Best Hotel Bets

Selecting just one hotel in New Orleans is a little like picking your favorite flavor of ice cream -- there are just so many great options to choose from.

• Best for a Romantic Getaway: Take an old indigo plantation some blocks away from the Quarter, outfit it with some of the nicest furnishings in town, add in a full lavish breakfast, and you've got the House on Bayou Road, 2275 Bayou Rd. (tel. 800/882-2968 or 504/945-0992).

• Best Basic Hotel: You know, just a hotel, albeit a hotel that looks sufficiently NOLA-like. It's friendly, it's sweet, and it's better than basic allows it to sound -- it's the Maison Dupuy, 1001 Toulouse St. (tel. 800/535-9177 or 504/586-8000).

• Best Fabulous B&B: You need to see the Magnolia Mansion, 2127 Prytania St. (tel. 504/412-9500), to believe it, from the blood-red entrance hall to the antiques-crammed public rooms to the wonderfully over-the-top accommodations.

• Best More Modest B&B: Chimes B&B, 1146 Constantinople St. (tel. 504/899-2621), is a delightful family-owned guesthouse in the Garden District. The charming owners have been operating the B&B for over 20 years, generating loyal return guests.

• Best Moderately Priced Hotel: The Bienville House, 320 Decatur St. (tel. 800/535-7836 or 504/529-2345), features amenities befitting somewhat swankier digs. Though not centrally located, it's within easy walking distance of everything in the Quarter.

• Best for Families: The Richelieu, 1234 Chartres St. (tel. 800/535-9653 or 504/529-2492), and Dauphine Orleans, 415 Dauphine St. (tel. 800/521-7111 or 504/586-1800), are easy, comfortable, mid-range French Quarter hotels with pools for the minnows. A suite at the Sheraton, 500 Canal St., (tel. 504/525-2500) adds space and proximity to several family attractions. If more space and a kitchen are must-haves, the Homewood Suites, 901 Poydras (tel. 800/225-5466 or 504/581-5599), is the way to go. It's walking distance to the Quarter and Aquarium (for those of post-toddler age) and rates include a hot breakfast buffet.

• Best for Travelers with Disabilities: Two of the most accessible and accommodating choices are the Hotel Monteleone, 214 Royal St. (tel. 800/535-9595 or 504/523-3341), and the Windsor Court, 300 Gravier St. (tel. 800/262-2662 or 504/523-6000).

• Best Hotel for Hip Executives: The innovative minimalist style and myriad comforts at the International House, 221 Camp St. (tel. 800/633-5770 or 504/553-9550), have justly made this every film- and record-company dude's (and dudette's) favorite hotel. It's the perfect palate cleanser if you can't stand Victorian frills.

• Best Health Club: The hands-down winner is the Hilton New Orleans Riverside Hotel, 2 Poydras St. (tel. 800/445-8667 or 504/561-0500). Its Rivercenter Racquet and Health Club features outdoor and indoor tennis courts, squash and racquetball courts, a rooftop jogging track, tanning beds, massage, a hair salon, and a golf studio.

• Best Hotel in the Quarter: The Ritz-Carlton, 921 Canal St. (tel. 800/241-3333 or 504/524-1331) -- they know how to do hotels. A top-to-bottom post-K fix-up has only enhanced this already splendid property. And if you want to go even more decadent, stay in the smaller but elegant club-level rooms in their Maison Orleans annex. Just say the words "24-hour butler service." You know you want it.

• Best Funky Little Hotel: The Frenchmen Hotel, 417 Frenchmen St. (tel. 504/948-2166), is small but full of pure New Orleans charm. Bear in mind, however, that one person's "funky" may be another person's "dingy," though an excellent post-Katrina makeover has addressed some of those concerns.

• Best Brand-Name Hotel Addition: A few years ago, we would have said the Loews New Orleans Hotel, still a swell and stylish place to stay. But in late 2009 the venerable Roosevelt, 123 Baronne St. (tel. 800/WALDORF [925-3673] or 504/648-1200), shuttered since 2005, reopened as a Waldorf Astoria property following a basement-to-attic redo. It's stunningly outfitted and comes with a serious pedigree, and even if it's still working out some kinks, it's a luscious stay.

• Best Hidden Gem: Back behind a fence at the start of a so-so neighborhood above the Quarter is an enchanting set of renovated old buildings, a series of suites and rooms full of the sort of impossible romantic details that exist only on the pages of novels about New Orleans. And, of course, here at the Garlands Historic Creole Cottages, 1129 St. Philip St. (tel. 800/523-1060 or 504/523-1372).

• In a Class by Itself: Of all the hotels in New Orleans, the Windsor Court, 300 Gravier St. (tel. 800/262-2662 or 504/523-6000), stands head and shoulders above the rest. Most guest rooms are suites with Italian marble bathrooms, balconies or bay windows, living rooms, kitchenettes, and dressing rooms. If you choose one of the two-bedroom penthouse suites, you'll have the added luxury of a private library and a terrace that overlooks the mighty Mississippi from your Central Business District locale.