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The Plaza |
768 5th Ave
New York, NY 10019 |
| Phone | (212) 759-3000 | | Reservations | (800) 527-4727 |
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Management |
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Property Description |
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The Plaza, New York at it's best:
"Nothing unimportant ever happens at The Plaza"
The Plaza, one of America's most famous hotels, opened it's doors on October 1, 1907, amid a flurry of reports describing it as "the greatest hotel in the world." Located at Fifth Avenue and Central Park South, it was constructed in the most fashionable residential section of New York, bounded on the east by Fifth Avenue and on the north by Central Park.
The Plaza was the dream of financier Bernhard Beinecke, hotelier Fred Sterry, and Harry S. Black, president of the Fuller Contruction Company. They purchased a 15-year-old hotel on the same site with the same name. The three men decided to replace it with what they would proudly describe as "the most elegant hotel in the world."
Not suprisingly, Mr. Black's company was the contractor. Construction was to take two years at a cost of $12,000,000, an unprecedented sum in those days.
Henry Janeway Hardenbergh was one of the most famous and distinguished architects of the age. He designed The Plaza with all the pomp, glory, and opulence of a French Chateau. No cost was spared. Italian marble lobbies were created. The linen was exclusively designed and manufactured for The Plaza in Belfast, Ireland. Embroidered organdy curtains came from Switzerland. The largest single order in history for gold-encrusted china was placed with L. Strauss & Sons, and no less than 1,650 crystal chandeliers were purchased.
The hotel stands 19 stories high, in 1907 a veritable skyscraper. There are a total of 16 specialty suites, named for some of The Plaza's most famous denizens, with 12 elegant English Suites, replicating rooms from the Stately Homes of England, which add their grace and charm to this beautiful building. Guest rooms have 14- foot high ceilings giving a spacious and light ambiance. The rooms boast carved marble fireplaces, crystal chandeliers, ornamental plaster moldings and thick mahogany doors.
Originally, The Plaza served primarily as a residence for wealthy New Yorker's who wanted an in-town apartment. When it opened in 1907, 90 percent of the guests were permanent residents. Mr. & Mrs. Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt, the first to sign the register, had their own suite of rooms. (The Vanderbilt Suite is today a luxuriously appointed three-bedroom suite, and is used by Heads of State, Government, and other discerning visitors). For guests who chose to rent on a nightly basis, single rooms started at $2.50 per night.
Kings, Presidents, Ambassadors, stars of stage, screen, and sport, as well as business executives and travelers from all parts of the world have gathered and stayed at The Plaza. Through nine decades they have enjoyed it's famous restaurants, chatted over tea in the Palm Court, relaxed in the guest rooms, and held meetings, conferences, weddings, galas and other occasions in it's exquisite suites, ballrooms and banquet rooms. Today, that tradition continues.
Since the beginning, The Plaza has hosted world-famous personalities, including the fictional and mischievous Eloise, whose portrait by Hilary Knight hangs prominently near the Palm Court. Opera singer Enrico Caruso once became so enraged with the ticking of a state of the art electric clock in his suite he broke it, thereby disrupting all the clocks in the hotel which were interconnected through the same electrical system. Author F. Scott Fitzgerald and his wife, Zelda, visited often and for a time were residents. Their attachment to The Plaza was so well known that Ernest Hemmingway once advised Fitzgerald to "give your liver to Princeton and your heart to The Plaza."
One of New York's most celebrated movie sets, The Plaza has provided locations for scenes in such motion pictures as "Plaza Suite," "The Way We Were," "The Great Gatsby," "North by Northwest," "Barefoot in the Park," "Funny Girl," "Crocodile Dundee (both 1 & 2), and "Home Alone II."
Television credits include episodes of "Seinfeld" and HBO's "Sex and The City."
Through it's long rich history and it's eye to the future, many vistors and New York residents alike consider The Plaza to be New York at it's very best. |
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Awards |
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The Plaza is a 4 Star/ 4 Diamond hotel and was designated a New York City Landmark in 1969.
It's listed on the Register of Historic Places, and was honored as a National Historic Landmark in 1986. It is the only New York City Hotel so designated.
It is also a member of Historic Hotels of America under the National Trust for Historic Preservation and has recently been designated a Literary Landmark thanks to a series of books about a mischevious little girl named Eloise. |
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Property Statistics |
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| Year built | 1907 |
| Last year renovated | 2000 |
| Number of rooms | 805 |
| Meeting rooms | 19 |
| Number of employees | 1,150 |
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| | Our top markets | |  Corporate
Leisure
Government
| | Peak season | | Fall/Winter | | Computer software | | HIS,PeopleSoft |
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Food & Beverage Outlets |
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| Restaurants | Bistro
Fine Dining
| Seafood
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Amenities |
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| Hotel Amenities | - 1 Fitness Facility
- 1 Health Club
- 1 Spa
- 1 Gift Shop
- 4 Retail Outlets
- Business Center
- Beauty salon/barber
| - Concierge services
- Dual Line Telephones
- Data ports
- In-room safe
- Minibar
- Newspaper (Mon-Fri)
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Internet Links |
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