Our Investors Are Our Customers
La Belle Esplanade is a shoestring operation, a small personalized hotel on a historic street in New Orleans, Louisiana. We aren’t part of any chain. We don’t have any corporate backers. Our investors are our customers. When you choose to stay at La Belle Esplanade, you support our mission to share the authentic New Orleans, to tell the authentic New Orleans story.
New Orleans is a city of stories. Ours is but one, but there are many more real stories than you’ll be told in the French Quarter if you stay on the typical tourist map. Don’t believe everything you hear on a ghost tour.
Most of the time you’ll hear from me. I write the blog and take care of all the correspondence. I always say that Frau Schmitt, my lovely bride, is the better half of this operation. She takes care of making sure everything runs efficiently and German tidy. We make a good team. What other hotel have you stayed in where the owners met you at the door and sat down to have breakfast with you.
When the owners are around, that makes a difference in the level of service you get. I know. I’ve stayed at hotels where I was the guest of the owner or the general manager. There is something to be said about first class. That’s what it’s like to stay at La Belle Esplanade. Our investors are our customers. We have to pay dividends for staying with us. It is impossible to put a price on making good memories that will last a lifetime.
YOU BELONG IN NEW ORLEANS AT LA BELLE ESPLANADE.
Invest in making good New Orleans that will last you the rest of your life.
When we first opened La Belle Esplanade, 10 years ago, people told us our idea for a small personalized hotel would never work. “You’re too far away from the French Quarter.”
I said, “I love this neighborhood and it’s going to work. The Quarter is less than a mile away on a picturesque stroll down a beautiful street full of history and colorful mansions and a real slice of New Orleans life. What’s not to like?”
Until the COVID-19, I was right.
LA BELLE ESPLANADE ISN’T FOR EVERYONE.
If all you want to do is get drunk on Bourbon Street or Frenchmen Street, you can do that at La Belle Esplanade, but that isn’t what we are about. We live in a real New Orleans neighborhood that has five small family-run museums, a number of both nationally-famous and locally-famous restaurants, all the amenities of city life like coffee shops and neighborhood shops and grocers, and all the amenities of New Orleans life, too. New Orleans is like no other city. It’s all within easy walking distance.
People are friendly in New Orleans. The only time you’ll talk to a New Orleanian when you are in the French Quarter or at the Convention Center or in your hotel bar is if you are talking to someone who’s working. People in New Orleans live out their lives and relax and build their unique culture outside the tourist zones.
Our investors are our customers but they aren’t only investing in La Belle Esplanade by staying with us. They are investing in the authentic New Orleans, as well. That is what is most important. Without the real New Orleans, the parts where people live out their lives and raise families and learn jazz and practice and learn to dance and join Mardi Gras krewes and build off tradition—-without that part, there wouldn’t be a reason to visit New Orleans for very much longer.
La Belle Esplanade is a five-suite B&B hotel on Esplanade Avenue in New Orleans. It is like no other hotel. It is run by two people. With five suites, there’s no reason for a big staff but plenty of reasons for being friendly, sharing New Orleans culture, and making personalized recommendations. You can be a stranger anywhere. In our part of New Orleans, everyone is a friend you haven’t yet met.
We are a real hotel, with all the professionalism and amenities you should expect, so you won’t find us on AirBnB. This is the only website where you can make a reservation. La Belle Esplanade isn’t for everyone so we are not listed on Booking.com, Expedia, Hotels.com, VRBO, etc. We offer more than four walls, a roof, and a bed. La Belle Esplanade is all about visiting New Orleans like you live here. You belong here.
You have to visit our website (this one) to make a reservation. You have to read what we are about and make a conscious decision to make a reservation at La Belle Esplanade. Our rates are affordable and a value for the personalized service you’ll get, but we don’t compete with any other hotel on price. Our customers are our investors and we are here for you. Price is what you pay. Value is what you’ll get.
If you have any questions, email us but this website contains all the information you are looking for and more. Have a great New Orleans day today, wherever you happen to be.
We look forward to meeting you some day and sharing our part of New Orleans with you.
With a handshake,
-Matthew King
-Melanie Schmitt
La Belle Esplanade.