Opening October 1988 Architect Hiss & Weekes | Floor count 23 | |
 | ||
Location 700 Fifth Avenue at 55th Street
Manhattan, New York City Owner Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels Management Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels | ||
The Peninsula New York is a luxury hotel located on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 55th Street. The hotel is part of the Peninsula Hotel Group who are based in Hong Kong and owned and operated by The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels, Limited. The hotel was bought in 1988 by the Peninsula group for a price of $127 million. The Peninsula New York has received the AAA Five Diamond Award for thirteen consecutive years and in 2007 it was named one of the greatest hotels in the world by Travel + Leisure Magazine.
Contents
Location
The Peninsula Hotel is located on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 55th Street. This being the most expensive street in the world, a number of flagship stores are nearby. These include De Beers, Fendi, Armani, Prada and Abercrombie & Fitch. Some tourist attractions near the hotel include Rockefeller center, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) and Radio City Music Hall. The closest Subway station to the hotel is the Fifth Ave Avenue Station located on East 53rd street.
History
The hotel was built in 1905 as the Gotham Hotel. It is designed in the neo-classical style. It went into bankruptcy in 1908 partly because it could not acquire a liquor license as it was too close to The Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church and also as it was overshadowed by more luxurious hotels like the Plaza Hotel just a few blocks north and the St. Regis just across the street from the Gotham. The hotel was acquired in the 1930s by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. As they needed the maximum amount of leasable retail floor area, the company tore out many of the hotel's public rooms. In 1979, the Swiss hotel owner Rene Hatt took over the hotel and started a long renovation process, intending to reopen it as the Nova Park Hotel. It was this renovation which added the hotel's rooftop pool and fitness centre. The Nova Park plan failed, and the hotel was finally reopened in 1987, after $200 million in work, as the Hotel Maxim's de Paris, an outpost of the famed Paris restaurant Maxim's. That enterprise quickly failed, and the hotel was sold again in 1988 to its current owners, the Peninsula Hotels. They spent $45 million on a second renovation in 1999.
John William Warde
John William Warde was a 26-year-old native of Southampton, New York who committed suicide on July 26, 1938. He leaped from a window ledge of the 17th floor of the Gotham Hotel. This case of suicide is famous because an estimated crowd of 10,000 gathered below to watch the events and 400 police officers were also present to try and convince him to come back inside. The 1951 motion picture Fourteen Hours is based on the events of that day.
Features
The hotel offers a limousine transfer service to New York's three main airports; John F. Kennedy International Airport, Newark Liberty International Airport and LaGuardia Airport. For these transfers there is a choice between limousines or Mini Clubmans.
The six function rooms have a combined floor area of 3,500 sq ft. The hotel has three restaurants; Salon De Ning who specialize in Chinese food, the Yabu Pushelberg-designed Clement, named after The Hongkong and Shanghai Hotels Limited CEO Mr Clement Kwok, and the Gotham Lounge named after the hotel's original name.
The Fitness Centre at the Peninsula New York is located at the top floor. The pool is in a glass-enclosed room and during the summer a sundeck is available. The Spa at the Peninsula is one of the biggest in New York City with a floor area of 35,000 sq ft (3,300 m2) spaced out over three floors.