Hyatt Regency New Orleans

The Hyatt Regency New Orleans is a 32-story, 361-foot -tall hotel located at 601 Loyola Ave in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana. It has 1,193 guest rooms, including 95 suites. It is part of a complex of connected buildings, which includes the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, 1250 Poydras Plaza, Entergy Tower, and the Benson Tower. Originally opened in 1976, it was designed by Welton Becket and Associates. It was severely damaged by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and remained closed for six years, until 2011.

The hotel received extensive damage during Hurricane Katrina on August 29, 2005, where all of the windows of the hotel were blown out due to severe winds, and water and debris were blown into the guestrooms and atrium lobby. There was feces and urine in the lobby, shattered glass everywhere, backed up toilets, and extreme heat, as the air conditioning did not work due to the generator failure. As a result, the guests were evacuated to the ballrooms, along with stranded city residents. On August 31, a convoy of food and supplies provided by Hyatt hotels in Atlanta and Houston arrived. The hotel provided shelter for New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, the New Orleans Police Department and Fire Department, the Louisiana National Guard, the Federal Emergency Management Agency , and the Army Corps of Engineers. On September 2, 2005, the approximately 900 hotel guests were evacuated by bus or by car. No guests were suffering from major illnesses or injuries at the time of evacuation.

Wikipedia