Major news from New York City's luxury hotel scene: The iconic Plaza Hotel has joined Historic Hotels of America, a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
To be selected for membership in Historic Hotels of America, a hotel must be at least 50 years old, listed in or eligible for the National Register of Historic Places or recognized locally as having historic significance. (For the record, the Plaza is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places and designated both a U.S. National Historic Landmark and a NYC Landmark.) The Hotel has 282 hotel rooms, private residences, destination restaurants, an exclusive retail collection, and meeting and event spaces. In 2008, it completed a $450 million, three-year, lobby-to-roof renovation.
The landmark hotel is now one of more than 235 hotels and resorts throughout the country that is recognized by Historic Hotels of America for "preserving and maintaining its historic integrity, architecture and ambiance."