What I did: spent a Thursday night in the Tower Suite at the Plaza Hotel in New York City.
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| View of 58th St. from our 18th floor room |
What I did beforehand: rode the train into Grand Central Terminal thinking about , walked up 5th Avenue penned in by block after block of police barricades.
What I wore: James jeans, black suede Puma sneakers
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| The Tower Suite has a round, king-sized bed |
Who went with me: my husband, the Bacon Provider
How I made the reservation: online (directly with the hotel), about a week ago
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| The tower suite has a domed ceiling |
Why I stayed there: I was planning a single night in the city, starting with the tickets I had just booked to see “Made in China,” a funny and raunchy puppet musical with a human rights message at the 59 East 59th Street Theater. I looked at a map online, and compared prices and availability of a couple of high-end hotels nearby, including the Pierre and the Four Seasons. The thing is, though, that the book Eloise was one of my favorites as a child, and all I had to do was think about Eloise pouring water down the mail chute or feeding her mother’s attorney rubber candy, and the decision was easy.
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| The best lobster roll I’ve ever had |
Where I sat: I had a classic champagne cocktail and a snack in the Champagne Bar, which has chairs so comfy I want to get some like them for my new dining room when the big, bad upcoming remodel is done.
Things that were funny/not funny: we did manage to sneak in a scotch in the Palm Court before last call, and were overheard by the bartender as I compared the unpresident-elect to both Hitler and Stalin.
Something I ate: a lobster roll in the Champagne Bar, and breakfast in the Palm Court.
What it is: over 100 years old, but meticulously remodeled in a way that maintains its grand style, the Plaza Hotel is a beautiful, sumptuous throwback to a past New York when rich people were expected to have exemplary manners.
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| Our bathroom had a heated floor |
Who should see it: aesthetes, connoisseurs of historic hotels, parquet aficionados, high-end Victorian cos-players, architecture buffs, Eloise enthusiasts, gold-trim fanciers, luxury freaks, marble junkies, suckers for an exquisite attention to detail, and money-spending fools.
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| The marble mosaic elevator floors |
What I saw on the way home: thousands of NYPD assembling on 5th Avenue for the funeral of Officer Steven McDonald, a man who believed in forgiveness.
Almost Every Thursday 