Plaza Hotel Buenos Aires

The Plaza Hotel Buenos Aires is a currently closed five-star hotel in the Retiro district, just steps from the Calle Florida shopping area and overlooking the Plaza San Martín. The hotel, inaugurated in 1909, was part of several international chains including InterContinental, and Marriott, until it was closed in 2017.

Since then, the building has been refurbished and it is expected to be opened in 2027 as a complex that will include apartment buildings and a 12-floor hotel.

At the moment of being inaugurated, the 9-floor Plaza Hotel was the tallest building in Buenos Aires, until it was surpassed by the Kavanagh Building, inaugurated in 1936.

History
The Plaza was developed by local landowner and banker Ernesto Tornquist, in anticipation of the crowds of tourists expected for the 1910 Argentina Centennial celebrations. Facing San Martín Square, the nine-story hotel was designed by German born architect Alfred Zucker and built at the northern end of Florida Street. It was inaugurated as the Plaza Hotel on July 15, 1909 (soon after the death of Tornquist), with the presence of President José Figueroa Alcorta. Tornquist died in 1908 and did not live to see his hotel in operation.

Touted at the time as the finest hotel in South America, it was also its most modern. The original 160 rooms and 16 suites had central heating, telephones, and elevator service. The hotel was wholly furnished by the prestigious London houses of Thompson & Company and Waring & Gillow. Marble sculptures by Gustav Eberlein of Germany and ceiling frescoes by Julio Vila y Prades of Spain added to its decor.

The hotel was completely remodeled in 1934, with much of the elaborate exterior ornamentation removed and the interiors redone in the Art Deco style. Between 1942 and 1948 a large annex was constructed in the rear, along San Martin, designed by architects Carlos Alfredo Rocha and Enrique Martínez Castro. Further expansion by architects Clorindo Testa and Héctor Lacarra in 1977, in preparation for the 1978 FIFA World Cup, brought the number of rooms to nearly 400. The Philippine Embassy in Buenos Aires initially based itself out of the hotel when it opened in 1949.

The hotel was a part of the Inter-Continental Hotels chain from 1981 to 1982 and was briefly renamed the "Plaza Inter-Continental". Marriott Hotels assumed management in 1994 and the hotel was renamed the "Marriott Plaza Hotel Buenos Aires", though the property was still owned by Tornquist's descendants. Following a US$10 million refurbishment, it was awarded a five-star rating. It was renovated ahead of its 100th anniversary in 2009, which was celebrated with tours for local residents and a book about its history.

In 2013, the Tornquist and Shaw families sold the hotel to the Grupo Sutton Dabbah for 280 million Pesos (approximately $48 million US at the time) and the hotel left Marriott, returning to its historic name, the "Plaza Hotel Buenos Aires".

The hotel closed on April 29, 2017. Its furnishings and contents were sold to the public in 2021. Plans were announced in 2022 for a complete reconstruction of the hotel, designed by BMA, architecture firm based in Argentina, Chile and Miami, with interior design by local architect Martín Zanotti. The Sutton Sabbah family also owns the Llao Llao and Icon Hotels, and Galerías Pacífico shopping mall.

The work will cost $50 million. The original 1909 structure will be converted to luxury residences. The 1948 extension was demolished in 2022 and will be replaced by a new 12-story hotel tower. The hotel is expected to reopen in 2027.

Famous guests
• Andre Agassi

• Louis Armstrong

• Neil Armstrong

• Michael Collins

• Björn Borg

• Charles Bronson

• Enrico Caruso

• Charles De Gaulle

• Indira Gandhi

• Charlton Heston

• Jacques Cousteau

• Mikhail Baryshnikov

• Jonas Salk

• Plácido Domingo

• Nat King Cole

• Filippo Marinetti

• Maria Callas

• Rock Hudson

• Juan Carlos I of Spain and Queen Sofía of Spain

• Julián Marías

• José Ortega y Gasset

• Yul Brynner

• Ray Bradbury

• Aristotle Onassis

• Luciano Pavarotti

• Edith Piaf

• Nelson Piquet

• Raphael

• Theodore Roosevelt

• Albert Sabin

• Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and Farah Pahlavi

• Rabindranath Tagore

• Arturo Toscanini

• Robert A. Heinlein

• Charles Mangin

• Youssef Salim Karam

• Isadora Duncan

• Josephine Baker

• Jagatjit Singh

• Bob Dylan

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