Benson Buys Windsor Court: Local Majority, Reno Ahead

By Nathan Snyder, Editor

Local majority ownership closed Oct. 30 — price undisclosed, renovation through 2028.

Gayle Benson — owner of the New Orleans Saints and Pelicans — closed a majority-share purchase of the Windsor Court Hotel on Friday, Oct. 30, returning the 314-room CBD landmark to 100% local ownership with the Berger Company keeping a minority stake, according to New Orleans CityBusiness, The Advocate / NOLA.com, WDSU and WWLTV. No sale price was disclosed. If you own or broker luxury or upper-upscale inventory in a second-tier gateway, this is a live local-buyer signal with a multi-year renovation clock — not a priced $/key print.

Featured photo: Windsor Court Hotel entrance plaque, New Orleans, August 2021. Photo: Infrogmation of New Orleans / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0

What Closed — And What Did Not

Ralph Mahana, general manager of The Windsor Court, told New Orleans CityBusiness the acquisition officially closed Friday, Oct. 30. The Advocate / NOLA.com (Stephanie Riegel) reported Benson finalized a majority-share deal from Dallas-based Crow Holdings, which had been majority owner since 2009. The Berger Company — led by Darryl and Ryan Berger — retains a minority interest and will remain involved in hotel operations, CityBusiness, NOLA.com, WDSU and WWLTV all report.

Price: not disclosed by buyer, seller or the hotel. Benson declined to comment on price to NOLA.com. Crow Holdings declined to comment on price but said in a statement carried by NOLA.com that it was “delighted that this New Orleans landmark will now be fully locally owned by Mrs. Benson and the Berger family.” Leave sale price blank in models until a figure is confirmed.

Attributed value talk only: NOLA.com quoted unnamed hospitality industry sources saying the hotel is “likely valued at more than $100 million,” and separately reported that industry experts, using recent New Orleans upscale comps (Maison Dupuy at about $200,000 a room in July; Le Pavilion at about $188,000 a room in late 2025), would put a market value for Windsor Court between $92 million and $125 million. Those are third-party estimates, not a deed. We leave them attributed and do not adopt a midpoint as fact.

The hotel’s own site lists 314 guest rooms and suites at 300 Gravier Street (Windsor Court rooms page). CityBusiness and NOLA.com place the property as a 42-year-old hotel that opened in 1984 ahead of the World’s Fair. It is in Preferred Hotels & Resorts’ Legend Collection (CityBusiness).

Who Sold, Who Stays, What Benson Already Owns

NOLA.com reports that in 2009 Berger and Crow Holdings led a group that bought the hotel for $44 million, then renovated twice — a $22 million guest-room and lounge update begun in 2011 and a $15 million update in 2018 that again refreshed rooms and added a poolside bar. In 2023 the roughly 2,800-square-foot presidential suite (hotel site: 2,780 sq ft) received a $2 million renovation, NOLA.com reported.

Benson’s downtown footprint already includes Poydras towers, Harmony Circle holdings and co-ownership of the Hyatt Regency near the Caesars Superdome, NOLA.com reported — an owner with lodging exposure, not a first-time hotel tourist.

“The Windsor Court is an iconic piece of New Orleans history, and it is a tremendous privilege to help shape its future,” Benson said in remarks carried by CityBusiness, WDSU and WWLTV. “While it remains one of the elite hotels in the country, my vision is to build on that excellence and take it to even greater heights.”