirit, irreverence, passion for great design and dedication to having a good time. His Virgin Hotel New Orleans, which opened in the Warehouse District in late 2021, applies these admirable principles to visiting the Crescent City, and the result is as compelling as you’d expect—yet never predictable. And you don’t need to be there during Mardi Gras to get the best of it.
With the onset of warmer weather, the air is filled with the scent of jasmine, honeysuckle, orange blossoms, and magnolia, while the rowdy festival crowds—and the inconveniences they cause—have moved on. Bicycles are broken out and tires pumped. Swimming pools are filled. Cookouts are everywhere. Shutters on all those 18th century Creole cottages and shotguns are opened. Slightly more civilized events are the order of the day: the Essence Festival of Culture, Satchmo Summerfest, and the charmingly-named Southern Decadence.
Setting up your NOLA HQ at the Virgin Hotel is the way to make the most of it all. The boutique lifestyle standout mixes an emphasis on fine food and beverage with music, culture, whimsical design, and one of the city’s coolest rooftop pool scenes. Burlesque brunches, live music sets, local pop-up shops, and the potent and stylish bar-lounge-restaurant combo that is the hotel’s popular Commons Club are all strong draws for both locals and guests.
The hotel’s commitment to supporting local artisans extends beyond its dining program. The lobby and public spaces showcase rotating exhibitions from New Orleans painters, photographers, and sculptors, “creating an ever-evolving gallery that celebrates the city’s creative pulse.” Guest rooms feature custom-made furniture crafted by Louisiana woodworkers, while locally-sourced textiles and artwork “ensure each space feels authentically connected to its surroundings rather than stamped from a corporate template.”
What distinguishes the Virgin from other luxury properties in town is its genuine integration with the fabric of local neighborhoods. The concierge team includes lifelong New Orleanians who possess an encyclopedic knowledge of the city’s hidden gems—from the best second-line parade routes to the dive bars where musicians gather after their French Quarter gigs wind down. They’ll arrange private tours of age-old cemeteries with local historians, or secure reservations at family-run restaurants that don’t advertise but serve the best gumbo in the city.
The hotel’s event programming reflects this deep local connection. Monthly storytelling nights in the Commons Club feature prominent New Orleans authors reading from their latest works, as well as intimate concerts by brass bands and jazz trios whose members have played with everyone from Wynton Marsalis to Treme Brass Band. Skilled bartenders whip up tasty concoctions to suit the mood, any time of day or night.
In 2024 the Virgin NOLA was named the No. 1 Hotel in New Orleans by the Conde Nast Traveler‘s Reader’s Choice Awards. A true escape hatch, it features a stunning rooftop pool and a quirky library-bar-coffee shop, where a life-sized mannequin in a bunny suit holds court alongside a portrait of David Bowie. The best rooms and suites have balconies with views to kill for, while the design exhibits the kind of eclectic, British-inflected great taste you’d see in a Paul Smith boutique in one of London’s hipper neighborhoods.
The NOLA outpost has helped the Virgin Hotels brand, founded in New York City in 2010, become well known for heartfelt service, value for money, and a seamless, personalized experience that has been a cornerstone of Branson’s global Virgin Group for 50 years. You quite literally come to feel that you are Sir Richard’s personal guest, and expect he might drop by at any moment.
Beyond its cultural offerings, the Virgin Hotel’s wellness program draws inspiration from the city’s healing traditions. The on-site spa incorporates indigenous Louisiana botanicals—cypress, sweet olive, and Louisiana iris—into custom treatments that feel distinctly regional without veering into theme park territory. The signature “Bayou Reset” massage uses locally-distilled essential oils, while the facial menu features masks made with Mississippi River clay and Louisiana honey. The fitness center, equipped with Peloton bikes and free weights, opens onto a private terrace where guests can practice yoga as the sun rises.
Boutique hotels are all the rage in the Crescent City right now, but few exhibit the panache and expertise that Branson’s team brings to the game. With its well-considered Warehouse District position, the Virgin is also perfect for exploring the culinary delights to be found both uptown and down: from local favorites like Commander’s Palace, Clancy’s, Shaya, and Le Petite Grocery, to Arnaud’s, Galatoires, Brennan’s, Antoine’s, Napoleon House, and, of course, the legendary Tujague’s.
Not far from the hotel in the French Quarter, Tujaque’s, established in 1856, is the second oldest restaurant in New Orleans and third oldest continuously-operating restaurant in the U.S., going strong for nearly 170 years. The bones alone of the architecture, a historic three-story brick townhouse with a classic iron balcony offering views of the Mississippi river and the Quarter are worth a visit, even before you settle in to the ground floor bar or upstairs dining rooms serving mostly traditional French-Creole cuisine.
Tujague’s is the birthplace of both Sunday brunch and the famed Grasshopper cocktail, consumed in great quanitities. From a storied past complete with Presidential visits by Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower and France’s Charles De Gaulle, Tujague’s is now headed up by talented Executive Chef Meg Gray, whose menu features both classics like Turtle Soup and Shrimp and Grits, along with creative dishes including Crispy Pork Belly with parmesan polenta and pepper jelly gastrique; Oysters en Brochette—bacon wrapped Gulf oysters with wilted spinach, Crystal butter sauce and tomato jam; and a Pan Roasted Maple Leaf Duck Breast with foie gras mashed potatoes, wilted spinach and orange rosemary demi-glace.
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Author: Jared Paul Stern
