New York’s Plaza Hotel Reopens After $400M Renovation

With flourishes like 24-karat gold–plated sinks and solid white marble vanities, The Plaza Hotel in Manhattan reopened Saturday following a two-year, $400 million renovation by Fairmont Hotels & Resorts. A grand opening celebration is scheduled for May.  “This dramatic renovation has restored The Plaza’s famous spaces to their previous opulence and raised standards for luxury hotels around the world through unrivaled service and extraordinary amenities,” Fairmont president & COO Chris Cahill said in a prepared statement.  The hotel, which includes 180 guest rooms and 102 suites, is managed by Fairmont and owned jointly by the El Ad Group, based in Israel, and Kingdom Holdings, headquartered in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and chaired by HRH Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz Alsaud.  The restoration of The Plaza, built in a Beaux Arts style and completed in 1907, involved Gal Nauer Architects, Costas Kondylis and Partners, Walter B. Melvin Architects and Rani Ziss Architects. The building, which was the setting for the “Eloise” books by Kay Thompson, was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1986. Donald Trump owned the hotel between 1988 and 1995 and reportedly took a loss of roughly $80 million when he sold it.  The hotel’s famous Palm Court features a 1,800-square-foot stained-glass laylight ceiling, reconstructed for the first time in 60 years. A 160,000-square-foot, six-level retail section, The Plaza Retail Collection, is slated to open in late spring, with a separate entrance on 58th Street.