Waldorf Astoria Hotel New York

I got a chance to stay at the famous Waldorf Astoria with rewards points. I was having a special dinner at Daniel in the winter, and didn't feel like taking the train back to New Jersey afterword. When I was looking at options to redeem points at hotels that were somewhat close to the restaurant, I noticed that there was a special seasonal discount on the rewards points required for the Waldorf. That made it the same as more generic hotels, so why I not stay there, right? It would have cost about $400 to stay there without rewards. The most impressive thing about the hotel to me was the entrance and lobby. They are definitely elegant and filled with huge arrangements of fresh flowers.

The room was definitely on the larger side for New York city, but not by much. The furniture and drapery were nice and classy, but these aren't things that I really care that much about. Since I wasn't spending much time at the hotel, nothing really stood out as superior to other hotels. I think the two cases where it might are services and dining, but I did not have the chance to experience either of these. I considered trying their famous brunch, but when I found out it was $95 a person, I decided to pass.

Hello, I recently stayed at the Waldorf Astoria in NYC. After searching through the rates at Essentravel.com I found a good room at a reasonable price. The hotel was opulent as expected, staff tremendous and the rooms were great. If you have the cash to spend, give the Waldorf a try!!

My 18 day stay at the Waldorf Astoria was the worst hotel stay in my life. The lobby is gorgeous, but everything begins and ends there. The hotel personnel are rude and curt. Everything at the hotel is over-priced and the room was filthy. When we arrived I had to ask to have the dirty carpet cleaned. It smelled and looked as if it hadn't been cleaned in ten years. From there the stay just went downhill. There was a leak in the ceiling over our toilet and a 3 foot hole in the ceiling. I asked repeatedly to have the hole repaired only to be lied to by hotel personnel. My 8 year old daughter and I were locked out of our hotel room by the hotel management. It was a frightening and very upsetting experience for both myself and my little girl. I have stayed at many 5 star hotels in the past and this hotel should be rated as a 1 star hotel. The 1 star they earn from me is the elegance of their lobby. After that expect your stay to go downhill.

So it's name gets it by.

For years and years....I had wanted an opportunity to stay at the world famous Waldorf.

Just like I have read and seen....the lobby so elegant. At dinner time everyone is dressed to the T. Almost has me to believe that I don't belong. Oh, I do.

The rooms on the other hand are much to be desired. Hilton really needs to step up and rehabilitate one of its crown jewels. Or, at least it should be. My room was old, spacious, but old. I'm sure somewhere in the massive hotel there are some awesome rooms....every famous person seems to have visited, but for the average joe.....just merely an average room.

My stay was to have been for 3 nights, I only stayed one and moved on to another.

Waldorf Astoria is part of the Hilton chain. It's supposedly one of the top hotels in the US. I was there for work, so I didn't get to explore much around it. What little I saw though was that it was definitely historic and had a old-world charm to it. The staff was quite friendly, and since its right by subway station, everything in NY is within a subway ride away.

We stayed at the world renowned Waldorf Astoria hotel. It is a name that rings with luxury and top quality, at least that’s what l thought. The Waldorf is the hotel all the visiting dignitaries stay at and all the American presidents have at one point or other stayed in the hotel. The hotel is often the back drop for many movies – Maid in Manhattan and Coming to America are just a few that have used the luxurious lobby to film in.

The hotel is styled in the Art Deco style and dates back as far as 1893. It is situated slap bang in central Manhattan between Lexington and Park Avenue on 50th Street. According to the hotel website and here l quote “….a reputation for unparalleled hospitality and service, the Art Deco landmark beckons New Yorker and visitors alike.” I would tend to choke slightly at these words; my reasons will become apparent as l continue my review.

The hotel is huge and takes up almost a block, it is split between the Waldorf Towers (the Conrad side of the business) and the Waldorf Astoria (the Hilton hotel) both hotels share the same magnificent lobby, but for those in the more exclusive Waldorf Towers, you take a little side door and slip off in to a more opulent world - apparently, l did not get to slip through the a fore mentioned door so l can not possibly comment!!

