282 rooms leave Fifth Avenue in January
Fairmont Hotels & Resorts announced on Wednesday 14 October 2026 that The Plaza Hotel in New York closes in January for at least four years. The work covers the facade of the landmark building on Fifth Avenue at the southeast corner of Central Park.
The release gives the reason as “significant intrusion to operations” and puts the full scope and complexity under review. The hotel opened in 1907 and sits in Accor’s Fairmont brand. Its own site lists 282 guestrooms, 102 of them suites.
Representatives for the hotel declined to comment beyond the release.
What closes with the rooms
The New York Times reported on 14 October 2026 that the event rooms and the Palm Court restaurant close in January. The New York Post reported the same on 15 October 2026 for the 282 rooms, the Palm Court and the event spaces.
Whether the building’s 181 condominium units empty out stays unclear. The Post reported that residents use their own entrance on the 58th Street side. Brokers with clients in the building told the Post that residents will stay through the works.
The 2031 window
The announcement carried no reopening date. The Post reported that the closure could keep the hotel dark until 2031. Fairmont has disclosed neither the scope of the work nor its cost.
The condominium market behind the 58th Street door
Douglas Elliman broker Michael Passaro told the Post that 29 units sit on the market. He closed a $10.625 million sale in the building in February 2025. The Post reported that Valery and Olga Kogan sold a roughly 5,000-square-foot unit for $21 million against an original $38 million ask.
Owners also face unit work outside the facade contract. Many units date to the mid-2000s conversion and need updating, and that cost lands on individual owners.
The workforce
The Chief-Leader reported on 19 October 2026 that the hotel’s unionised staff face the four-year closure with jobs promised after the hiatus.
2005, Elad Properties and the $450 million rebuild
The hotel’s own timeline records the 2005 closure for a lobby-to-roof restoration by Elad Properties and the 2008 reopening after a $450 million restoration. Travel Daily records the same sequence, with the reopening three years later after a USD 450 million overhaul.
The gaps in the published record
No cost has been published for the facade works. No scope beyond the exterior has been published. No reopening date has been published. No statement covers wedding bookings into 2027.
The fixed facts are these. Closure in January 2027. At least four years. A 2031 reopening if the schedule holds. 282 rooms off the Fifth Avenue market. 181 condominiums behind their own door.