Two Suites. Two Ways to Do Christmas.

You know those people who say, “The hotel doesn’t really matter. It’s just where you sleep”?

Surprise to no one, I’ve never said that.

I am very much a hotel person. I have chosen destinations because of a hotel, rearranged itineraries because of a hotel, and on more than one occasion, been perfectly content to skip whatever we were supposed to be doing because I wanted more time at the hotel.

The room matters. The lobby matters. The breakfast matters.

The bar definitely matters.

I’m a firm believer that where – and how – you sleep seriously impacts the vibe of your overall travel story.

So when it comes to the holidays in New Orleans, I’m certainly not treating the hotel room as somewhere we just drop shopping bags by day and sleep at the end of the night.

I want it to be part of the story.

And I want it to be The Windsor Court.

Even though I’ve yet to find a room at The Windsor Court that I don’t love, when it comes to where I suggest you stay for a special holiday experience, I stick true to my roots…

Go big or go home.

I’ve had the pleasure of staying in the Presidential Suite twice — for two very different reasons — and I’ve recently had the chance to put the new Two-Bedroom Suite through its paces with my own family.

In other words, I’ve done the research.

The fun kind.

And what I learned is that these aren’t simply two versions of a bigger hotel room. They create two very different stories for how you stay at The Windsor Court.

So if you asked me which one I’d suggest for your Holidays in New Orleans story, before I’d answer, I’d ask:

How do you want to live while you’re here?

THE PRESIDENTIAL SUITE

When the suite becomes headquarters

Our first stay in the Presidential Suite had nothing to do with being presidential, but it did come with a lot of pomp and circumstance.

We were marrying off our daughter. Our only daughter. And looking back, this may have been about the time Poor Kent’s nickname officially took hold.

During the wedding week, we officially set up camp at The Windsor Court, and the Presidential Suite became our family – our extended family – headquarters.

And when I say headquarters, I mean headquarters.

People coming and going.

Wedding clothes everywhere.

And Amazon packages arriving hourly because my out-of-office “If you need me, I’ll be at The Windsor Court indefinitely” reply had clearly been understood by all online vendors, and because apparently there is no amount of advance planning that can prevent a mother of the bride from realizing she needs just a few more things.

It was glorious.

And it taught me something about the Presidential Suite that I never would have learned on a site inspection:

This suite can handle a life happening inside it.

The James J. Coleman, Jr. Presidential Suite occupies a large portion of the 22nd floor and stretches across 2,780 square feet, with two bedrooms, two full and two half baths, three private terraces, a formal living room, den, library, dining room, oversized butler’s pantry, wet bar and kitchentte, and even a private fitness setup.

And yes, there is a baby grand piano. And yes, Sir Paul McCartney, Billy Joel – and I – have all played it.

My “Heart and Soul” is in a league all its own.

But during wedding week, what mattered wasn’t that the suite was impressive and large enough to stage a full buffet brunch for the getting ready crew….

It was that it felt like home.

There was room to gather. Room to spread out. Room for people to come and go without everyone ending up perched on somebody’s bed. There was somewhere for all the dresses, boxes, bags and those aforementioned Amazon deliveries to land without taking over our lives.

The décor was unapologetically traditional chinoiserie, so completely my taste and happy place that I immediately felt settled, welcomed, embraced and not at all overhwhelmed like you’d expect with a suite of this name.

And we didn’t think twice about moving in and making it our own.

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My second stay could not have been more different.

After The Windsor Court completed the Presidential Suite’s two-million dollar extensive renovation, I was invited back to be the first to experience — or, as I prefer to think of it, christen — the newly reimagined space.

This time, there were no wedding logistics and no Amazon distribution center operating out of the suite.

I could simply enjoy it.

And it was exquisite.

The renovation gave the suite a fresher, more residential feeling while retaining the character that makes The Windsor Court feel like The Windsor Court.

There is original artwork, including a Canaletto, Alabama marble, a working fireplace, a full-size refrigerator and Miele coffee and espresso machine.

It is intensely pretty and grand, certainly. But it is also remarkably livable. And it still felt like home in all the traditional ways I love.

And having experienced it both ways — as full-blown family command central and simply for the pleasure of staying there — I now know exactly when I would recommend it.

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When the suite itself should be part of the occasion.

At Christmas, I can see everyone gathering before dinner, the wet bar put to good use and the Champagne opened while the last person (me) finishes getting dressed.

Christmas morning can take over the living room. Friends can come up for a drink. Dinner can end without the evening ending because everyone has somewhere fabulous to reunite.

That is when the Presidential Suite earns its keep.

Not while you’re asleep.

While everyone you came to New Orleans with is still sitting around the living room saying, Okay, one more.

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Who I’d put here…

A family celebrating a milestone Christmas.

This is the trip where everyone has decided to do something fabulous together instead of exchanging more things nobody needs.

Parents traveling with grown children.

Especially a family that genuinely likes being together and wants one central place where everyone can gather.

Two couples spending Christmas in New Orleans together.

You have two proper bedrooms, but enough shared space that nobody feels as though they are visiting someone else’s hotel room.

Anyone who plans to entertain a little.

