One of my favorite memories as a child was watching Home Alone 2 for the 5th year in a row on Christmas Day and then flying to New York City right after. I remember walking along Central Park and seeing the Plaza Hotel in person across the street. The architecture was gorgeous and the hotel just screamed luxury and success. And I remember telling myself “One day I’m going to stay there.”

And this year I made that happen.

During my year of ambitious planning, I knew I wanted to go somewhere with my husband without the kids. Originally, I planned and booked a luxury treehouse outside Atlanta, just a quick drive away from in-laws who would be watching our babies. But the more I was learning about the points and miles world, the more I wanted to put lessons to the test. Including the art of “Suite Talking”.

Suite Talking is the practice of reaching out to hotel prior to staying, in hopes of securing a complimentary upgrade, hopefully a suite. I first attempted on the Los Angeles weekend that never happened and I decided to attempt it again for a couple’s weekend in New York.

I also saw a post on social media about “bucket list hotels” and it reminded me that the Plaza Hotel was my OG Bucket List hotel, however they were not apart of Hyatt or Marriott. Luckily, I found a work-around to still use points (not wisely) in order to book 1 night.

How I booked using points

I decided to search for the hotel on my multiple credit cards’ travel portals and was surprised to discover that the Plaza hotel was available to book on Citi’s portal for a much cheaper price than booking direct. The price on Fairmont.com was around $1,000 a night while Citi was showing $884. Plus, I’d be able to use my $100 off $500 credit which I normally do not get the opportunity to use. I went ahead and used some points to offset as well. Ideally, it would have been wise to save my points for airlines, but this was a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I could stomach it better if it was $285 vs $800. So I booked the reservation and celebrated mentally.

Suite-Talking

Although I did book “third party” and am usually least likely to receive upgrades, I still signed up for a free Fairmont membership (which I advise because this actually allows you to get free Wifi at the hotel) and attempted to email the hotel with a hint that I was arriving for my anniversary and was excited to stay at the hotel.

They responded within the hour that they would make sure we felt welcome during our stay.

Arriving at the Plaza Hotel

We arrived at our hotel in our Revel Rideshare and as soon as we exited the car, a bellman had grabbed our bags and was escorting us through the lobby.

Now the entire experience, made us feel like royalty. For one, I am like a child when it involves revolving doors plus you do have to walk up the red carpet-ed stairs. The staff had their own side entrance which was more direct. You walk in to a gorgeous front lobby with fresh flowers, chandeliers galore, and elaborate white and gold tiling.

The entire “First Lobby” was grand and classy and I was even more excited that we were getting the opportunity to stay.

Although check-in is at the standard 3 pm, we arrived at noon and after being greeted, to my surprise (well not really, I was definitely hoping for it), we were given early check in as well as un upgrade to a Deluxe Room. (For in negative Nancy’s, I had already done my research and I know this is only a $10 difference from a regular room, but its 20 sqft more with a extra sink and I was going to take my win).

First Impressions

Because I had been watching YouTube videos for the past week, I knew what to expect and it was still lovely. We were greeted with chocolate covered strawberries as well as cheap bubbly (it was okay and we drank the whole bottle. I only mention cheap because I was curious as to the price and it was about $14 once I googled the bottle).

The view was not impressive. I knew that coming in however as the hotel is half purchased condos and obviously people paying millions (yes, the cheapest condo I saw recently sold was about 600 sqft and 3 million dollars… what a scam), deserve to have the better Central Park views. The windows were also filthy but in their defense, it is a 100+ year old hotel.

The bathroom felt grand and everything reminded me of an 1900s castle. Obviously in 2023, while most people do prefer more modern and sleek, I enjoyed the old timey “Rich Grandma” room. The carpet was a little questionable, (we all know how gross they are now, I like it in my home, but not in a hotel shared with thousands of strangers) but overall it was nice. I’m still in disbelief that you can pay $1,000 a night and still have to pay for $10 snacks in a minibar. But overall hall, it met my expectations and I felt like Kevin McAllister with his dad’s credit card. I loved the beaded tiled floors and the chandeliers. And the bed was definitely comfortable. We arrived in sweats and took a nice long bath after a long travel day and thanks to iCarly, a shower right after to actually clean up. The water pressure felt amazing and unlike any hotel I’ve stayed previously. I was just blissfully happy.

Upon arriving, they offered several bottles of water which we appreciated in mid summer. Even after returning, we were left with more water during Turndown service (I am still in shock over this concept. Apparently “Turndown service” is something normally offered at 5 star hotels where the already busy housekeeping comes again to prepare your room for bed. At the Plaza, thus entailed blacking out the windows by closing the curtains and filling the open spots with pillows, which actually worked. They also remade our bed and placed the slippers and robe folded by the bed.)

After going out for drinks, we did order off the room service ($12 service) menu a pepperoni pizza ($40) and three scoops of ice cream ($22). You do receive a $50 credit from the $65 experience fee (there is a also a $50 spa credit but the cheapest service was $200 so we skipped that). After tip, I still spent $60 for the food but it was still good and filling for 2.

Overall, we enjoyed relaxing in our robes, laying on the bed, and watching Chromecast on the television with our $40 pizza and free alcohol.

Cons of the Hotel

Along with the carpet, there was the issue of the shower not properly draining. The night before, I assumed that was only an issue because we had a bath but the next morning also had draining problems. I can only assume prior guests never complained so I made sure to let the front desk know upon check out so that hopefully they resolved it for future guests. I’d be especially upset if I really paid $1,000 a night just to shower in a bath that drained slowly. Also while I enjoyed the service of the staff during our stay, I felt as though they were more cold and dismissive as we were leaving. “Ah their time is up, we don’t have to be nice anymore… peasants.”

Overall Thoughts

While I enjoyed my stay very much, I feel like most of it was due to nostalgia and knowing I ticked off a true bucket list item. I have no intentions of ever returning (there are much nicer hotels if I decided to splurge on $1,000 a night) but I do not regret spending the money and points to stay there. I enjoyed our night and it will live in my memory and on the internet for years to come.