The Plaza, 768 Park Ave

Tom, Jordan, Daisy, Nick and the Great Gatsby get a suite at The Plaza to shelter from the summer heat after their drive up to New York and take some refreshing Mint Juleps while playing out one of the most confronting scenes of this brilliant novel where Tom and Gatsby compete for Daisy and ultimately Gatsby loses her.

F. Scott Fitzgerald was a big fan of elegant 19 storey hotel, The Plaza, he was a resident for some time - Hemmingway famously advising him to leave his liver to Princeton and his heart to The Plaza and there were several stories published in the tabloids of the time about he and Zelda splashing around in the Pulitzer Fountain (donated by the journalist) after rowing in what is now called The Edwardian Room. In a fantastic location overlooking Central Park, it’s glamorous, luxurious and reassuringly expensive. The Plaza was first opened in 1907 and has been recently remodelled in the style of it’s Gatsby era heyday when it became so popular that well known names of the day were taking up residence and enjoying the mod cons, stylish décor and fantastic, plush public spaces.

It’s pretty expensive to book a suite for Mint Juleps and in the recent remodel a lot of the front of the building has been made into swanky flats but you can still have a Mint Julep in the Oak Bar or you can see it in the film version (for once the proper location was used!). So many important events have happened in The Plaza that the exterior has been listed as an Historic Landmark and can’t be altered, but the guts of the building aren’t protected so you may not get quite the authentic experience you were hoping for. The good news is that the original reception foyer is supposed to have been kept intact so you can check in just like Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Beatles and JFK (among others.).

Written by  Sophie Edgerton.

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