The Myrtles

Description:

• A little over 1 mile north of the intersection with Louisiana Highway 10, along U.S. Highway 61, is this beautiful, if a tad dull, house built in 1795. Its gallery is 110 feet long, and the elaborate iron grillwork is reminiscent of the French Quarter. The Myrtles is in an astonishingly good state of preservation, especially inside, where the intricate plaster moldings in each room are intact. The house is set in a grove of great old live oaks; the grounds are not as big as at Rosedown (well, nothing else really is) but are still worth a ramble through. Too bad it's all set right on the noisy highway, which helps dispel any fantasy about drifting back to another era.

  Overnight accommodations are available. They have finished some badly needed renovations to the guest rooms, and while the suites (apart from the charming Judge Clark) still aren't anything to shout about, apart from size (we hate the carpeting but do love the bedsteads), regular rooms, particularly those in the main house, look much better, with lavish linens, fresh paint, and eye-catching canopy beds, all of which goes prettily with the fireplaces and wide-plank floors. Some rooms have bathrooms in the hall, which are actually better than the in-room bathrooms, which are usually dinky and motel-like. Floral garden rooms are less interesting but do have better bathrooms. The whole setting feels quite rural, and the newly relandscaped grounds are nice for strolling.

  They offer "mystery" tours Friday and Saturday nights, wherein guides tell tales of various ghosts haunting the place; these tend to be kitschy fun, which is just fine if that's what you're looking for (we say that because we once heard, in an occult shop, a woman sincerely complaining that no real ghosts turned up when she stayed here). Varnedoe's (on the property) serves fancy dinners and simple lunches and is a worthwhile place to eat.

• © Frommer's 2013

Awards:

Frommer's

•  Recommended 2010