Sun Valley
Seated where the staff and carts come out. My chair kept getting kicked. Asked for an off the menu cocktail. Told him how to make it, with a lemon garnish....he didn't even trim it? Not the $700+ plaza experience i expected for our anniversary.
Craig M
Stayed at the start of December.
An amazing hotel but hugely over priced due to it being a tourist attraction in its own right at this time of year.
The rooms are huge, very comfortable and luxurious with a bathroom almost as big as some hotel rooms in Manhattan.
Check in was very slow. Only one member of staff on reception meant we stood waiting for almost 30 minutes to check in. Got to our room and a rollaway bed had been left in our room that we never requested. This took almost an hour until someone came to remove it.
I see many reviews from non guests complaining about not being allowed access to the hotel but to give a review from a different perspective of someone who had paid to stay there - we had to wait almost an hour to get a drink in the Palm Court despite being residents and we were never able to get a table in the Champagne Bar. When you stay in a hotel you just don't expect that you won't even be able to sit and enjoy a drink there when you feel like one.
Was surprised that a hotel charging a room rate of four figures per night didn't even offer complimentary bottles of water or tea/coffee making facilities. Even 2 and 3 star hotels pretty much offer this as standard nowadays.
To summarise, an amazing and iconic hotel but really its only worth about half of what they charge in terms of facilities and guest experience.
Tony P
Stayed for total of 6 nights. Original reservation was for an upgraded suite. At check-in I asked if an upgrade was available since we are diamond members and upgrades are always given. They told us they could not offer an upgrade due to low availability,but if we paid they would upgrade us to a bigger suite. So Diamond member upgraded room was not available but if paid it was. Didn't leave a 1st good impression but I opted to let it go and enjoy our vacation.
We read on reservation that and Plaza hotel website a welcome amenity for our kid would be provided at check-in. We forgot to ask and they didnt mention it either. I went back later that day asking about it and front desk person apologized and claimed not being aware of any such amenity. Later than evening I asked another front desk person, and they were super nice and aware of the 'kids passport' booklet and gave one to our daughter. It was a fun activity that kept her entertained and engaged learning about the hotel,glad I asked but at such hotel as plaza it should not have been missed at check-in or the 2nd desk person I asked.
Our suite was very nicely decorated, very clean and organized. Our room view was the back side of the hotel so it was facing another building, disappointing that we were not given either central park or 5th avenue room views, especially being a dimaond member which we always get at least nice room views wherever we stay. Also we were disappointed the pulled out bed was not made at all, even though it was noted on our reservation and also told the concierge that called us the day prior to arrival. We called housekeeping and they came with sheets/pillows/blankets and setup the pull out sofa bed. Again not a huge deal but I would expect such details to be handled and not having to go through the hassle.
We tried the breakfast few days and it was good. One disappointment was their bar cocktails. We had an old fashion on 3 different nights and all 3 times it was made/tasted differently and not good at all. Not what I would expect at the Plaza bar hotel.
On friday we asked front desk where would St Patrick's parade pass from the next day. Were told parade was on Sunday and not sure where it would pass from. Google gave us the answer , it was next day and passing on 5th avenue in front of the hotel. That evening we got a notel on our room door explaing St Patricks parade was the next day, to expect several road closures and that we could watch it in front our the hotel. Seems like the front desk folks didn't get that memo earlier in the day.
Checkout was not as smooth. Front desk people were not familiar with the ALLCOR rewards program and not able to apply some free suite upgrades and points I had. Even though I talked to the front desk the night before checkout so they had enough time. I was told night manager would handle it, which he didn't. We had to wait for day manager to look into it and as they claimed it was their 1st time handling reward credits. They were able to resolve situation but it took 20 more minutes (good thing we had enough time for our flight) and again not the type of hassle I expect at the plaza for such logistical items, after speaking to that many people/managers.
In terms of White glove butler service never really saw anyone or was explained what it offered/was, similar to what other reviews say. Either explain at check-in what the service is and how it can be used, or don't offer/advertise it. Small annoyance with the bottled water, it was complimentary but you had to call each time to bring them to you. It would be better if room was stocked each day with few bottles of water instead of having to call every time. Tried using the 'courtesy' car but every time we asked (morning, afternoon, evening, tried at least 8 times over our 6 days stay) we were told it was occupied and had to wait 30 minutes for it. Either have more cars, don't offer the service. or accept reservations for it.
Great location,nice rooms,polite staff but several annoyances made us feel we stayed at 4 star hotel with 5 star prices.
Tim C.
I booked a four night stay in an Edwardian suite to spend thanksgiving in the city. The check in was very smooth and the property appears well kept with nice fragrance pumped right through the HVAC system. The entire place smelled nice as a result.
I am a die hard fan of Fairmont hotels and have tried many of their properties over the years. Having stayed at their flagship hotel the Savoy in London and their competitor the Ritz, it pains me to say that the service here fell quite short of my expectations of a flagship property.
The staff working there seem just “tired” and they do not seem to want to have any sort of genuine connection with the guests. They are just all about business there. This is very different from places like the ritz there they take the time to get to know you and engage in meaningful ways to make the stay a memorable one.
Our suite includes some sort of a white glove butler service but I’ve not even see the butler once during my stay. On the day after thanksgiving, somehow our room was not serviced all day. I even called in around 3 pm to request a house keeping service and it did not happen even then. I had to go to the front desk to request it to finally have the room cleaned.
I think this hotel is great and has a lot of potential, but the staff training isn’t there yet. It’s also quite unique in the sense that it’s in a historic building in the sea of ultra modern high rises. However, the hotel seems to only occupy the south wing and is quite small despite looking imposing from the outside. As a result most of the rooms don’t have much of a view to speak of. If you are looking for rooms with views, you will have to pay quite a bit more for partial park views.
All in all it was a rather uneventful and also unremarkable stay. I am Diamond with Accor and used four suite night upgrades for this stay, but they were not honored at check out. I had to call in and be put on hold for quite a while to get it sorted. The front desk person wasn’t even apologetic for this clerical error.
I really want to like this hotel and would love more opportunities to experience its full glory. Perhaps the weekend was just too busy. Although For the same price I’d recommend going with four season or mandarin oriental both of which have much better views and modern amenities.
John Williams
On my first trip to America on my 42nd Birthday, I decided to fulfil a childhood ambition and visit The Plaza. My partner and I got dressed up smart and planned to have breakfast before a walk in Central Park. We were greeted by a jumped up, rude, snooty member of staff who informed us that only hotel guests could be catered for, not what is advertised on the website and lots of empty tables. I don't know if he was after a cash bribe or just thought we didn't look rich enough but we left feeling judged and disappointed. We took our custom to Sarabeths down the street, priced very similar to The Plaza and made us feel very welcome indeed.