Great Hotels Through Time

The fortunes of The Plaza go hand in hand with the great city where it stands overlooking Central Park. New York was thriving when the hotel was built in 1907, and it remains one of the most expensive hotels in the city's entire history, costing the equivalent of half a billion dollars to build. It had all the mod cons, including 17,000 electric lights and an air-conditioned room especially for ladies' fur coats! Today, there are 102 luxury suites, which can set you back up to £30k a night. Its history is undoubtedly dramatic - it survived Prohibition and the Wall Street Crash, and it's where The Beatles signed 'the break-up papers' and Marilyn Monroe caused a stir with a dress malfunction. Series Prod/Dir: Jamie Simpson; Exec Prod: Lucy Carter; Voltage TV (S2 Ep4)