One of my favorite New Yorker cartoons by Roz Chast shows an aging Eloise, the perennial impish brat of the famous children's books by Kay Thompson, sitting on the bed surrounded by room service trays and empty chocolate boxes...."I am Eloise. I am forty six years old. I still live at the Plaza."

The Plaza has probably aged better than Eloise, but a few stretch marks are showing after her latest face-lift. The great French renaissance pile still towers over Grand Army Plaza at the edge of Central Park South, as it has always done, since its construction in 1907. The great confection of gables and turrets was put together by Henry Janeway Hardenbergh, who also designed Boston's Copley Plaza and Washington's Willard. As an architectural composition, it is somewhat more successful than the other two, and has always been an icon of New York.

A Very Brief History

The original Plaza was a much smaller and more conventional building, thought hardly insignificant. In the great rush to compete with the Waldorf-Astoria, the St. Regis and other palaces, the fifteen storied Plaza was considered too small and insignificant to attract the purses of the Goulds, Vanderblits and others who swelled the ranks of New York's Four Hundred. The relatively young hotel was demolished without a second thought after just fifteen years and replaced with the great confection we know today. Through the years, it has maintained its dignity through a succession of owners from Conrad Hilton, the Sonnabend family's Hotel Corporation of America (today's Sonesta, Western International Hotels and finally Fairmont who run the place today. A recent refurbishment has given more sparkle to the rooms and added a new spa and health club in the basement.

Lobby

The richly marbled lobby has seen it all and then some. Anyone and everyone has passed through the brass revolving doors into the quietly humming lobby that captures the essence of old New York. This is a place to see and be seen, even if you are only seeing other tourists, it is still a great place to be. The lobby unfolds into the vast Palm Court where afternoon tea is a great tradition, even if the reality sometimes falls short of the myth. It must have taken whole quarries of marble to complete this lobby, which is as timeless as it is splendid. Think of it as a sort of set-piece. Don't look too closely at some of the over-the-top French furniture or decorations, or you might be disappointed. The ghosts of Donald and Ivana Trump still haunt the halls in some places, in the form of bad furniture that won't go away. Still, this is the hotel lobby as pure theater! As such, there is none like it in the world. This IS New York.

Registration was swift, even if my room was not ready for hours on end. As I had requested a suite, I did not complain, and was eventually led upstairs by a cadre of bellmen.

Rooms and Suites

There are quite a few types of rooms to choose from here, and not all of them are created equal, so be advised to choose with care. I would have preferred something with a view of Central Park, but then, so would everyone else staying here! Our suite was one of the Junior Suites, fairly spacious at 675 square feet, but awkwardly shaped, and with windows overlooking the air shaft. In the upgrade lottery, I suppose this must have been something of a booby prize here, as some of their suites are stunning.

The furniture was overdone, in the hotel suite French style that is so common everywhere, but there was a handsome marble mantelpiece , several good pictures on the walls, and lots of heavy silk draperies. The colors were on the bland side, mostly yellow , cream and navy blue, but it was reasonably restrained when compared to the opulence of some of the suites.

I had tried to get the Frank Lloyd Wright Suite, home to the cantankerous old master whenever he deigned to come to New York. The renowned hater of cities surely had a soft spot for the Plaza, and made this suite his home when visiting the city he detested so much. Wright loathed New York with an abiding passion, but somehow chose this very un-modern bastion of civility as his home here. The suite has been preserved with many of Wright's hand-picked furniture intact. Fortunately, Wright did not like to sit in his own chairs, so you may rest assured of a comfortable chair here.

Bath

This suite had only one bath, but it was a good , large bath, with a big tub, lots of marble, thick towels and robes, and great lighting. Great lighting you say? Yes. The lighting was not the fluorescent kind that makes anyone look like a cadaver....not what I want to see after a night on the town! The soaps and shampoos were really decent enough to take home, but we drew the line at bathrobes, although they were temptingly thick. The old taps and some of the older fixtures had been preserved carefully, adding more atmosphere to the bath as well.

Dining

Breakfast is really the only meal I have had here, with the exception of afternoon tea in the Palm Court. One Central Park South is a new restaurant facing the park, supposedly with a kitchen worthy of the view, but I cannot offer personal experience here. I am too often dashing off to new and interesting restaurants to try one in a hotel, unless it is exceptional. This one may be worth a visit, as it is an inviting place.

The Oak Room and the adjoining Oak Bar serve some of the best martinis in New York. Sit by one of the copper windows and watch the snow fall as your bar tab goes higher and higher.....Maybe you won't remember how many you had. The room is almost magical, a true institution. The Oak Room is equally handsome, though the menu always seemed stodgy. Still too heavily tilted in the direction of beef, beef and more beef, they may be making a few tentative steps in the direction of something new. Time will tell.

The old Trader Vic's downstairs has long since gone the way of most Polynesian themed restaurants...straight into the dustbin of history, but the space has been converted into a new health club. Treadmills and Vichy showers yes. Puu puu platters no.

I wish I could say better things about the afternoon tea service, but our waiter was obviously having a bad day. The place was crawling with ill tempered shoppers and screaming children, like something out of a David Sedaris story. The elderly German waiter demanded "You vant teeee?!!", and proceeded to slam the cups and saucers down on the marble tables as though it were his last day on the job. If it wasn't, it probably ought to have been. For $23.00 one expects more than this. The Palm Court itself, is a wonderful monument to excess, its modish 1950's coffered ceiling glowering over it all like a Morris Lapidus hotel lobby out of Miami. This is really the most jarring architectural mistake here. It works, in a way, but is obviously an addition.

Service

Make no mistake, this is a large hotel that is no longer in the very top rank of hotels in New York, at least as far as service is concerned. The service is good here, but by no means very personal. A hotel with 805 rooms can only offer so much personal service. This is an institution, so the service can seem, well institutional at times.

Rates

I only paid $195.00 last year, but you may be able to get something even lower. I have seen special offers for as low as $150.00 here. It is definitely worth your time to check the internet for specials here. The rack rates are $275.00 to $800.00 for rooms, and the sky is the limit on the suites.

Update- February, 2005

The Plaza has been sold to a consortium who plan to convert most, or possibly all, of the hotel into a condominium building with a shopping mall inside. Service and cleanliness have taken a nosedive (according to recent reports). The hotel will close for renovation in mid-April, 2005. What will emerge within its walls is still under debate. TB


The Plaza

Fifth Avenue at Central Park South
New York, NY 10019

Tel. 212-759-3000

Toll free 800-527-4727

Recommended: Yes