The Plaza Hotel

Character and identity

Open since 1907 at the foot of Central Park, The Plaza is a Beaux Arts landmark whose 282 rooms sit inside one of New York's most photographed facades. Fairmont has run the property since 2005, and the interiors balance grand-dame bones with lighter, freshly elegant rooms: floral wallpapers, velvet seating, marble vanities with 24-karat gold-plated Sherle Wagner fixtures, and Guerlain bath products. The Palm Court anchors the social life of the hotel through afternoon tea and breakfast, with the Champagne Bar and Rose Club handling evenings. A fourth-floor Guerlain Spa and a Warren Tricomi salon round out a service register that is warm rather than starched.

Who's it for

Bottom line

What you're buying here is address and ceremony: Central Park at the door, a century of pop-culture weight, and a tea ritual that still defines the building. Book a higher suite category to get the space and privacy that justify the rate, consider a Palm Court breakfast over room service, and time a Guerlain Signature Massage into the stay.