Champagne before dinner. Friends stopping by. Family coming up for a drink.

This suite was made for that.

And so are holidays in New Orleans.

THE TWO-BEDROOM SUITE

When being together is the point.

My most recent Windsor Court stay gave me the chance to experience the new Two-Bedroom Suite the way I think it is best experienced: with family.

We were celebrating three birthdays — mine and both of our moms’ — and rather than scattering everyone among separate hotel rooms, we had one place to call ours.

That distinction sounds small.

It isn’t.

The Two-Bedroom Suite has 1,250 square feet, with a king bedroom and a second bedroom with two queen beds, two full bathrooms, two walk-in closets, a separate living area with a sofa bed, dining space for four, an oversized wet bar/pantry and a terrace overlooking the Mississippi River.

And like the Presidential Suite, Club Level access is included as well.

Those are the specifications but what I really cared about once we were actually living there was much simpler.

We were together without being on top of one another.

There was a living room where we could all sit without somebody having to host everyone in her bedroom. Two proper bedrooms meant everyone could disappear when she wanted to. Two bathrooms meant nobody needed to negotiate a shower schedule.

And nobody had to say goodnight and head to another room down the hall just because the evening was technically over.

That last part matters more than it sounds.

Because one of my favorite things about traveling with family is the in-between time.

Not the reservation.

Not the tour.

Not whatever fabulous thing I’ve planned for 2:00.

It’s coffee before everyone is ready. Coming back in the afternoon and sitting around longer than planned. Having a drink while everyone gets dressed. (Feel free to sign my petition to make “dresser” as in the drink you have while getting ready a more common saying). Talking in the living room at the end of the night when nobody quite wants to go to bed yet.

Those are often the moments you remember.

And that is where the Two-Bedroom Suite shines.

Who I’d put here…

Grandparents traveling with grown children.

This is probably the first place my mind goes after experiencing it with our own moms. You’re genuinely staying together rather than simply occupying several rooms in the same hotel.

Parents traveling with older children.

There comes a point when putting everyone in one traditional hotel room stops being family bonding and starts being an endurance test.

This solves that.

A multigenerational family spending Christmas away from home.

This may be my favorite use of the suite.

It feels a little like home.

Just with housekeeping.

And once everyone has enjoyed a sufficient amount of family togetherness?

Close the bedroom door.

That’s luxury, too.

WHY THE WINDSOR COURT WORKS SO WELL AT CHRISTMAS

Being local, I know exactly how I want Christmas in New Orleans to feel.

I want the lights, the dinners, the hotel bars, the Réveillon menus and all the glorious excess of the season.

I want to be in the middle of it—until I don’t.

That’s one of the reasons I love The Windsor Court. It puts the city at your doorstep, literally, but once you step inside you feel worlds away…in the most magical way possible at Christmas.

You’re close enough to wander over to Royal Street, have a long lunch, do some shopping, stop for a cocktail and realize several hours have disappeared.

Then you come back.

And at Christmas, coming back to The Windsor Court is particularly good.

With ten Colorado blue spruce trees, thousands of ornaments, wreaths and garlands, the Grand Lobby gets properly dressed for the season. The centerpiece is a 19½-foot Christmas tree covered in more than 25,000 white lights, with a toy train running underneath—all orchestrated by my friends at Dunn & Sonnier, who are responsible for the flowers and greenspaces throughout The Windsor Court and, lucky for me, the magic behind the flowers at my own events as well.

Subtle?

No.

Nor should it be.

And before you ask, yes! Holiday Tea returns to Le Salon from late November through New Year’s Eve, a Windsor Court tradition for more than 25 years.

There are also holiday menus and Réveillon offerings, and guests can add their own wishes to the Windsor Wishes tree.

But what I like most is that the hotel doesn’t turn into some entirely different place for Christmas.

It still feels like The Windsor Court.

Just The Windsor Court in a very good dress.

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SO, WHICH SUITE WOULD I CHOOSE?

Having actually stayed in both, I don’t need a floor plan to answer this one.

If the suite itself is part of the celebration, I want the Presidential.

A milestone Christmas. Two couples. Parents and grown children. Friends coming up for Champagne. A family that wants Christmas Eve to happen just as much in the suite as it does around the city.

I’ve seen firsthand what happens when the Presidential Suite becomes headquarters.

Admittedly, ours involved a wedding and an alarming amount of Amazon.

But the principle holds.

Give the party somewhere to happen.

If, however, you tell me you’re bringing grandparents, grown children or several generations together for Christmas, and it’s more about being together than entertaining, I’m looking very seriously at the Two-Bedroom Suite.

Our recent family stay reminded me just how good it is to have everyone in one shared space without requiring everyone to be in the same room all the time.

The Presidential Suite gives you an occasion.

The Two-Bedroom Suite gives you togetherness with an escape hatch.

That’s the thing about choosing hotels – and particularly matchmaking with rooms and suites – well.

It isn’t about automatically booking the biggest or most expensive room.

It’s about understanding what role you want the room to play in the story you are writing.

And I know, I know.

There are still people who insist the hotel is just where you sleep, but I’ll never be one of them.

They can have their hotel.

I’ll be at The Windsor Court.