Maksoud Plaza’s past guests are evicted at hotel closure

Marina Gryczynki, 26, from Paraná, grew up hearing stories from her grandfather and parents about their stays at the iconic Maksoud Plaza, in São Paulo, which, after 42 years of operation, closed its doors this Tuesday morning (7).

When he decided to stay at the hotel for the first time last Thursday (2), he had no idea that he would be part of the final moments of the establishment he has hosted from the Rolling Stones to Margareth Thatcher.

He found out when he returned from a tour of the capital of São Paulo, on Monday night (6), and found the building empty, his bags at the reception and a notice from employees that the hotel had closed its activities that afternoon, the day before the end of its reservation.

“It was a somewhat embarrassing situation for the employees too. They didn’t quite know what to do,” says Marina.

A graduate student in hotel management and the daughter of businessmen in the area, Marina was in São Paulo with her boyfriend, architect Eduardo Gomes, 34. During the days they stayed, they were enchanted by the hotel’s 1950s furniture, they watched a piano performance in the lobby and Formula 1 qualifiers on Saturday, and they frequented the bar, famous for its cocktails.

“We didn’t see any signs that the hotel could be closing. The service and cleaning were impeccable”, says Eduardo.

According to management, the hotel last week stopped making reservations for any dates after this Monday. “Since last week, we no longer accept reservations, programming ourselves not to interrupt the guests’ stay,” he told sheet the hotel’s executive president, Henry Maksoud Neto.

The other guests were advised of the need to checkout this Monday morning and left the establishment at noon.

Marina and Eduardo, however, claim that they made the reservation through a website and paid for the stay until this Tuesday. Management tried to contact the couple by telephone several times to advise them of the need for an early checkout, without success. Letters informing them of the closure were also sent to the room they were staying in, according to the hotel. The couple, who took several trips around the city during their stay, said they missed the calls and didn’t receive any letters.​

Barred door after tour

“They weren’t able to notify us. We returned from the tour at 7 pm and were stopped at the door by security. Our bags were at the reception and they informed us that the hotel was closed. We could not go up to our room”, says Eduardo.

“It was deserted. All the guests were gone, and so were many of the staff. It was a ‘last out turns out the light’ feeling. They said they were just waiting for us to leave.”

The couple was helped by an employee to find a place at a nearby hotel, but was informed that they would have to be responsible for the costs of the new accommodation and would have to request a refund for the night already paid to the reservations website.

They regret not having been notified at check-in about the possibility of closing the hotel. “But after the nervousness passed, we thought it was cool that, in a way, we were part of the hotel’s history as the last guests”, says Marina.

“It’s a shame it closed. It was an old building, but with a good renovation, they could bring back the gold that it was. We’re hoping it’s still a hotel, because it has too much history to be anything else.”