This New Orleans hotel is in <br>an old newspaper building

I always love it when my hotel has a bit of history behind it. In fact, whenever possible, this is how I choose where to stay.

The new Eliza Jane hotel in New Orleans met this criterion and so much more, and I wanted to share some photos from our recent visit.

I'm a newspaper editor in my day job and so I've have always been fascinated by all things print. This made our stay at the Eliza Jane all the more relevant for me.

This boutique hotel, which is part of the Unbound Collection by Hyatt, is located in the one-time offices of the storied, Pulitzer Prize-winning Times-Picayune newspaper. It is named for Eliza Jane Nicholson, the newspaper's former publisher and the first woman to head a major, daily newspaper in the U.S. Already super-cool, right?

I learned from our concierge that the long and skinny physical spaces of six businesses were actually required to house the Eliza Jane, with the Times-Picayune building being one of the six and Peychaud's Bitters being another. There are nods throughout the hotel to the buildings' past.

Aside from the fantastic history here, we loved the Eliza Jane and were so happy this was our home for seven nights. Our standard room was spacious and comfortable, the staff was so great, and we loved having a bar and library lounge where we could relax by the fire in the evenings. (Because New Orleans can be damn chilly in November!) We were surrounded by delicious food, not the least of which was the Ruby Slipper Cafe right across the street, so handy for breakfasts, and the incredible Mother's Restaurant right around the corner.

And, location location location! We were within walking distance of everything, and that is not an exaggeration. The Eliza Jane is blocks from the French Quarter, Jackson Square and Cafe du Monde (beignets!), the World War II Museum, several streetcar lines for the times we wanted to go farther, and also a couple of car rental agencies for the day we took a one-hour drive to Baton Rouge. We were also within walking distance of the Mercedes-Benz Superdome and the Smoothie King Centre when we went to an NFL game (Rams vs Saints) and an NBA game (Bulls vs Pelicans). And, we also walked to the historic Saenger Theatre one night to take in a Simple Minds concert.

Here's a look in photos: