Back in the day, the Waldorf Astoria New York was one of the most well-known hotels in New York, and for that matter, in the United States. However, a lot has changed in the past decade.
Continue reading: Iconic Waldorf Astoria New York Reopens, After Eight Year Closure
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
NY Times covered the hotel's history & renovation:
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/07/14/travel/waldorf-astoria-hotel-new-york-reopening.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Wk8.pASD.DxG7eY00pRYc&smid=url-share
The big question is whether the culture of service it has maintained for decades can be restored. There's no "memory" of service to be passed from that prior generation.
I thought those room pictures were pre-renovation... wow they're dated and boring.
Those Admiralty Arch pics are a bit unrealistic as its before construction started. Rooms are mainly in two modern wings being bolted on either side, with a good chance of having to walk across the bridge every time you go from one side to the other.
A lot of the public areas (except the restaurant) really give off that 1920s vintage feel, which I appreciate a lot considering the building's history. The ballroom especially looks gorgeous. The rooms and restaurant much less so, there's little color with all the white and beige that it feels more sterile and modern-style minimalist.
How is it a good option at 150,000 points per night for what would be room only?
The public areas in the New York property are magnificent, but the rooms are bland, beige, and boring. I hope this isn't what's in store for Park Hyatt Tokyo...
Who is the current owner?
When the Chinese bought it, the US government pulled out. The US ambassador to the United Nations had their official, government-paid residence at the hotel. Also, the hotel was the hotel for all senior US government officials visiting NYC. The ownership change prompted its closure for renovations from what I understand.
I wonder if the old underground railroad track is still there. Back in the day, FDR when he was president had his train arrive under the hotel.
There actually are some phenomenal hotels in NYC from a service perspective. They just aren't points properties... Fouquet's, 5th Ave, Fasano, Whitby, The Greenwich, The Surrey, and even most of the classics (usually) like the Mark, Carlyle FS, etc.
Presumably the design brief for the rooms was ‘make sure you pick all the things an 80+ year old couple would choose at home’…
Seems like the standard room awards are blocked for the first couple of months. Also not able to see standard king size room available for cash rate as well, are they still renovating those rooms?
My late husband was a SVP with Waldorf Astoria Hotels and Resorts and part of his job was staying frequently at all of the properties and I was asked to join him, all expenses paid or course and suite upgrades, of course. Bob passed away in 2018. I see that I must travel up to New York and have a smart cocktail in Peacock Alley and toast his love for this hotel.
Almost wish for a DCS return to talk about what truly is the pinnacle of the NYC hotel scene.
Ok maybe not…
Yawn, another overpriced underwhelming NYC hotel yearning for the glory days of past when all the socialites were seen there. I could give two sh*ts about the piano in ballroom and vast corridor. Hard pass.
I appreciate understated elegance, but, that rendering of the bed and its immediate surrounds is plain boring AF. The sitting area rendering is a bit better. But overall, the decorators could have amped up the style factor, and still achieved understated elegance. They didn't. This is too bland and generic to live up to its grand name. Looking forward to your review, Ben.
Did the new owners bug the hotel and internet?
Or is that just a Mossad Epstein thing.
My first three visits to NYC were spent at the Waldorf. It was something of a shame not to be able to for my fourth. Yes, the rooms don't look particularly exciting but I'll take "neutral" over the previous "increasingly tatty" theme! The public spaces were always great but the rooms were desperately in need of renovation even at the time of my first visit in 2005 - it took 20 years for that to happen...
Welcome to New York, where the only thing higher than the buildings is the hotel room rates.
Yep, fly to NYC in F and stay there a week or take the same amount of money, fly J to France, and spend a month at a charming hotel in Provence
I am wondering when Intercontinental Frankfurt will ever reopen. It is a major part of the city’s skyline, but it remains closed today with no clear signs of reopening.
Not impressed. Feels like a luxury Hilton and it always did. There are many nicer or better places to stay in NYC. Furthermore their pricing isn't outrageous. That's the price of luxury hotels there, but there is a difference between this and real luxury.