House & Hotel Magazine likes the Plaza. It took part in 60 movies and is famous for all kind of stories.
A few years ago an Israeli billionaire bought New York’s storied Plaza Hotel for $ 700 million, he envisioned turning the plucky grande dame with the globally recognized name into mainly a luxury condo tower that would cater to the world’s wealthiest buyers and offer stores to satisfy their every desire.
Occupancy for the hotel has declined, although the rate rose up.
But now with the city in the grandest aims of the new owner, Isaac Tshuva, and the excitement of the new Plaza’s first residents seem to have dimmed.
The last 11 owners to sell their luxury condos at the Plaza Hotel sold them at a loss, including the owner of Apartment 409, which sold for $8.5 million less than it cost 16 months before.
The Plaza’s underground luxury stores are struggling to attract shoppers, and one expert broker is consequently advising clients not to take space there.
And this spring, steps below where F. Scott Fitzgerald found his muse for “The Great Gatsby,” the hotel is opening an upscale food court offering burgers and pizza. The Palm Court, the Plaza’s famous restaurant, has been closed.
Some people think it’s gone from being a landmark to being just a building, but the 102-year-old Plaza still has glamour. To many New Yorkers and tourists, the Plaza is still the place where Eloise, the fictional 6-year-old, treats the hotel as her playground, and Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman share late-afternoon drinks at the Oak Bar. And the Plaza’s overall financial picture means little to prospective brides: The Grand Ballroom is still booked every Saturday night in May.
In the heady first couple of years after Mr. Tshuva acquired the Plaza in 2004, he reaped the rewards of a real estate boom. After a $450 million makeover was complete, Mr. Tshuva’s real estate firm sold all 181 units sight unseen for a total of more than $1.3 billion. The prices for these apartments were so high that real estate brokerage firms started separating the Plaza’s sales figures from their overall data reporting because they distorted the market.
But Mr. Tshuva would also fight with the hotel union, battle with the owners of the rights to Eloise’s image and even endure cries of protest about the possible loss of the Plaza. For celeb story freaks: The actress Sarah Jessica Parker (“Sex and the city”) held her 40th birthday party there in a show of support for the hotel.
But even the most serious skeptics of the relative value of the Plaza condos say that once the residential real estate slowdown passes, the building will be desirable to some buyers.
With its uniqueness in the world, and its name in the world, it’s going to be a sought-after address, said Noel Berk, a NY real estate broker to House & Hotel.
The Plaza celebrity chef is sorting out construction details for a 5,400-square-foot food hall next to the basement stores.
Resto tips:
“Per Se” in New York hold three Michelin stars, and he is generally regarded as the top resto in America.
Per Se resides on the fourth floor of the smart Time Warner Center on Columbus Circle. Its private dining room has an attractive view over Central Park and seats up to 11 diners ($295 for the nine-course tasting menu; $185 for the five-course tasting menu, available at lunch only).
Per Se is noted for its lengthy, intricate tasting menus of carefully crafted dishes. The service is faultless, the staff supported by a sophisticated system that records guests’ every preference. If a diner is left-handed or has a particular ingredient like or dislike, these details will automatically be taken into account upon the next visit. One couple visited Per Se after dining at French Laundry on their honeymoon, and were taken aback that the waiter at Per Se knew exactly what they had eaten in Napa and had prepared an entirely different set of dishes for this meal.
The restaurant has a famously wide repertoire, but a menu might include “oysters and pearls,” a clever dish of sabayon of pearl tapioca with Island Creek oysters and Sterling White sturgeon caviar, the elements of the dish combining perfectly, prettily served in a Limoges porcelain dish. It might be followed later in the meal by “quail in a jar,” deboned quail with duck foie gras, lettuce and a few drops of 100-year-old balsamic vinegar, offered with toasted brioche. The same care and attention goes into the seafood dishes, such as tender Nova Scotia lobster, served with pea tendrils and sweet carrot emulsion that balance the lobster’s richness. “Coffee and doughnuts,” which consists of intensely flavored coffee semifreddo with steamed milk, paired with a silky cinnamon sugared beignet, makes for a nice finish.
Even over a multicourse menu, the cooking technique never falters: The tightly run kitchen at Per Se produces an unusually consistent standard. The combination of exquisitely crafted food with flawless and discreet service is a winning combination. If you are looking for a sophisticated private dining experience in New York, you will find none better than Per Se.
Resto tip #2 Chanterelle
The restaurant has a normal dining room with bare walls and a high ceiling.
The tasting menu was yummy but not superior: the best was a butternut squash ravioli with a stunning oxtail ragout and a little sage cream.
The bass was cooked allright and we enjoyed different cheeses, including some from France, nice and well made, accompanied by a ginger ice cream.
For food House & Hotel Magazine loves Europe.
Any way, the big apple will always be the big apple.
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