Haunted hotel guide · New Orleans, Louisiana

The Haunted Omni Royal Orleans, New Orleans: The Ghostly Maid

A grand French Quarter hotel built on the site of the St. Louis Hotel, where the best-known ghost is a maid who still tries to change the sheets.

By The Haunted Rooms Team · Updated November 2026 · How we rate hotels

3.8/5Haunted Rooms Score
1960Royal Orleans opened
7th floorSoldier sightings

Check availabilityMeet the ghosts

The Omni Royal Orleans fills the block of St. Louis Street between Royal and Chartres, two blocks from Jackson Square in the French Quarter. Locals call it the Royal O. It opened in 1960 as the Royal Orleans, rebuilt in the style of the grand St. Louis Hotel that stood here from the 1840s, and it is a member of Historic Hotels of America.

Historic Hotels of America says the hotel has built a reputation as a hotspot for paranormal activity, and its ghosts are mostly gentle. The best known is a maid who walks the halls at night and has been seen trying to change the sheets with a guest still in bed. Others include a Confederate soldier on the seventh floor and moans in empty corridors. The site also carries a far heavier history, which this guide does not skip. For more nearby, see our guide to the most haunted hotels in New Orleans.

Omni Royal Orleans at a glance

3.8/5
Haunted Rooms Score
Haunted reputation4
History5
Ghost hunter access2
$$ · $150 to $300Hotel embraces its ghosts
  • Address 621 St. Louis St, New Orleans, LA 70130 (French Quarter, between Royal and Chartres)
  • Opened 1960 as the Royal Orleans, on the site of the St. Louis Hotel (opened 1840s); Omni since 1986
  • Most haunted spots Upper-floor guest rooms, the seventh floor, the hallways at night
  • Best-known ghosts A helpful ghostly maid, a Confederate soldier, unexplained moans
  • Booking the haunted room No single room is named. Ask for an upper floor.
  • Good to know 345 rooms, the Rib Room restaurant, and a rooftop pool and observation deck with views over the Quarter.

Check availability

The ghosts of the Omni Royal Orleans

The maid who tucks you in

According to Historic Hotels of America, most of the hotel’s ghost stories involve the spirit of a maid who roams the halls at night. Staff believe she is still working to make sure guests have a pleasant stay. One guest woke to find her apparition trying to change the sheets while the guest was still in them.

Other accounts have her tucking sleeping guests in, turning on lights and taps, flushing toilets and running baths. One story collected by SmarterTravel has a guest’s jacket moving from a chair into the closet overnight. The common advice is to say thank you.

The soldier on the seventh floor

A uniformed Confederate soldier carrying a gun has been reported on the seventh floor. The building did serve as a military hospital during the Civil War, though under Union control, which gives the story a little more weight than most.

Moans in the corridors

Historic Hotels of America also mentions disembodied moans and other phantom noises heard through the building. Culture Trip goes further, saying some believe around 50 spirits are present, and that a few friendly ones seem to follow favorite guests around the hotel.

The weight of the site

Many visitors feel the hotel’s story cannot be separated from what happened on this corner before it existed. Under the rotunda of the St. Louis Hotel, enslaved people were sold at auction almost daily for more than 20 years. Those are documented events, not ghost stories, and they are the most important thing to know about this site.

The most haunted rooms and places to look

  • Upper-floor guest rooms: Where most maid encounters are reported, often in the early hours.
  • The seventh floor: Where the uniformed soldier has been seen.
  • The St. Louis Street side: Where original arches from the St. Louis Hotel remain on the side of the building.
  • The rooftop: Not haunted, but the pool deck has some of the best views over the Quarter.

History of Omni Royal Orleans

In 1838 Creole hotelier James Hewlett commissioned architect Jacques Nicolas Bussiere de Pouilly to design a grand hotel to rival the St. Charles Hotel in the American part of the city. It was first known as the City Exchange, combining a hotel, bank, ballrooms and shops around a domed rotunda. A fire struck in 1841, and the rebuilt St. Louis Hotel opened in the 1840s as the center of Creole society, with banquets, balls and Mardi Gras celebrations.

The rotunda was also used for business, art sales and auctions, and for more than 20 years enslaved people were sold there almost daily. It is the building’s most lasting association, and it is part of why many guests describe the corner as heavy.

Union forces took over the building as a military hospital in 1862, and during Reconstruction it served as Louisiana’s state capitol. The hotel declined, closed in 1912 and was badly damaged in the hurricane of 1915. One wall with a faded “CHANGE” inscription from the old City Exchange is still protected today.

In 1960 Edgar and Edith Stern led the project that opened the Royal Orleans on the site. Architects Samuel Wilson Jr. and Arthur Davis rebuilt it in the European style of the original, using drawings of the old arches and copies of its iron railings. Omni took over in 1986. James Bond stayed here in Live and Let Die, guests have included Louis Armstrong, Muhammad Ali and Richard Nixon, and after Hurricane Katrina the hotel served as a New Orleans Police Department headquarters.

Tips for a haunted stay

  • Ask for an upper floor. Most maid stories come from upper-floor rooms. If you would rather not be tucked in, leave a light on.
  • Look for the old arches. Original arches from the St. Louis Hotel survive on the side of the building.
  • Go up to the roof. The rooftop pool and observation deck look out over the whole French Quarter.
  • Have lunch in the Rib Room. It has been a favorite of New Orleans politicians and lawyers for decades, especially on Fridays.
  • Walk to the other haunts. The Hotel Monteleone is a few blocks up Royal Street, and the Andrew Jackson Hotel is a short stroll downriver.
  • Want to investigate with a team? Haunted Rooms runs ghost hunts at historic venues across the US.

More haunted hotels nearby

Stayed in one of these hotels? Tell us what happened

We collect first-hand accounts from guests and add the best ones to our guides, with your first name and the date of your stay. We read every story before it’s published.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Omni Royal Orleans haunted?

It has a strong reputation. Historic Hotels of America says most stories involve a maid who walks the halls at night, and guests also report a Confederate soldier on the seventh floor and moans in empty corridors.

Who is the ghost maid at the Omni Royal Orleans?

No one has named her. Guests say she tucks them in, turns on lights and taps, and once tried to change the sheets with a guest still in bed.

What was on the site of the Omni Royal Orleans?

The St. Louis Hotel, first called the City Exchange, designed by J. N. B. de Pouilly in 1838. Enslaved people were auctioned under its rotunda for more than 20 years. It was later a Civil War hospital and the state capitol, and was ruined by the 1915 hurricane.

Does the Omni Royal Orleans have a rooftop pool?

Yes. There is a rooftop pool and observation deck with views over the French Quarter.

Was Live and Let Die filmed at the Royal Orleans?

James Bond stays at the hotel in the 1973 film Live and Let Die.

Sources

Facts on this page are checked against the hotel’s own website, historic records and news coverage. Ghost stories are reported as guests, staff and local historians tell them. Read how we rate haunted hotels.

Get new haunted hotel guides by email

New guides, haunted hotel picks and ghost hunt dates near you. No spam, unsubscribe any time.

About the authors

The Haunted Rooms Team runs public ghost hunts and overnight investigations at historic venues across the United States. We research every hotel in our guides using hotel histories, local archives, news coverage and the accounts of guests and staff, and we review each guide regularly so you are not booking a hotel that has closed or changed its name. Spotted something out of date? Let us know.

Booking links on this page are affiliate links. If you book through them we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.