In the Astoria the guest rooms are split into four categories:

• Deluxe Guest Rooms

• Business Class Rooms

• Astoria Level Rooms

• Various levels of Suites

We stayed in a deluxe guest room, and it was a corner room so it was slightly more spacious. We had a separate closet area, tea/coffee facilities, an extortionately priced mini bar, bathrobes, fax machine/work desk, large bathroom, TV and queen sized bed. The rooms were fine, decorated in the period style and whilst perhaps not as contemporary as l would like, l could see the art deco beauty and the opulence of the period. The bathroom was large with a good shower and deep bath; the sink area had a huge art deco designed mirror framing it and was marble effect flooring. The closest area housed 2 wardrobes and a sit down area where l used as my make up and hair port. There was also a lazy chair in the room also and separate air con.

The air conditioning in both the bedroom and the closet was very antiquated – and in fact l found it hard to breathe with it on so kept it off at night though the room was then freezing. The drinks in the mini bar were extortionate – ok this the case in most hotels but $5.25 for a coke?!!

The bed was fine quite comfortable and very large. The door into the room was not air tight or sound proofed, meaning we could hear our neighbours coming and going at all hours and anything that happened in the corridors. One of our neighbours had an early check out at 5am and we were wakened by the bell boy coming to remove their luggage. I was really pissed off – l was having enough trouble sleeping as l was hit badly with jet lag and did not need to be rudely awoke!


We had complimentary breakfast, as Paul holds a Hilton Honours Diamond card and therefore this is a perk. If he had not breakfast was not an option and according to information in our room a continental breakfast was $19.50 and hot buffet breakfast $25. This was to be had in Oscars on the ground floor. The breakfast was poor, very poor. Muffins, bagels, Danishes, coffee and orange juice for the continental. The hot buffet was wet scrabbled eggs, corn beef hash, potatoes, sausages or bacon. For the phenomenal cost it was simply not worth it. We found a place down the street called the Broadway dinner and we both had hot breakfasts and endless coffee for $15 for 2.

There were many restaurants and bars in the hotel but the hotel had annoyed us so much that we did not eat or drink there at all but for your information there is:

The Bull & Bear – offering traditional foods and has a bar service available also, l would note that jeans or trainers are not allowed in this bar!

Oscars American Brasserie – again open all day but more casual than the Bull & Bear

Inagiku Japanese Restaurant – rumour has it that this is a very fine Japanese restaurant, but again l cannot comment.

Sir Harry’s Bar/Lounge – a club type atmosphere and smart casual attire

Cocktail Terrace – over looks the lobby and be serenaded on Cole Porters Steinway!

Customer Service at the Waldorf leaves a lot to be desired. I felt that we were treated as second class citizens and really were not proffering enough cash, did not have the correct accent or were not wearing the correct labels and therefore the staff were simply there to ignore us. We checked in rather late due to a delay on our Heathrow flight, and when checking in they had our details wrong – only booking us for a 2 night stay instead of a 6 night stay. Paul informed them and we sauntered up to our room to get some shut eye. As far as we were aware the correct changes were made to our booking. Next morning we went to reception to collect our complimentary breakfast vouchers and were given 2. When we should have been given 6. When asked why we were told we had only a 2 night booking. Yet again we asked them to correct this fault and we received the rest of our breakfast vouchers. The staff questioned us like the Gestapo – thinking we were making the information regarding our booking up – Paul had to bring down his booking details to prove we spoke the truth! On Saturday morning we awoke to find an express check out form under our door – again he had to traipse down to reception to talk to them and correct our booking. By this time we were might displeased. He went to the diamond card counter and made a complaint, but apart from sticking fingers in her ears and singing “La La La l can’t hear you” the lady did nothing, and did not even apologise. That evening (Saturday) when we came back in after a long day of sight seeing looking forward to a bath and a glass of champagne – it was valentines day – our room key wouldn’t work – so we had to go and get it reactivated. Reception blamed us – we kept it next to another card and the magnetic strip deactivated it. So when we eventually accessed the room, and checked the second card which was no where near another credit card it too wouldn’t work – the hotel had deactivated them as they had our booking wrong. By this stage Paul was fit to be tied and went back down to reception. A smart arsed receptionist had the gall to say – l only just did this for you, what have you done now! He is lucky he is still alive!!

Finally, on the day of our real departure – they got the rate they had given Paul wrong, they messed up his credit card and it ended up costing him extra with differences in currencies and refunding monies. His poor blood pressure!


So our stay in the Waldorf was tampered by poor customer service. I was expecting exceptional service and received less than mediocre service, and to me this makes the difference between a good and a great hotel. For all the opulence and luxury it may extol if they can’t treat guests well they are in the wrong business.

