Larry Olmsted, Senior Contributor

For such a popular vacation and conference destination, New Orleans has always been surprisingly short on top tier luxury hotels. That is about to change.

In recent pre-pandemic years the city’s leisure profile has been on a steady rise, thanks to a wave of top new attractions and great restaurants. If you haven’t been in a while, noteworthy things to do include the exceptional and ever-expanding National WWII Museum (with it’s own unique attached hotel) and the popular Sazerac House tour and tasting venue for the city’s signature homegrown cocktail.

On the food front, New Orleans has always had its grand classics full of Cajun and creole influenced specialties such as Brennan’s, Commander’s Palace, Arnaud’s and Galatoire’s, along with its collection of never disappointing Emeril Lagasse eateries (Emeril’s, Delmonico, NOLA, Meril). But it is a new generation of James Beard award winning standout chefs like Alon Shaya and Donald Link who are driving the contemporary culinary scene and bring a heightened level of gastronomic interest and energy to the city. Arguably the two most in demand names in New Orleans cooking right now, both have eateries in the new Four Seasons New Orleans luxury hotel.