Manhattan classics: go ahead and splurge at New York's grand hotels—or at least take a peek

Travel America, Sept-Oct, 2004 by Randy Mink

RICHLY ADORNED WITH crystal chandeliers and gleaming marble, fine antiques and museum-quality art, the grand hotels of New York City are positively palatial. Kings and queens, presidents and prime ministers, and stars of stage and screen--not to mention diplomats, titans of industry and wizards of finance--rest their heads in these high-ceilinged nests, lavishly restored landmarks that recall a bygone era of glamor and gentility.

Old World trappings accent their salons and corridors; hints of Old Money seem to be ingrained in the very woodwork. From dedicated hotel staff, many of whom have held their posts for decades, well-heeled guests expect discreet, personalized service in the European manner.

Over the top and beyond most budgets, the Big Apple's most exclusive historic hotels invite nostalgia-minded travelers to indulge their fantasies in movie-set surroundings. In fact, Hollywood filmmakers have made good use of these gilded backdrops.

Even if you don't care to splurge on an overnight stay, consider dropping in for a cocktail or afternoon tea to drink in the gracious ambience--and possibly spot a celebrity. Peek into the opulent banquet and ballrooms, the settings for elegant society weddings, fashion shows and charity events.

The Plaza, ensconced on a prime Fifth Avenue corner opposite the fleet of horse carriages serving Central Park, is New York's most famous--and perhaps most handsome--hotel and the only one designated a National Historic Landmark. According to hotel publicity, "Nothing unimportant ever happens at The Plaza."

The high-end hostelry (rates from $389 a night) is home to the fictional character Eloise from Kay Thompson's children's books and has appeared in countless movies, from North by Northwest and The Great Gatsby to Crocodile Dundee and Home Alone 2. A family-friendly place, the Plaza offers an "Eloise Experience" package and a "Young Plaza Ambassadors" program that includes an etiquette workshop and other learning sessions.

Built in 1907, this 19-story "wedding cake," clad in ornamented white-glazed brick and topped with a copper-and-slate mansard roof, was designed with all the pomp and glory of a French chateau. Even the smallest guest quarters sport 14-foot ceilings, elaborate plaster moldings, sparkling chandeliers and thick mahogany doors with heavy brass knobs; more than half the 805 rooms have original marble fireplaces. Many rooms provide priceless panoramas of Central Park.

The Plaza's bars and restaurants are almost as well known as the hotel itself. The Palm Court, long one of New York's premier meeting places, provides a picture-perfect venue for afternoon tea accompanied by harp, piano or violin music. Amid curlicued gilt, creamy marble, mirrors and lush foliage, the lively cafe also offers breakfast, lunch and dinner, plus a caviar menu and decadent Sunday branch. The stately, wood-paneled Oak Room, at one time a strictly male preserve where Broadway showman George M. Cohan and authors Ernest Hemingway and E Scott Fitzgerald once held court, serves hearty grilled fare under a cavernous ceiling.

More accessible than some of Gotham's other grand hotels and with less of a private-club feel, the Plaza (once owned by Donald Trump and overseen by his then wife, Ivana) attracts a steady stream of tourists, who gawk at the two lobbies' tapestries, mosaics, flower displays, monstrous chandeliers and oceans of marble. Its gift shop obliges souvenir hunters with all types of Plaza logo merchandise, from Eloise dolls and tea sets to plush robes and slippers.

The 315-room St. Regis New York, four blocks south, predates the Plaza by three years and is celebrating its 100th anniversary. The 18-story Beaux Arts jewel was built by millionaire John Jacob Astor IV, who spared no expense in creating a world-class hotel with every luxury. He introduced such conveniences as telephones in each room and a cooling system that foreshadowed modern air conditioning. The library, now a banquet room, contains 3,000 leather-bound volumes chosen by Astor (who perished on the ill-fated Titanic in 1912).

The St. Regis has hosted Elton John, Michael Jordan and Saudi princes, but every guest enjoys 24-hour, British-style butler service. Nightly rates range from $610 to $11,500.

Just inside the front door, the Astor Court serves formal tea under a pale, frothy sky encircled by a mythological mural. Off this parlor, the King Cole Bar & Lounge, a cozy haven of leather chairs and tapestry-covered banquettes, is noted for its whimsical "Old King Cole" mural commissioned by Astor to popular illustrator Maxfield Parrish. One of its bar tenders in 1934 created a cocktail called the Red Snapper, soon renamed the Bloody Mary.

Another midtown Manhattan classic, The Waldorf-Astoria, commands a prominent perch on majestic Park Avenue, between 49th and 50th streets. Occupying an entire block, the legendary Art Deco temple opened in 1931 as the world's largest skyscraper hotel, its pair of 42-story towers rising from an 18-story base. Room rates start at $249.