If l haven’t put you off entirely you can check out the hotel for yourself and get rates (l didn’t pay so l cannot tell you!) at www.waldorf.com or via www.hilton.com

My then-fiancé-and-now-husband and I stayed here for 4 nights in February 2005, over Valentine's Day. We were surprised that on arrival we had to go up from the luggage bay, rather than being dropped of (by one of the hotel limos) at the main Park Avenue entrance.
The lobby is undeniably spectacular, but the wait for check-in was excessive. Our room wasn't ready, despite our travel agent requesting early check-in for us. Eventually, we were given the key to a room, and directed towards the elevators.

As someone else commented, we also got static electricity shock all the time - from elevator buttons, door handles, anything going!

When we got to the room, I was surprised at the size of it - it seemed small, especially given the grand and luxurious 'facade' of the hotel. Still, the bedroom was nicely decorated, and the bed was comfortable. The view left a lot to be desired - looking out towards tower blocks (I suppose kind of unavoidable in NYC) with a roof with A/c units on it about 4 storeys below. This didn't cause us any problems with noise since it was so cold outside we didn't open the windows.
The bathroom was badly in need of renovation - and was exceptionally small, even for a city hotel. The sink area and mirror in particular needed replaced. The mini bar was very expensive, and the internet facility, at $10 a day through the television was not worth the money - you couldn't get to certain sites because of the difficulty of using a cursor.

We dined in The Bull & Bear on our first night, and were extremely disappointed. Drinks ordered after our starters never arrived, and my fiancé’s main course was brought to the table incorrectly cooked (a steak, very well done) was brought cooked medium-rare, despite my fiancé saying when he ordered that it had to be absolutely cooked through. The steak was brought back again, still undercooked, and again finally cooked well enough. By this time, however, I had finished my main course as much as I could - although it was bland and tasteless chicken, grilled and chewy. Therefore, we hadn't eaten together on our first night in NYC. The maitre d' also seemed to be unable to ask the chef to cook a portion of plain mashed potatoes, saying the chef only had garlic mash available. If a hotel of the reputation and standard of the Waldorf=Astoria cannot produce a portion on plain, non-garlic mashed potatoes then the kitchen is severely lacking. The side of vegetables my fiancé ordered also came 5 minutes after the steak was finally delivered thoroughly enough cooked. By this point, we were so tired, frustrated and disappointed in the restaurant which is so highly praised, thus why we decided to dine there, that we left, my fiancé having not eaten his main course, and me not having much of the main course.
We informed the maitre d', who had been off-hand and unhelpful, that we were leaving and did not expect to see the attempt at a meal on our bill, he suddenly became very apologetic, especially, we suspect, as we had told him so in front of a group of 6 other customers. He pleaded with us to come back the next night, although we already had plans, and we unable to. He said a breakdown in communication was to blame, and that plain mash could certainly be made, despite his earlier claim that because it was a Saturday night, the kitchen was busy and couldn't. Instead we were offered a complimentary room service breakfast, which we took full advantage of on February 14th.
We didn't dine in the hotel on any other occasion as a result of this bad experience - a good suggestion for breakfast is a little deli with a maroon awning opposite St Patrick's cathedral, which is about 2 blocks up from the Waldorf.

The concierge was helpful, and found us a reservation at a very nice Italian restaurant off Broadway for dinner before we went to see the Producers. However, when we asked how long we should allow for dinner to get to the theatre in time to collect our tickets, the concierge got the time of the show wrong by 1/2 hour, and we had to run to get to the show.

This hotel is very impressive in the public areas, but considering the room rates, I would say it is need of renovation in a number of areas (the rooms, and bathrooms in particular). Check-out took quite some time as there were long queues in the lobby. It then took us almost an hour to get a car or cab to the airport, despite the bellboy telling us we'd be able to get a cab within 5 minutes. We eventually had to commandeer one of the hotel's cars to take us, for twice the cost of a cab - if we'd waited much longer we'd have missed our flight.

As I said, a nice hotel, faded grandeur, with some rooms badly positioned and laid out. The staff were also questionable at times - some were very pleasant, yet others seemed to look down at guests.
It was nice to stay here for the experience, but there are so many other hotels in NYC that I think I'd try more of them before rushing back to the Waldorf.

I agree it's the hotel's name which is drawing people in, rather, I'd say, than the standard of accomodation - faded and frayed at the edges is a good description.