The Plaza Hotel

The food was excellent, and plentiful, the drinks were expertly created, and the service was fantastic. But, there is too much security and some unfriendly, almost arrogant staff members. The main entrance is across the street from a construction site, so it’s a little dark and grimy. In addition, the many velvet ropes and unsmiling, burley security men are intimidating. Sadly, there were no warm smiles, no “welcome to The Plaza.” Once up the stairs and into the beautifully decorated foyer, we were greeted by more security men, and velvet ropes. Not knowing where the Champagne Bar was located, we continued straight to the next area, a passageway that was lined with velvet ropes pushing us directly up to the almost empty Palm Court restaurant’s host’s podium. Where the unsmiling host pointed us back to the Foyer. Back in the Foyer, we asked one of the many guards where the Champagne bar was and he pointed at the lobby. Finally, seated at the bar (not actually wide enough for meal service, but beautiful), the thankfully welcoming and attentive bartender (Hussein?) saved the day. He was great and downright sweet! After paying our appropriately priced, for The Plaza, bill we took a quick photo and left. I had to go to the bathroom, but decided to wait until we got to our show, as I honestly felt I didn’t want to go through the security guys again. Sadly, while the architecture, food and bartender service was excellent, and the price appropriate, I doubt I’ll return to The Plaza. I just felt unwelcome.

We had a fabulous afternoon here enjoying afternoon tea as part of our honeymoon. The food, drink, atmosphere and service were all perfect. Our server Fariz has to be mentioned! He made us feel so welcome and special. Thankyou

At our stay at the Plaza we dined at the Palm Court for high tea. We had the pleasure of having Khalid at our table. Not only was he extremely warm, he continuously checked on us, gave us so much attention and even took amazing group photos. My four year old absolutely loved him. I hope to see him again.

We had a lovely time at The Plaza! Everyone was very nice including Neal, who helped us with our bags and greeted us when we first arrived! He took our pictures and was awesome! Everyone who helped with our bags was great, breakfast was delicious, and we had an ice cream sundae in our room!

I took my daughter to tea at the Palm Court to celebrate her 14th birthday today. I used to come here for very special occasions as a young girl when living on the East Coast, so it meant a lot to share the experience with my California-raised daughter over Thanksgiving. You’re never sure whether sparkling memories stand up to the reality after 30-odd years, but this afternoon exceeded all expectations. I had the caviar Imperial tea and my daughter the Holiday tea. Our waiter was a consummate host and professional - Kazi Jalal. Been at the hotel 20 years and I’ve never had better service. The caviar service was generous - enough for two to share, with all accoutrements and a generous helping of both blinis and toast points. Absolutely delicious. We had the chai tea, and Kazi was so thoughtful to bring hot foaming milk (we had shared how we loved chai in India). I had a white cranberry Cosmo that paired perfectly. The tea sandwiches were exquisite - two types of scones with lemon curd, clotted cream and mixed berry and lime jam that spread perfectly. By the time we got to the desserts, we were so full we literally could only eat one. And we brought them home. On top of this, we were gifted boxes of beautiful holiday truffles, and so many other generous treats we felt completely pampered and spoiled. It is a splurge, to be sure. The caviar tea is $240 p/p and the Holiday a bit less. Our total bill came out to about $600 so this is not a budget event. But if you are looking for a very special time — this is just beautiful.