La Perla, bar atop downtown El Paso’s Plaza Hotel, now open
EL PASO, Texas -- Thursday marks the opening of La Perla, the rooftop bar at the Plaza Hotel Pioneer Park.
It was the only aspect of the now-functioning historic hotel that remained closed.
"They're finally going to see what the full vision of the hotel was," said Shanon Woodruff, the marketing manager of the Plaza Hotel Pioneer Park. "We have our bar area. We have our south terrace, we have our north terrace, and we have our east terrace."
Hotel management provided ABC-7 a sneak peek ahead of the opening of the bar. The main attraction is the nearly 360-degree view of the Borderland from 17 stories above ground.
"When you walk in you're going to be greeted with beautiful Carrera marble everywhere. And gold accents taking you back to classic Hollywood glamour," Woodruff said.
The area was the penthouse apartment when the hotel first operated decades ago.
"I mean, Elizabeth Taylor lived here. How can you beat that, right?" Woodruff said. "We got the name La Perla from (a pearl) she used to wear, La Pellagrino. So it was nod to her in that aspect."
The classic hotel is upgraded with 2020 safety measures.
"When Covid hit, we decided to scale back and hold on to La Perla for a little bit longer. As a historic hotel, we don't have the largest elevators. Of course, like it happens with all historic buildings," he added.
Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, only guests of the Plaza Hotel will be able to enjoy La Perla. But the restrictions aren't dulling the shine on this new bar.
"I tell everyone that this is the jewel in the crown of the El Paso skyline," Woodruff said. "Finally being able to open up and bring people in -- it's something we're really excited about. It's something we hope everyone will love as much as we do."
All guests must wear masks at the bar and use hand sanitizing stations.
La Perla will be open to guests only for the foreseeable future from Thursday through Saturday from 4 to 11 p.m.
