New York’s Iconic Plaza Hotel Will Close for at Least Four Years Starting January 2027

The landmark Fifth Avenue property is shutting its doors after the holiday season for a massive facade restoration.

New York City’s most famous hotel is going dark — temporarily. The Plaza Hotel confirmed that it will close following the 2026 holiday season for an extensive repair and restoration of its landmark-protected facade, a project expected to keep the 18-story Fifth Avenue landmark closed for at least four years. FOX Weather tipped coverage of the announcement as “no parties at the Plaza until 2031.”

Operator Fairmont Hotels & Resorts said the scope and complexity of the facade works require detailed planning, coordination with preservation stakeholders and strict adherence to historic requirements — disruption significant enough that keeping the hotel open during restoration was not viable.

The building’s history drives the problem. Designed by Henry Janeway Hardenbergh in 1907, the Plaza’s lower levels are built from rusticated marble, while the upper floors use polished, smooth marble. Rusticated marble deteriorates faster from weather exposure and typically needs restoration within about twenty years. The timing is notable: the upcoming project lands just 19 years after the hotel’s earlier facade renovation.

Preservation oversight is a major factor in both cost and duration:

• The building and its interiors carry national, city and registered landmark designations
• The Landmarks Preservation Commission is working closely with the hotel
• Design firm HLZAE is overseeing the masonry restoration

Not everyone sees the closure as unavoidable. The city’s Department of Buildings said a recent inspection flagged the facade as unsafe — the reason a sidewalk shed surrounds the property — but confirmed nothing on the city’s end prevents the hotel from staying open during repairs. Long-term residents in the building may feel the impact most, though the hotel has not detailed how they will be handled.