Here’s some great new for Hilton Honors fans. It’s being reported that the Mandarin Oriental Atlanta will become the Waldorf Astoria Atlanta as of December 7, 2018. Waldorf Astoria is Hilton’s luxury brand, meaning that guests will be able to earn and redeem Honors points for stays here.
Mandarin Oriental issued the following statement regarding this to Fox5 Atlanta:
Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group has received notice of termination of its management agreement for Mandarin Oriental, Atlanta and will cease managing the hotel from 7 December 2018. The termination is consequent to the sale of the hotel by iStar Financial Inc.
Mandarin Oriental has successfully positioned this award-winning hotel as a market leader in the city and is proud of the value the brand has added to the asset since 2012.
While Hilton hasn’t yet commented, the hotel is expected to undergo a significant refresh, so it’s possible there may be some work being done over the coming months.
While both Hilton and Mandarin Oriental have loyalty programs, the Hilton Honors program is certainly more robust, so I’d consider this to be a big win.
This is the second US Mandarin Oriental property to be rebranded as a Waldorf Astoria in a short period. The Mandarin Oriental Las Vegas was also recently rebranded as a Waldorf Astoria.
The way I view it, one of the major downsides of the Hilton Honors loyalty program has been Hilton’s lack of true luxury hotels. However, I feel like this is an area in which they’ve been improving lately, both by building new properties, and also taking over existing properties.
This doesn’t seem to be the first time that Waldorf Astoria has tried to get a property in Atlanta. In 2016 it was expected that the (at the time planned) 70-story No2 Opus Place in Midtown Atlanta would be branded as a Waldorf Astoria hotel and residences, though that development ended up opting to go entirely residential, and Waldorf Astoria didn’t end up being involved.
Has anyone stayed at the Mandarin Oriental Las Vegas? What do you make of the transition?
(Tip of the hat to @2GaysAndAPuppy)
I stayed in the MO Las Begas before and after the transition, and it was pretty much the same hotel. I used AmEx FHR benefits is most cases, so you may see a difference if you have Hilton status:
- The champagne machine was still there
- The bar and restaurant were still excellent both in service offering and in appearance
- The rooms still had most of the same amenities with...
I stayed in the MO Las Begas before and after the transition, and it was pretty much the same hotel. I used AmEx FHR benefits is most cases, so you may see a difference if you have Hilton status:
- The champagne machine was still there
- The bar and restaurant were still excellent both in service offering and in appearance
- The rooms still had most of the same amenities with the exception of a little box of bath salts by the tub that was now gone
- I do miss the MO pens, but if, like me, you really liked that style of pen, Four Seasons still uses them
- Hilton gave me far fewer billing issues.
Overall, both were nice but I’d still pick the Four Seasons for that level of hotel.
Mandarin Oriental is a great chain. Hilton is about as interesting as your average Chevy.
@ethan G: MO Boston is actually owned by MOHG. They beat the Hilton to secure the Boston property. Here's an article from 2016 about the purchase: http://www.bostonherald.com/business/real_estate/2016/01/mandarin_oriental_sells_for_140m_in_record_deal
As for the hotels in SF, Vegas and Atlanta these are MO managed properties and does not hold any stake in the hotel. MO Boca Raton I think is already under construction.
Mandarin Oriental DC is nice but in such a weird location
The Mandarin Oriental LV was one of my favorite hotels - I proposed to my fiancé in the lobby in front of those tall floor-to-ceiling windows. The service was the best in Vegas, bar none.
I’m sad that the management has changed, but I’ll always remember how beautiful and modern it was. It literally was the 21-century version of the Nakatomi building from Die Hard (Minus Bruce Willis and European thieves, of course).
I love this hotel, although it's been three years since I've stayed there. It was by far the best hotel in Atlanta in my opinion (I've stayed in all the high end hotels in the city) , mostly because of how intimate it is. I'd agree the the restaurant could use some layout work, but overall I've never had a bad stay there.
i stayed at Mandarin LV overnight liked it much. no club lounge so we got $50 credit towards breakfast. great view at the bar, rooms are. very large well appointed, spa is amazing. no casino which i like but right next to new MGM theater and hotel. it’s lux pricey but luxalicious! they are very gradually changing common areas and then on to rooms so right now there’s an Asian flair which is left over from the Mandarin. i likey.
First Vegas, now Atlanta? What's happening to Mandarin lately? First they lost their presence in San Francisco, then Las Vegas, now here. Wouldn't be surprised to see Boston next; I bet Hilton would love to introduce the Waldorf Astoria brand in Boston, and that property is in need of a refresh to maintain MO standards.
The Mandarin has exquisite details. Only problem (as a local) is it has a terrible lobby, bar and restaurant layout. That's how the St Regis ended up being the center of the Atlanta social scene.
No matter the brand, the hotel has always seemed to suffer because it isn’t the Ritz-Carlton (now Whitley), which has some of the most die-hard fans a hotel could hope for, or lately the St. Regis, which has the whole High Buckhead aesthetic going for it. Best of luck to Hilton.
Mandarin Oriental is slated to open a new Hotel/Residences Property in Honolulu in a few years, land for it is currently being cleared across from the Convention Center, and close to the Ala Moana Center.
Pretty sad that Mandarin will be down to 4 hotels in the US after this
Good for Hilton loyalists though
This used to be nice when it was the mansion on peach tree several years ago.
I have the final night of my honeymoon booked at MO Atlanta for end of May next year. With this news do you think it’s worth keeping the booking?
I’m at Waldorf Las Vegas in less than 2 weeks as a Diamond
I have high hopes as I always did breakfast there as the Mandarin and loved it
Late checkout and room upgrades will make or break them
With the 4th night free benefit while it lasts and the Hilton Aspire card it should be a very sweet stay
Well that’s the story I’m sticking with today :)
@Lucky - SAS just announced (without any notice what so ever) a 20% rise in points required to redeem all award tickets, one week after they announced a pretty much unprecedented 96% (!!!) drop in point accrual for flights in economy class. Given that SAS a) has managed to get millions and millions of people to sign up for EuroBonus and b) is the only viable option for most people in Scandinavia, it’s a really...
@Lucky - SAS just announced (without any notice what so ever) a 20% rise in points required to redeem all award tickets, one week after they announced a pretty much unprecedented 96% (!!!) drop in point accrual for flights in economy class. Given that SAS a) has managed to get millions and millions of people to sign up for EuroBonus and b) is the only viable option for most people in Scandinavia, it’s a really significant devaluation of their program. On the plus side - they now allow you to search for and book Star Alliance award flights (more than 330 days in advance) on their site, providing a useful alternative to United, ANA, etc.
this hotel is a total dump - not really meeting mandarin brand standards anyway. Needs the refurb and hopefully some refreshed food & bev options.
please stop poaching Mandarin Orientals :(