The Much Anticipated Waldorf Astoria London Admiralty Arch Finally Opening!

The Waldorf Astoria London Admiralty Arch, perhaps the most anticipated property in the Hilton Honors portfolio, has just started accepting reservations. This should be an incredible hotel, and I’m excited to see this, along with the general improvement of luxury points hotels in London.

Admiralty Arch becomes the Waldorf Astoria London

The Waldorf Astoria London Admiralty Arch has just opened for reservations — while the claim is that the hotel will open in the fall of 2026, it’s currently accepting reservations for stays as of March 1, 2027. I appreciate that level of conservatism, given how much hotels struggle with sticking to their schedules.

The hotel spans around 200,000 square feet, with a total of 114 rooms, suites, and residences. As it’s described, each space is designed to respect the building’s historic architecture while introducing the understated elegance that Waldorf Astoria is known for.

The hotel will debut two destination restaurants. There will be Coreus by Clare Smyth, set within the former home of the First Sea Lord, and it’ll be a fine dining concept celebrating the UK’s coastal heritage, with menus centered around sustainably sourced seafood, British produce, and seasonal ingredients. Then there will be Café Boulud by Daniel Boulud, located on the rooftop, with an all-day dining format.

The hotel will also have a spa, with treatment rooms for individuals and couples, a sauna, a steam room, and a hydrotherapy pool, complemented by a private relaxation area. Then of course there will also be a fitness center.

This is truly going to be a new “flagship” property. For context, Admiralty Arch is one of London’s most iconic landmarks — it was initially commissioned by King Edward VII in memory of Queen Victoria, and it’s located at the end of The Mall, opposite Buckingham Palace, offering views of Buckingham Palace, Nelson’s Column, and Trafalgar Square.

Admiralty Arch has been home to people ranging from Sir Winston Churchill (whose office was within the arch), to the author of the James Bond novels, Ian Fleming. Even today, it plays an integral role in many ceremonial occasions.

In 2012 plans were revealed for this landmark to be converted into a luxury hotel, thanks to a 250-year lease. This entire project moved at a snail’s pace, and in 2017 it was announced that this would become a Waldorf Astoria. However, in 2022 there was an ownership change, as Investors Capital Limited sold the property to Reuben Brothers. Fortunately they maintained the same vision for the property.

It’s fantastic to see the number of new luxury points hotels coming to London. We’ve recently seen the Park Hyatt London River Thames open, and the St. Regis London is also expected to open in the coming months. The Waldorf Astoria seems like the most spectacular, though, purely based on the history of the building it’s located in.

Waldorf Astoria London Admiralty Arch rates & points requirements

With the Waldorf Astoria London Admiralty Arch now bookable, what are rates like? For those looking to pay cash, I currently see rates starting at around £660 per night ($872). Obviously that’s not cheap, but quite honestly, I was expecting it to be more expensive, given the building it’s in, combined with the brand.

If you’re booking a cash rate, I’d recommend doing so through the Hilton for Luxury program, which offers extra perks when booking through select travel advisors, including breakfast, a hotel credit, an upgrade subject to availability, and more.

For those looking to redeem Hilton Honors points, the hotel seems to be charging a minimum of 160,000 points per night, assuming there’s standard room availability. Hilton Honors elite members can stretch their points and get a fifth night free, which would bring down the average nightly cost to 128,000 points. Still, that’s not exactly much outsized value, based on my valuation of 0.5 cents per Hilton Honors point.

I’m impressed by Waldorf Astoria’s new hotel pipeline

Waldorf Astoria has long been regarded as a great brand, but as time goes on, I think it’s increasingly differentiating itself. As we know, the major hotel groups want to grow at any cost, since they get a cut of revenue, and that makes investors happy.

Their priority isn’t maintaining quality, but rather, it’s convincing hotel owners to pick their brand over a competitor. All too often, that involves making compromises when it comes to the quality of new properties.

When you think of the “big three” hotel loyalty programs (at least in the points world), Park Hyatt, St. Regis, and Waldorf Astoria, are generally considered among the top brands. Of those, I think Waldorf Astoria has the most interesting new property pipeline, by far, and it’s really hitting most of the global hotspots.

I think many of the new Waldorf Astoria properties are more in line with Four Seasons than your typical St. Regis. I also love all the places we’re seeing new openings. Recently we’ve seen openings in Costa Rica, New York, and Osaka, and there are upcoming properties in Sydney, Tokyo, and more.

Conversely, I think St. Regis is probably one of the brands that has seen the biggest variability in terms of the quality of new properties, where some are great, and some aren’t. I find St. Regis used to be a really consistent brand, but that’s no longer the case.

Bottom line

The Waldorf Astoria London is expected to open as of the fall of 2026, and is now accepting reservations for stays as of March 1, 2027. This property is a transformation of the Admiralty Arch landmark, so it has an incredible amount of history, and based on the renderings so far, it looks like this should be a great hotel. Honestly, I’m surprised it’s not more expensive, given how much hotel rates have gone up over the years.

What do you make of the Waldorf Astoria London Admiralty Arch?