New York — After a three-year, $400 million renovation, the landmark Plaza Hotel is booking $1,000-a-night rooms and serving afternoon tea in the famed Palm Court beneath a newly restored stained-glass ceiling.

"We just had to see inside," said Owen Mathieu, visiting from Marblehead, Mass., for the soft opening in March. "We've seen it in the movies. Everybody's heard of it."

Diane Bondareff / AP (ENLARGE)

The $400 million lobby-to-roof renovation of the Plaza was accomplished in three years.

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The hotel plans a grand opening May 10. Its storied Palm Court, an elegant dining room decorated with palm trees that serves breakfast, lunch, dinner and afternoon tea, is open already, along with a new Champagne Bar in the lobby. By May or June, the famed Oak Bar will be back in service, along with a new lounge called the Rose Club. Also opening then will be 160,000 square feet of high-end retail space, including a spa.

The Plaza, which is a National Historic Landmark, opened in 1907. Marilyn Monroe was photographed here, guests have included the Beatles and Frank Lloyd Wright, and Truman Capote threw his Black and White Ball in the ballroom. Scenes were shot at the Plaza for movies ranging from "North by Northwest" to "Barefoot in the Park" to "Home Alone 2." Owners have included Conrad Hilton and Donald Trump.

Many fans also know the hotel from children's books by Kay Thompson about a naughty little girl named Eloise who lives at the Plaza. A portrait of Eloise hung in the lobby for nearly 50 years; hotel officials say it will be back up this spring.

The Plaza's current owners, Elad Properties, originally planned to convert all guest rooms into condominiums, but the plan was criticized by preservationists and the hotel workers' union. Negotiations with Mayor Michael Bloomberg led to a deal that resulted in 282 hotel rooms, down from the original 805, and 181 apartments.

"When you hear $1,000 a night for a room it might seem like a lot, but in the end it's not about the price, it's about the experience," said Bill Carroll, a professor at Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration. "It's such a unique destination. It really is about the cachet." Carroll spent his honeymoon at the Plaza 41 years ago.

Hotel general manager Shane Krige said the renovated guest rooms "bridge the world between the old and the new" with flat-screen TVs, electronic key cards, iPod docks and digital touch screens that let guests change lighting and temperature or call for assistance. Touches of old-fashioned opulence include 24-karat gold-plated faucets, mosaic bathroom floors and white-gloved butlers, one per floor, on call 24 hours. Guests of all ages can request an "Eloise" bubble bath, with milk and cookies.

Ruthann Picerno of Lyndhurst, N.J., checking in with two friends in March, said she was thrilled to be among the first guests. "I wanted to stay here since I was 17. When they closed, I was crushed."

ABOUT THE PLAZA

The Plaza Hotel, Fifth Avenue and 59th Street, Manhattan. Nightly room rates begin at $1,000. Afternoon tea: 2-5 p.m. daily in the Palm Court. Reservations required. Standard menu, $60; alternate menu with lobster, caviar and truffles, $100. (No jeans, T-shirts or sneakers.) www.fairmont.com/theplaza, 1-800-257-7544, 212-759-3000.