I just spent a night at the 375-key Waldorf Astoria New York, which reopened in mid-2025, after a transformative eight-year renovation. I’ve been intrigued by this hotel, given what an icon it is, and also how much it changed since pre-renovation (when it had 1,400+ rooms).
Continue reading: Waldorf Astoria New York: Historic, Grand, Friendly, Spacious, Pricey Hotel
Share your questions, experiences, and thoughts below.
Thanks for posting this so quickly. As much as I'd love to get good value on my free night cert to stay here on my overnight layover in New York in September (room rates are $1700!), I'm not so sure if it's worth me having to trek to JFK at 3am to catch my connection just to stay here...
@Lucky unrelated, but it appears AA has pulled all award biz inventory on their own metal. Maybe a glitch, or perhaps finally the great reckoning is here.
Your bar assessment is correct. For a NY comparison, it's one thing to pay that per drink over at Bemelman's at the Carlyle - you'll be getting nice snacks as well (yes there's also a cover charge for the excellent music, well worth it though). But to sit in an admittedly nicely renovated lobby... if it's the company's money who cares, if it's my money no way.
I saw that as well, PE also I think not showing, I'm assuming a glitch, but... we will see. Not sure why they'd need to pull everything to reprice it, although with dynamic pricing, who knows.
@ Sel, D. -- We'll see what happens, but this strikes me as a glitch. American already has dynamic award pricing, so there's no logical reason availability would have to be pulled if there were some negative developments in store. Something to keep an eye out on, though, and I could be wrong. 🙂
Wow, no JFK to Delhi business class available for any dates, that was just yesterday at the bargain miles price of 350k AA miles for a seat for flights next week!
I also really liked the rooms and thought the renovations were very well done. My main issue with Peacock is that it's incredibly noisy and this hard to have a conversation, especially if you're sitting on the side closer to where they play the music.
For those wanting to stay here, the key is making sure they don't have any events taking place. Their ball room, while beautiful, can host thousands... And they have other event spaces on top of that.
If they want a 5 star Exxon Mobile rating they have to serve a trio of snacks. I
I think there's a disconnect when you (rightly so) describe the high F&B pricing, yet go on to highly recommend the hotel.
@ JHS -- I try to objective in what I share. But what is the moral of the story supposed to be here? "Don't stay at this $1,000 per night hotel, and instead stay at the Park Hyatt New York, which doesn't have a real restaurant, but cocktails are $10 cheaper?"
I had a drink at the bar recently and they did in fact give me a trio of snacks
that’s a fair point.
More philosophical disagreement I guess. Your excellent blog positions itself as a miles knowledge center (hence the name). So I am under the assumption you are mostly writing for people collecting miles and status. However if most readers are paying 1,000+ dollars per night then yes you’re
The cocktail prices are ridiculous but I didn’t feel out of the range of other luxury properties in NYC. But our $42 cappuccinos, that’s another story, insane. Strange you didn’t get snacks, we did both nights. And live music. And a great waiter comped our first round of drinks because it took so long. The bar seen 5-8 was four deep at the bar, luckily if staying at the hotel, they get you seated right away. Such a grand, beautiful space, I’d pay more for that.
Lucky, seems you hit the off season.
The pricing is not that expensive if you compare it to other luxury hotels in NYC such as the St Regis or Ritz Carlton and consider at $1,000 per night, that is probably the off season rate.
It always surprises me how poor and expensive breakfasts are in American hotels...$34 for an omelette ? Which costs no more than $3-5? Same price in LA, SF and even Philadelphia. With coffee and service/tip it comes to $60. In 5* hotel in Europe you will get a real feast for that kind of money. CRAZY.
I had a drink in Peacock Alley years ago with friends of the family. I was just a poor Flight Attendant trying to survive in NYC - I was in awe of the hotel.
Glad it has been restored to it's former beauty.
But with those F&B costs - I'll stick to the Holiday Inn Express.
They are catering to a clientele that pays $1000+ a night for a room. I doubt anyone paying that much really cares if breakfast is $20 or $60.
You would be surprised. A lot of wealthy people partially got that way because they like getting value for their money.
You don’t get rich by writing a lot of checks. The super-rich don’t stay in deluxe hotels when they visit New York, because they own a home there. The rest are marks, ripe for the pickin’, and it sounds as though they’re lining-up to be fleeced by the great Palace of Beige that is the Chinese-owned Waldorf Astoria.
The hotel looks really nice, but is the gym actually that special? It lacks a nice design and the jungle wallpaper makes it look super cheap , and when a gym uses Life Fitness machines like those, I just can’t take it seriously. Have you ever tried the elliptical or the stairclimber? They feel flimsy and cheap for some serious training.
I stayed at the Waldorf about 15 years ago, long before its renovation. While my stay was enjoyable overall, I couldn’t shake the feeling that it was vastly overpriced. Even back then, it seemed like the hotel attracted a crowd eager to flaunt a particular lifestyle. As someone earlier alluded to, "You don’t get wealthy by letting people price-gouge me," and I certainly don’t consider myself in the "money is no object" category.
The pricing at places like the Waldorf feels out of step with what I’ve experienced elsewhere in the world. It’s one of the reasons my family and I decided to permanently leave the U.S. a few years ago. For what you’re asked to spend at the Waldorf, there are countless other destinations and experiences that offer far better value and a much richer experience at a fraction of the cost.
To me, spending money is always about value. I’m happy to invest in quality experiences, but the return has to match the price tag. Spending thousands of dollars on an overpriced city that’s plagued by crime and other societal issues simply doesn’t appeal to me. The Waldorf may offer luxury, but luxury isn’t the only thing that matters when I’m considering how to spend my hard-earned money.
Thanks for reminding me about this hotel. We will definitely use a FNC and check it out. Otherwise, the price is laughable.
I live in the area and FWIW, I've popped into the bar and they gave me free snacks with my drinks and had live music, which I think they said they have every night outside of maybe Monday? I'd be curious to know how far in advance you used your FNC however - I had thought about using mine for a staycation for me and my partner but have yet to find any dates with any availability
Gym looks fantastic! Spacious and, most importantly, no crappy TechnoGym benches. The number of high end hotels that just buy 'pretty' looking TechnoGym equipment (and possibly never test it), is astonishing. Their equipment is horrible. Whereas LifeFitness benches and equipment are actually sturdy and useable for, you know, actual workouts.
Only possible red flag is it still looks like they only have 1 adjustable bench?? Unless there are others not pictured in the photos. Whenever I'm in a hotel gym with more than 3 or 4 people, typically at least 2 of them are using benches for their workout. They really need to prioritize more benches and it's probably a much cheaper and more efficient thing than the heavy fixed machines.
If you think that’s bad you should see what my luxury high rise bought Hoist even worse than techno gym
Took out Iconic cyber vR2 equipt
I’m with Reyyan’s comment re: the gym. Doesn’t look that special from your pics. Doesn’t seem like an inspiring space to spend time in. Feels gloomy and depressing. The cheap-looking wallpaper seems a random, poor choice.
Can we also talk about the breakfast. The selection feels worthy of an unrenovated Sheraton next to the beltway of a declining, tier three US city. Chicken and waffles with gravy? smh.
I can confirm as of Feb 17 they served mixed nuts and cheese crackers at the bar and they were amazing.
Agreed. I may be willing to spend $1000 bucks to stay at the WA but that doesn't mean I'll happily pay $150 for breakfast for two on an average day. I have $1000 to spend at the WA precisely because I don't just drop $150 on breakfast.