Yes, The Plaza in New York closes in January 2027 for at least four years. According to the press (The New York Times, Time Out, NY1), Fairmont announced it on October 14, 2026. The hotel’s official site lists afternoon tea at the Palm Court from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; the press reports that the Palm Court closes along with the hotel.
Checked on against the press reports cited.
The Plaza, the Fifth Avenue hotel that opened in 1907, is set to close for at least four years, according to an announcement reported by the press. The announcement is dated October 14, 2026 and leaves many questions open: the exact day, the fate of the restaurant and event rooms, bookings already made, prices. Announced: closure from January 2027, for at least four years. Not published: exact closing day, reopening date, 2026 tea prices, refund policy.
The Plaza, a landmark on Fifth Avenue
Central Park South, the Plaza’s setting
The building, designed by architect Henry Janeway Hardenbergh, opened in 1907 at the corner of Fifth Avenue and Central Park South, facing Grand Army Plaza. It has 18 floors and 282 rooms and suites. None of the statements we read says what happens to the 181 condo apartments. According to Wikipedia and La Revue des Hôtels, the façade has been a New York City landmark since December 9, 1969; that date still needs to be confirmed with the Landmarks Preservation Commission.
Highlights
- A direct address on Central Park: the Pulitzer Fountain, across from the hotel, is free to visit.
- A protected façade, which is the subject of the announced restoration.
- A pedicab tour whose description promises a view down Fifth Avenue and of the Plaza hotel (see below).
The closure: what’s announced and what isn’t
According to the press (The New York Times, Time Out, NY1), Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, an Accor Group brand that runs the property, announced on October 14, 2026 that The Plaza will close, and American and European outlets then picked up the story. We did not find the announcement itself: we rely on press accounts, and we separate what is announced from what is only reported.
| Item | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Closure from January 2027 | Announced | Fairmont, reported by the press |
| Closure for at least four years | Announced | Fairmont, reported by the press |
| Exact closing day | Not published; one outlet cites January 19, 2027 | NY1, citing The New York Times |
| Reopening date | Not dated; « 2031 at the earliest » reported | Travel Imperia FR (October 16, 2026) |
| Palm Court closure | Reported by the press, absent from the announcement as relayed | Time Out, Hotel Dive, NY1 |
| Champagne Bar and Grand Ballroom | Mentioned by one guide, not confirmed | Le Guide NYC |
| Palm Court afternoon tea hours | Published on the official site (undated page) | fairmont.com |
| Palm Court tea cancellation | $75 per person if cancelled within 72 hours or no-show | fairmont.com (undated page) |
| Refund or rebooking of 2027 reservations | Not published | None |
| Fate of the 181 private residences | Not published | None |
Source: Time Out New York, NY1, fairmont.com, checked on October 18, 2026.
The question everyone is asking is simple: why four years? The official answer stays general. Fairmont cites the complexity of the façade work, preservation requirements, the impact on operations, and the safety of guests, staff and the neighborhood. No detailed schedule or budget has been published so far. No source says which services will stay open during the work.
On the date, be precise. NY1, citing The New York Times, gives January 19, 2027 as the last day of service and January 20 as the start of the work. It is the only source that gives a specific day. We do not present it as an announcement: stick with « January 2027 » until the hotel confirms a date.
CBS New York reports, without any other independent source, that the city’s Department of Buildings reportedly found the façade unsafe at its last inspection, which is why a sidewalk shed was put up. We do not treat that as established fact.
Palm Court afternoon tea: what to know before you book
The Palm Court serves afternoon tea every day from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., according to Fairmont’s official page (undated, checked October 18, 2026). The menu, « Sumptuous Afternoon Tea », comes with teas from the house Palais des Thés. The 2026 price is not shown on the site. The most recent price on record is Time Out’s, from August 5, 2024: $120 to $145 per person, with champagne extra. A 2024 price does not tell you what you will pay in 2026: treat it as a ballpark and check before you book.
