Suite & Lovely: The Plaza Hotel and F. Scott Fitzgerald

Here’s a piece I wrote a couple of years ago for Billionaire.com (always loved the in-your-faceness of the site’s name). The Plaza still offers the Fitzgerald suite, which goes for $1,595 per night.

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Plaza Hotel, New York: Doing Great
By Christian Chensvold
Billionaire.com, April 2013

Jay Gatsby strikes us as a man with a tragic ending written in his stars. Can we really picture him an elderly beau wearing a sack suit, albeit in pink, sadly lamenting the ‘Roaring Twenties’ of his youth?

No, even if he hadn’t donned that pink suit and gone to the Plaza Hotel that sweltering summer afternoon, fate still would have found him. The celebrated New York hotel served F Scott Fitzgerald as the perfect setting for the confrontation between Gatsby and rival Tom in his 1925 novel, a new cinematic adaptation of which opens on 10 May. The men almost come to blows over Daisy at the iconic hotel and the tragic events of the ride home put Gatsby on an irreversible course to his untimely demise.

Despite the ominous role the hotel plays in the action of The Great Gatsby, the Plaza is throwing out all the stops this spring with movie tie-ins. Chief among them is the new Fitzgerald Suite, a spectacular Deco dreamland inspired by Luhrmann’s aforementioned film and envisioned by Oscar-winning production designer Catherine Martin. Located on the 18th floor, the 900-square-foot suite channels the Jazz Age with exclusive furnishings by Restoration Hardware. The suite is also decked out with various film and Fitzgerald memorabilia, plus a stack of carefully chosen coffee table books to further fuel your Deco dreams.

For cocktails and laughter, the flavours and fads of the 1920s will be on offer throughout the Plaza’s lounges and restaurants. The Champagne Bar will be transformed into a Moët & Chandon pop-up “capturing the glamour of Gatsby’s infamous parties”, according to the hotel. On Wednesdays and Thursdays, the Rose Club celebrates Gatsby Hour with a live jazz band and a prohibition-inspired Speakeasy Menu. On afternoons the popular Fitzgerald Tea for the Ages, introduced last November in the Palm Court, delights tea aficionados with 1920s favourites, including curried lobster salad with local apple, devilled quail egg salad and smoked salmon with wild sturgeon caviar. The Todd English Food Hall will also unveil a modern menu of Gatsby-inspired cocktails curated by Hendrick’s Gin brand ambassador and famed mixologist Charlotte Voisey, while a limited-time Brunch Like Gatsby weekend menu will feature classic 1920s dishes with a contemporary twist.

Finally, the Plaza Boutique will also carry a selection of 1920s bar ware, Art Deco ornaments and exclusive framed prints, and the hotel will display props and costumes from the film. Enjoy the revelry — just be careful on the ride home.