“Nothing unimportant happens at The Plaza ”, it was once said of New York ’s dazzling Gilded Age hotel fringing Central Park . Who uttered this bold statement remains a mystery, but many like to believe it was F Scott Fitzgerald, author of The Great Gatsby and Plaza regular along with his wife Zelda , in the roaring 1920s. A lavish suite here is also where one of the novel’s key dramatic scenes takes place.
From my white-clothed table next to a tall potted palm, I glance over at the curved bar opposite. I can easily picture the party-hungry pair perched on high stools, chatting and laughing, wafting around cigarettes in holders and chugging back cocktail after cocktail. My daydreams take place while I’m indulging in a Central Park afternoon tea at the hotel’s legendary Palm Court.
Sipping champagne beneath the room’s ornate Victorian glass skylight, I must confess to feeling quite important. Even the tiny cucumber sandwiches are a major event – dainty bite-sized morsels with lemon zest and mint labneh – and the bizarre-sounding egg custard and jam combo a pleasant surprise. Ahead of The Great Gatsby ‘s 100th anniversary in 2025, I was at the start of a whistlestop weekend trip to discover the real-life setting that inspired the novel, which would start and end in Manhattan .
But first, I had to peel myself away from the opulence of the Plaza, and my Gatsby Suite: a $2,500 (£1,911)-a-night Art Deco dream created to honour Australian film director Baz Luhrm.