Booking the tea: rules and pitfalls
Booking goes through OpenTable. The official site says cancellation is free up to three days before the date. After that, or in case of a no-show, $75 per person is charged to the card. The venue also enforces a strict dress code, detailed on the restaurant’s page.
What to keep in mind
- Free cancellation up to 3 days before; $75 per person within 72 hours or for a no-show.
- Dress code: no shorts, beachwear, tank tops for men, casual caps, ripped jeans or athletic wear. Entry can be refused.
- A children’s tea, named after the character Eloise, is listed with the same hours (11 a.m. to 4 p.m.) on the official site. Its price is not shown; Time Out quoted $95 per child aged 12 and under (2024).
| Venue | Format | Published price | Hours | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Plaza, Palm Court | Sumptuous Afternoon Tea | Not shown; $120 to $145 in 2024 (Time Out) | 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. (official site) | Closure reported by the press |
| The Plaza, Eloise | Children’s tea | Not shown; $95 per child aged 12 and under in 2024 (Time Out) | 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. (official site) | To confirm with the hotel |
| Baccarat, Grand Salon | Prince of Wales | $140 per person (Time Out 2024 and OpenTable, undated) | Noon to 5 p.m. (one source) | To check |
| The Carlyle, The Gallery | Afternoon Tea | $90 (PureWow, undated); $95 (Destination Tea) | 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. (several sources) | To check |
| Mandarin Oriental | Afternoon tea | From $130 per adult (Time Out, 2024); $48 in another undated source | Noon to 5 p.m. (Time Out) | Conflicting prices |
| The Russian Tea Room | Tea | $145 (Time Out, 2024) | Not found | To check |
Source: official hotel pages for the Palm Court and Eloise, and Time Out New York (August 5, 2024) for the 2024 prices of the other venues; checked October 18, 2026. No 2026 price could be verified on a dated official source.
Staying at The Plaza before 2027: rooms, taxes and access
No booking policy has been published for 2027. No statement we read says how room bookings, stays or events from January 2027 will be handled: no refund, no rebooking, no loyalty points. Ask for written confirmation before paying any deposit, and check the cancellation terms of each reservation.
One observation, not a trend. On October 15, 2026, La Revue des Hôtels found no available rooms for the nights it tested, from December 31, 2026 to February 12, 2027. For the nights of November 12 and 13, 2026, a King room was offered at €2,002.06 for two adults, taxes and fees included, including €66.50 in urban experience fees. This is a single check, run on the hotel’s own booking engine.
Around the Plaza: park, fountains and alternatives
If the Plaza is no longer an option, the area is still rich. Around Grand Army Plaza, the Pulitzer Fountain faces the hotel. The Sherman statue, by Saint-Gaudens, stands on 59th Street at Fifth Avenue. The Gapstow Bridge, in stone, crosses the Pond and is best photographed from the water’s edge. The Strand Book Kiosk, a used-book stand, is on the plaza. To keep going south, see our guide SoHo in New York: food and design, and for the holiday season, Christmas lights in New York: experiences.
Nearby hotels for a comparable tea
- Baccarat, Grand Salon: the Prince of Wales was offered at $140 per person in 2024; to recheck.
- The Carlyle, The Gallery: afternoon tea served between 3 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. according to several sources; price to confirm.
- The St. Regis New York: tea is served at La Maisonette, not at the King Cole Bar; we found no verified price.
- The Ritz-Carlton New York, Central Park, 50 Central Park South: current tea offer not confirmed; reservations at 212-308-9100 according to one source.
Taxes and rates: the city’s rules. The hotel occupancy tax is charged per room per night, on a tiered scale tied to the room rate: $0.50 (rate from $10 to under $20) up to $2.00 ($40 and up). A $1.50 state tax per room per night is added, according to the New York City Department of Finance (checked October 18, 2026).
Address and access. The hotel is at 768 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10019, at the corner of Central Park South (address from English Wikipedia, checked October 18, 2026). Several subway lines serve the Columbus Circle and 5th Avenue stations. The Plaza Shops have a separate entrance at 1 West 58th Street, accessible by reservation during the holiday season.
