Soniat House was born of a dream. New Orleanians Rodney and Frances Smith have spent years traveling the world for business and for pleasure. Always in search of the perfect small luxury hotel, none ever quite hit the mark. Then in 1982, the opportunity arose for them to acquire a group of adjoining early 19th century French Quarter homes. They decided to stop searching. They set about the task of creating the hotel they had dreamed of discovering.
The project was undertaken with their keen eye for design and decor, a preference for preservation over renovation, and a desire to seamlessly incorporate modern amenities into the historic structures. Their effort garnered the distinction of being the best restoration for commercial use in the French Quarter in the past 50 years. Each of the 31 accommodations is individually decorated and furnished with carefully selected period antiques. Soniat House has been honored with a feature spread in Architectural Digest, and is one of Fodor’s Choice Top 20 hotels in the world. The many accolades, and guests who return year after year, attest to the Smiths’ success in creating the hotel everyone dreams of discovering.
