Opulence and spaciousness are hallmarks of The Plaza, the storied Manhattan hotel that reopened March 1 after a two-year, $400-million renovation. With 282 units, including 152 suites with the largest square footage of any luxury property in New York City, the hotel aims to conjure an earlier, more relaxed and more formal era. Key to the magic: a restored Palm Court, site of the Plaza's famous afternoon tea.

Time hasn't stood still for the 100-year-old Plaza, which is managed by Toronto-based Fairmont Hotels & Resorts. Not only is the Palm Court, refurbished at a cost of $15 million alone, back and refreshed, there is the new Champagne Bar, and the Rose Club will open late this month. The clubby, masculine Oak Bar, where Cary Grant was kidnapped in Hitchcock's "North by Northwest," should reopen this spring.

Inspired by the Louis XV style of French dŽcor, the Plaza is the only hotel in the world offering 24-karat gold-plated sinks and fixtures, and gracing handcrafted solid white marble vanities in its bathrooms. According to the New York Times, Ed-Al Group of Israel, which bought the Plaza in 2004 for $675 million, has invested more than the gross domestic product of Monaco in the icon.