NEW ORLEANS MARRIOTT

Whether guests are traveling for business, pure pleasure or planning meetings, they can enjoy the free spirit of New Orleans just steps from the French Quarter. The 41 story hotel, one of the city's largest hostelries, dominates its corner of the French Quarter, with twin towers casting their shadows over Bourbon Street. Guests here are just four blocks from the tony boutiques and restaurants of Riverwalk Marketplace. The Marriott provides extensive conference space, outdoor pool, fitness room, dry sauna and commanding views of the mighty Mississippi River from the top floor Riverview restaurant. From this vantage point, diners can view the river's unique twist and turns that gave the city the nickname, the Crescent City. The Riverview dishes up gourmet regional fare, such as gumbo, and French influence cuisine. The casual Café du Marche on the ground floor features sandwiches and popular local foods, such as gumbo and jambalaya. Guests can kick back with drinks and conversation at the outdoor Gazebo bar or in the Lobby Bar. Meanwhile, the 1,310 guest rooms, most with spectacular vistas, come complete with soft couches, premium linens and high speed Internet access. Being one of the city's largest hotels, the Marriott generally brims with conventioneers and out of towners attending conventions. The hotel's football field for a lobby provide people watchers with amalgams of business travelers gearing up for wheeling and dealing and vacationers just out for a good time. The hotel's 80,000 square feet of conference and banquet space, complete with teleconferencing and videoconferencing, make the Marriott's value clear to business travelers and event planners, but a pool for adults, another one for children, a fitness center, bars and restaurants reel in families and other leisure travelers.