Want to take advantage of Hilton for Luxury benefits at no extra cost (when paying for your stay with cash), including a room upgrade, free breakfast, a hotel credit, and more? Contact Ford ([email protected]) for more details. He doesn’t charge booking fees, and may even be able to help if you already have a stay booked.
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).
I booked my stay with a Hilton Honors free night award (the rate would’ve otherwise been around $1,000 or 150,000 Hilton Honors points), as a Hilton Honors Diamond member. Note that if you’re paying cash, you’re generally best off booking through Hilton for Luxury, so you can take advantage of extra perks.
While I’ll have a full review soon, in this post I’d like to share some initial impressions. Long story short, the property exceeded my expectations. This is a gorgeously restored, grand hotel, with such a great sense of place. It has spacious rooms, friendly service, and a massive gym. That being said, I found the food & beverage outlets to be extortionately priced, without actually delivering that great of an experience.
All-in-all, I’d highly recommend this property, and this is definitely one of my new go-to luxury points hotel in New York, perhaps along with the Ritz-Carlton NoMad New York (which has a totally different vibe and location).
In this post:
The Waldorf Astoria New York is a historic masterpiece
The Waldorf Astoria is a New York icon, having operated in its current location since 1931. Prior to closing for a renovation, the hotel was definitely a bit past its prime.
So I can’t help but give the hotel’s owners perfect marks for the way they restored this property, to bring it back to its old glory days. The interior design project was led by Pierre-Yves Rochon (also behind properties like the Four Seasons George V), and the team did an amazing job maintaining the hotel’s charm and sense of place, while making it more luxurious and less outdated.
For now I’ll just share a few pictures, and then I’ll have a lot more details in the full review.
The Waldorf Astoria New York has huge & comfortable rooms
A vast majority of the rooms at the Waldorf Astoria New York are suites, though even the limited number of non-suites are spacious, with the deluxe king rooms (which I stayed in) measuring 575 square feet. I thought it felt more like a junior suite than anything, and I appreciated the double sinks, soaking tub, walk-in shower, etc.
I thought the room design was tasteful without being anything too over-the-top or memorable, which is probably the right approach to take for a historic property with such iconic public spaces, since you don’t want to have room finishes that contradict the design in other parts of the hotel.
The Waldorf Astoria New York has very friendly service
I don’t necessarily have the best impression of service in New York City hotels, and with nearly 400 rooms, I was expecting the Waldorf Astoria to maybe not have very good service.
So I have to say, I was positively impressed by the employees. It was clear that all staff had an incredible sense of pride to be working at this historic property, and I think this hotel definitely punches above its weight when it comes to service.
Just to give one example, the very friendly bellmen who helped us with our bags upon arrival had asked for our names at the time (to let the front desk know we were coming), and several hours later when we left the hotel, he still remembered our names, and addressed us by them. For a hotel with 375 rooms, that’s amazing.
The Waldorf Astoria New York dining outlets are expensive
The Waldorf Astoria New York has three food & beverage outlets — there’s Peacock Alley (the iconic lobby bar) Lex Yard (the signature restaurant), and Yoshoku (a Japanese restaurant). The Japanese restaurant was closed during our stay.
Peacock Alley is of course a very impressive venue, and you can’t help but be in awe at what a space it is.
Here’s the thing — I’d like to think that I have realistic expectations when it comes to how much things should cost, and as a result, I rarely have sticker shock. But I found the pricing here to be borderline offensive, with cocktails ranging from $32 to $38, and that’s before tax and tip. Yowzers.
What bothered me most wasn’t the price as such. Instead, I feel like if you’re going to charge $35 for a classic negroni, at least proactively serve it with some nice bar snacks, and make it a little bit of an experience. To me it just shows a lack of effort when you’re charging that amount for a drink, and offer nothing with it (there wasn’t live music or anything else special, to create a vibe).
Take Les Airelles Courchevel, for example — that’s also how much they charge for each cocktail, but you get a little pizza and a tray of nuts when you order drinks.
I had breakfast at Lex Yard, the hotel’s signature restaurant, which is beautiful.
Let’s just say that your $50 daily Hilton Honors Diamond credit won’t go very far. 😉
My baked egg white frittata cost $35, and while tasty… ouch.
Anyway, you of course expect to pay high prices at a luxury hotel in New York, but I thought the prices here were on the steep side without the experience otherwise reflecting that. I guess they’re just charging for the venue, which is (in a way) fair enough. But still, these drink prices are materially higher than at Aman New York…
The Waldorf Astoria New York gym is amazing
The Waldorf Astoria New York has a Guerlain Spa, though what impressed me most was the gym. This is the best gym I’ve ever seen at a hotel in New York (in fairness, I haven’t stayed at the Equinox Hotel, and I’d hope that offers access to a better gym). But wow, what a facility!
For what it’s worth, the hotel doesn’t have a pool, which will be a downside for some…
Bottom line
I’m happy I had the chance to stay at the Waldorf Astoria New York, after its insanely long restoration. All-in-all, the property exceeded my expectations, with beautiful historic design, big rooms, friendly service, and an incredible gym.
I’d recommend this property, and I think it’s among the more compelling luxury points hotels in New York. The Park Hyatt has a nice pool but is otherwise sort of lackluster (how does it still not have a real restaurant?!), and among historic properties, I prefer this to the St. Regis.
Admittedly the Waldorf Astoria is for those looking for an old world vibe, since this isn’t some modern, trendy, young hotel, if that’s what you’re after.
What’s your take on the Waldorf Astoria New York?
I can confirm as of Feb 17 they served mixed nuts and cheese crackers at the bar and they were amazing.
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.
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....
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 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
Thanks for reminding me about this hotel. We will definitely use a FNC and check it out. Otherwise, the price is laughable.
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...
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.
10 Dollar plus plus for an avocado?
Ouch
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 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.
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.
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 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.
At this price point I expect white table cloths in the restaurant.
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...
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.
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
I think there's a disconnect when you (rightly so) describe the high F&B pricing, yet go on to highly recommend the hotel.
100% agree.
@ 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?"
Easy solution: stay at the hotel, go somewhere else for drinks and food.
If they want a 5 star Exxon Mobile rating they have to serve a trio of snacks. I
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.
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.
@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.
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!
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...