The Ritz-Carlton

There are 180 hotels open in New Orleans with 28,500 rooms, which is about 2/3 of the pre-Katrina numbers. The Ritz just opened this month, the Hyatt will open next fall. The average rates hover around the same $100 a night mark as they did before Katrina. The difference now is the fancier hotels have all dropped their rates to below $200.