Historic Boone Tavern Hotel and Restaurant
Berea, Kentucky
Boone Tavern was built by the president of the small Berea College in 1909 and is still owned by the school, providing jobs and valuable hospitality training to its students. The 63 guest rooms and public spaces in the hotel typify the warm, graceful hospitality of this Kentucky town.
Signature Features: Boone Tavern recently underwent an $11 million renovation, which included extensive efforts to make the property environmentally friendly. It is one of the few Historic Hotels of America to have earned the prestigious LEED Gold certification.
Dining: The Boone Tavern Dining Room specializes in traditional Kentucky food, including its signature spoon bread, as well as Kentucky beer, wines and bourbons.
Other kentucky Favorites: Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill (Harrodsburg), 21c Museum Hotel (Louisville), Jailer’s Inn (Bardstown)
Le Meridien
New Orleans, Louisiana
There is no shortage of unusual accommodations in New Orleans, but the Le Meridien hotel near the Arts District has won acclaim for its blend of local culture and modern sophistication. Reopened last spring after a $29 million renovation of the former W Hotel, the property features 410 redesigned guest rooms and the Le Meridien Hub, a reinterpretation of the traditional hotel lobby concept.
Signature Features: The hotel is centrally located near the French Quarter, the Warehouse District and other popular New Orleans neighborhoods and offers programming that connects guests to the area’s cultural scene.
Dining: Three on-site restaurants include LMNO for breakfast and Longitude 90, which offers creative cuisine for lunch and dinner.
www.lemeridienneworleanshotel.com
Other louisiana Favorites: AC Hotel Bourbon Street (New Orleans), The Inn at Houmas House (Darrow), Southern Hotel (Covington)
Dunleith Historic Inn
Natchez, Mississippi
Natchez is known for its wealth of historic homes, and visitors who check in to the Dunleith Historic Inn have the pleasure of staying in one of them. On 40 acres in the heart of the city, the main building was constructed in 1856 and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Other structures on the property date back to the 1790s.
Signature Features: This boutique hotel has 22 luxurious rooms, most located in the 1856 inn. But there are also rooms in the adjacent courtyard building, as well as a charming dairy barn built in the 1790s that now serves as a three-bedroom cottage.
Dining: Located in the Dunleith’s original 18th-century carriage house and stables, the Castle Restaurant serves three meals daily and features such Southern classics as crab cakes and bread pudding.
Other mississippi Favorites: The Alluvian (Greenwood), Hard Rock Hotel and Casino (Biloxi), The Shack Up Inn (Clarksdale)
