I recently returned to one of my favorite all-time cities, New Orleans. I went for a dear pal’s post-wedding crawfish boil. The bride and groom eloped to Barbados and even a year later, their wedding was still a great excuse to have 40 friends and family gather for crawfish and beer in the bride’s hometown.

I’ve been to the city a lot over the years, and never get over how magical it is. But this time I made a new hotel discovery: Audubon Cottages, part of the New Orleans Hotel Collection. This collection of 19th-century cottages-turned-hotel got their name from former guest John Audubon (who worked on Birds of America here in the 1800s) and has the sweetest saltwater pool in the courtyard, an oasis in the middle of the hectic French Quarter.

I shared a two-bedroom suite with my friend, with cushy king beds and a gorgeous living room that said “New Orleans” without the overly-antiquey vibe you find at so many other historic hotels.

We had a butler who stocked our fridge with gratis waters and diet cokes, and brought us breakfast in the morning: bite-size quiches, fresh fruit and chicory coffee, that was ate in our own private courtyard. How can you not have a good day when it starts out here?

Its small size and ideal location on Dauphine makes it perfect for a French Quarter honeymoon, or better yet a buy-out for a wedding. You can have your closest friends and family stay here and direct overflow guests to one of New Orleans Hotel Collection‘s six other properties, all within walking distance. Have a small event here around the courtyard pool or hold a larger event in the courtyard of Hotel Mazarin, on Bienville (pictured), or the ballroom of the Bourbon Orleans. P.S. That last one is haunted.

Want to learn more? Check out frenchquarterweddings.com.