Lobby access during the holiday season. According to the hotel’s information page, access is then reserved for overnight guests, spa and restaurant guests, and visitors to the Plaza Shops, by reservation. The page is undated: confirm with the hotel before you go. The concierge answers at 212-546-5250 or [email protected], and the Fifth Avenue lobby is open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. Check-in is at 3 p.m. and check-out at noon.
Weddings and events: the first cases
Christine Carney’s wedding is scheduled at The Plaza for May 1, 2027, and planning began in April 2026. ABC30 and ABC7 NY, which covered the story on October 15, 2026, report that wedding planner Alyssa Pettinato now has to find a new venue, hope the date is still free, or move it. No statement from the hotel is quoted in those reports. Only one case is documented in the press we read.
The Hotel & Gaming Trades Council (AFL-CIO) says its members have the right to return at the same wage when the hotel reopens. No official rehiring figure has been published, and press counts differ. For the 181 condo apartments, no statement has been made: CBS New York notes that it is not known whether permanent residents will be affected.
Past closures: what they say about the length
The Plaza has closed twice before, and past timelines help judge the announced length. According to the press, Elad closed the hotel on April 30, 2005 and reopened it on March 1, 2008, with condo apartments. The cost is reported at $400 to $450 million depending on the source, and the sources disagree. A second closure, in March 2020 during the pandemic, ended with a reopening on May 20, 2021.
Those precedents do not predict the 2027 date, because their causes were different.
What to do before January 2027
- Book the Palm Court tea early, and keep the cancellation policy in mind: $75 per person within 72 hours or for a no-show.
- Ask the hotel in writing for the closing date and the policy on 2027 reservations before you pay any deposit.
- If you have already booked a room or an event for 2027, reread the cancellation terms and keep the confirmation.
- Visit the park and Fifth Avenue during the day, without waiting for a specific date: these spaces remain public. To fill another part of the day, see also Empire State Building or Top of the Rock.
- Follow updates from theplazany.com, fairmont.com and Accor.
Entry rules, weather and crowds
Visitors from visa-waiver countries, such as France, need an ESTA for a short tourist stay; US citizens do not. The fee published by news sites is $40.27 since September 2025. A Federal Register notice dated October 1, 2026, cited by secondary sites, would raise it to $40.62 from October 16, 2026. We have not confirmed that figure: check the exact amount on esta.cbp.dhs.gov before you pay.
On weather, we do not quote a temperature: the general climate sites we checked are not dated official sources, and no temperature figure is a forecast for 2027. On crowds, the city expects 66.3 million visitors in 2026, according to NYC Tourism + Conventions (release of March 24, 2026), up from 65 million in 2025. These are the city’s forecasts, not counts. If your trip falls over Thanksgiving, see also Thanksgiving in New York: Macy’s parade and Black Friday.
What other guides don’t tell you
These five points are missing from the press coverage we read. Each one points to an official source, checked October 18, 2026.
- The Palm Court charges $75 per person for cancellations within 72 hours or no-shows. The amount is charged to the card, according to the restaurant’s official page (fairmont.com, Palm Court) (checked October 18, 2026).
- The Palm Court dress code is specific, and entry can be refused. Shorts, beachwear, tank tops for men, casual caps, ripped jeans and athletic wear are excluded, according to the same page (fairmont.com, Palm Court) (checked October 18, 2026).
- During the holiday season, the lobby is not open to everyone. Access is reserved for overnight guests, spa and restaurant guests, and shop visitors, by reservation (theplazany.com, guest information) (checked October 18, 2026; undated page).
- New York’s hotel occupancy tax is tiered, from $0.50 to $2.00 per room per night, plus a $1.50 state tax. Guides often cite a percentage rate that is not verified, or nothing at all (NYC Department of Finance) (checked October 18, 2026).
