Recommended, Frommer's '00 Guide to New Orleans

• $105-$125 per day, single or double occupancy two night minimum on weekends, special rates for special events
• All major credit cards accepted
• Near French Quarter
• Secure, free parking

The quintessential charm of 19th Century New Orleans awaits you in this graceful Southern mansion, lovingly restored and furnished by your host. Gardens and fountains, oaks and sycamores, a flagstone terrace and gazebo complete the ensemble. Enjoy the parlors and grand dining room - all in period antiques. Walk to the French Quarter, City Park and neighborhood bistros. Or take readily available taxis or public transit to any destination in town.

The Nicolas M. Benachi House is historically significant, authentically restored and furnished, and conveniently situated for the visitor. Here you will enjoy a classic New Orleans guest house with a warm, relaxed and secure atmosphere.

You are welcomed by host Jim Derbes, who is pleased to offer you a tour of the Honor Award-winning restoration and its spacious grounds, and suggestions for dining, sightseeing and entertainment. Jim is a lawyer and former university instructor, with an extensive background in historic preservation. He is a life-long resident of New Orleans and lives on the premises.

This Greek Revival house was constructed on the Bayou Road in 1858 for Nicolas M. Benachi -cotton broker, Consul of Greece and a founder of our city's Greek Orthodox Congregation. Bayou Road is the Historic New Orleans Trace, a trail on the Esplanade Ridge (now a National Register Historic District) that connected the Mississippi River with the bayous and their environs. As New Orleans grew it became a country road and then the red brick street you see today. From this Rendezvous des Chasseurs or meeting place of the hunters, Benachi and his friends would hunt the nearby swamps.

In recent years, articles about us have appeared in publications including Newsday, American Home, the Times-Picayune, Figaro and New Orleans Magazine. We are among the few B&B;'s recommended in FROMMER'S GUIDE TO NEW ORLEANS, LONELY PLANET GUIDE TO NEW ORLEANS and the TIME OUT GUIDE TO NEW ORLEANS. Two feature movies and two TV movies, an episode of "The Big Easy" and the opening episode of "Orleans," were filmed here. In the yard, the Louisiana Archeological Society unearthed artifacts from the 18th and 19th Centuries, some of which are on display. And the house has been declared a Landmark by the Orleans Parish Landmarks Commission.

Fortunately, the house retains its original details: fourteen foot ceilings fitted with banded cornices and exuberant medallions; carved, black marble mantles of European origin; Rococo Revival chandeliers by Cornelius & Baker, the pre-eminent manufacturer of the period; Greek key doorways; and heart pine floors. The furnishings complete the ensemble: Gothic and Classical Revival, American Empire and Victorian - in mahogany and rosewood - crafted by New Orleans cabinetmakers Mallard, Seignouret and Barjon. The romantic gardens have been landscaped to include walkways and terraces, constructed from pink Belgian flagstones found on the site.

Accommodations are offered in four guest rooms, each named for a Benachi son or daughter. Two feature private baths, while the others share an adjoining, private sitting room and hall bath and may be reserved as a suite. The entire house is fully restored, climate controlled and furnished with 19th Century American antiques. Secure, free parking is provided. Smoking is not allowed indoors.

Since we began accepting overnight guests in 1993, their comments on our accommodations, hospitality and service have been overwhelmingly favorable. Those remarks confirm the warm professionalism to which we aspire. We are licensed by the City of New Orleans and adhere to the standards of the Louisiana Bed & Breakfast Assn.

Guests are invited to relax in our parlours and library. Sip a complimentary evening beverage. Enjoy a delightful and complete breakfast in our grand dining room. Stroll the oak and sycamore shaded grounds. Pause in the gazebo. Listen to the fountains play. And imagine you have turned back the clock to the halcyon days of old New Orleans: elegant and unhurried.