Hotel Maison De Ville - New Orleans, LA (An Antique Bachelor Pad)

727 Toulouse St.

New Orleans, LA 70130

29.957653,-90.066025

www.maisondeville.com

            If you are looking for a hotel in the French Quarter with a vast amount of history, great food and plenty of haunted tales to keep you awake, look no further than the Hotel Maison De Ville, as it is the total package. The hotel and adjacent buildings are said to be some of the oldest still standing in the city. Surviving raging infernos, powerful hurricanes and more years of abuse than a Bourbon Street walker, the buildings are a testament to the resiliency of New Orleans.
            The main building of the current hotel was built around 1800 by Jean Baptiste Lilie Sarpy. Adjacent to this building are four former slave quarters said to have been built around the 1750’s, making these structures some of the oldest in the city along with the old Ursuline Convent. The slave quarters eventually were used as garconnieres, or antique bachelor pads. Creole dignitaries used these homes for their unmarried sons to do “who knows what” with “who knows who” if you get what I’m hinting at! Today, these cottages are used as private suites and are part of the hotel property.



A look at the quaint little courtyard.

            The hotel has had its share of notable individuals who have stayed here. One of its first well-known customers was the pharmacist Antoine Amede Peychaud, creator of Peychaud’s bitters, an additive in the world famous Sazerac cocktail made famous in New Orleans. One can only imagine what alcoholic concoctions can be created by a pharmacist! A little dash of this, a splash of that and some of this “special powder” will have you feeling like you are on another planet. I love it!

            The hotel would be most known for housing the famous playwright Tennessee Williams. Room number nine would serve as his temporary living quarters until he would purchase his home at 1014 Dumaine Street. It is here at the Maison De Ville that Williams wrote his extremely successful 1947 play, A Streetcar Named Desire, which spawned into an incredible movie featuring the iconic Marlon Brando.
            In regards to hauntings, this hotel is as equally stocked as its history. Cottage number four is

An instant classic!

said to be the most active of the cottages as the spirit of a young soldier in a 1940’s military uniform has been seen here. It is said that he has a strong like for country music, as the radio in the room seems to turn on by itself. No matter what the station was previously tuned to, it always gets turned to a country radio station. The ghostly soldier isn’t solely contained to this cottage as he has also been seen in and around the other rooms. He seems not to mind making his presence known, as he is quick to move items, pull on bed sheets and knock on walls.
            Other areas of the large hotel also contain additional activity of unknown origin. With a building as old as it is, one can only expect such odd occurrences to take place. Unexplainable cold spots and disembodied voices have been heard when no one is present. If you have the chance to stay here, notice that you are just a few steps away from the previously mentioned Court of the Two Sisters restaurant so be sure to go over for a great meal during your stay. As you can see, the French Quarter is quite simply a pile of haunted houses built one on top of the other. See why this area is a paranormal investigator’s dream? It’s not a matter of trying to find a haunted house but deciding which one we will visit tonight!