- No closure announcement appears on the official sites as of the date we checked. The hotel’s homepage and the Fairmont page mention neither 2027 nor 2031 (theplazany.com) (checked October 18, 2026). That signal matters: the announcement comes from the press, not yet from the hotel’s own pages.
Practical information for your trip
Check showtimes, itineraries and booking confirmations from the moment you land, without a local SIM card.
Price depends on plan and durationCoverage worth comparing before you go, especially if you book non-refundable services.
Price depends on duration and coverageFrequently asked questions about The Plaza closure
Is The Plaza in New York really closing in 2027?
Yes, according to Fairmont’s announcement of October 14, 2026, as reported by the press (The New York Times, Time Out, NY1). The hotel is set to close from January 2027 for at least four years, for façade restoration work. The hotel’s official sites did not yet mention the closure when we checked on October 18, 2026.
What is the exact closing date?
The hotel has not published an exact date. One outlet, NY1 citing The New York Times, gives January 19, 2027 as the last day of service. Until the hotel confirms, go with « January 2027 » and ask for the date in writing before you book an event or a stay in early 2027.
When will The Plaza reopen?
No reopening date has been announced. The press mentions 2031 at the earliest, but that is an inference from the announced duration, not an official announcement. The 2005-2008 and 2020-2021 closures show that timelines can shift in either direction.
Can you still have tea at the Palm Court before it closes?
The official site lists tea every day from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. (undated page). The press reports that the Palm Court closes with the hotel, but no date has been published. Reservations go through OpenTable, and the announcement relayed by the media does not mention the Palm Court.
How much does the Palm Court tea cost?
The 2026 price is not shown on the official site. The most recent published price is Time Out’s, from August 5, 2024: $120 to $145 per person, with champagne extra. That figure is a ballpark, not a price.
What happens to a room booking for 2027?
No policy has been published: no refund, no rebooking, no loyalty points. A one-off check by La Revue des Hôtels, on October 15, 2026, found no rooms on the nights it tested, from late December to mid-February. Ask for written confirmation, read the cancellation terms, and do not pay a deposit without it.
What are the alternatives to Central Park South for tea?
The most cited options are Baccarat (Grand Salon), The Carlyle (The Gallery), the Mandarin Oriental, The St. Regis (La Maisonette) and The Ritz-Carlton New York, Central Park. Published prices are often from 2024 or undated. Check each price on the venue’s site before you book.
Do you need an ESTA to visit New York in 2027?
Visitors from visa-waiver countries such as France need an ESTA for a short tourist stay; US citizens do not. News sites publish a fee of $40.27, with an unconfirmed $40.62 from October 16, 2026. Check the exact amount on esta.cbp.dhs.gov before you pay, and do not use an intermediary that charges more.
Sources
- The Plaza, official site: no closure announcement as of October 18, 2026.
- Fairmont, hotel page: hours, contacts, check-in and check-out.
- Fairmont, Palm Court page: hours, booking, $75 cancellation fee, dress code.
- The Plaza, guest information: lobby access during the holiday season (undated page).
- The Plaza, Eloise: children’s tea hours.
- New York City, hotel occupancy tax: per-room, per-night tiers.
- NYC Tourism + Conventions: 2025 visitors and 2026 forecast (release of March 24, 2026).
- Time Out New York: closure announcement and 2024 tea prices.
- NY1: last service day, cited from The New York Times (single source).
- Euronews: announcement, four-year duration and full-closure option.
- La Revue des Hôtels: booking engine check of October 15, 2026.
- CBS New York: façade inspection and sidewalk shed (single source).
- Hotel Dive: reported Palm Court closure and impact on operations.
- Le Guide NYC: mention of the Champagne Bar and Grand Ballroom (single source, not confirmed).
- Travel Imperia FR: « 2031 at the earliest » reported (article of October 16, 2026, checked October 18, 2026).
- Wikipedia (EN), Plaza Hotel: address, 282 rooms, façade designation (checked October 18, 2026; designation date to be confirmed with the Landmarks Preservation Commission).
Sources checked October 18, 2026; the official pages are undated.
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