New York City's Most Anticipated Hotel Just Reopened—and We Were Among the First to Stay

Travel + Leisure

3 days ago

After an eight-year closure, Waldorf Astoria New York recently reopened in Midtown Manhattan between 49th and 50th streets and Park and Lexington avenues.
The room count shrank from 1,400 to 375, making each room significantly bigger.
The hotel's updated restaurants include Japanese-inspired Yoshoku and Lex Yard by Gramercy Tavern's chef Michael Anthony.
Waldorf Astoria is steeped in New York history—the original property was built by the Astors in the late 1800s—but the new design feels cohesive and fresh, while preserving the iconic Art Deco motif.
The contents of one Manhattan city block could fuel an entire neighborhood. A small stretch between two numbered streets can house world-class museums, street vendors vying for space, and office skyscrapers abutting long-standing bodegas. All of it—inhabitants, included—add up to something greater than the sum of its parts.
The Waldorf Astoria New York occupies a full block, which made the closure, spanning more than 3,000 days, two presidential elections, and one global pandemic, all the more noticeable. Now, Midtown's 1.6 million-square-foot statement piece, a 47-story limestone monolith straddling 49th and 50th streets from Park to Lexington avenues, is back with a $2 billion polish. Cole Porter's piano and the Goldsmiths clock on display in Peacock Alley.
The hotel has long been synonymous with America's ambition and obsession with celebrity—a reputation that was nurtured by Conrad Hilton, who secured management and partial ownership in 1949. In 1956, Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier III of Monaco celebrated their engagement party in the Grand Ballroom; 30 years later, the first Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction took place in the same space. Cole Porter was in residence for three decades, and was so besotted, he gifted his Steinway & Sons piano to the hotel upon his death in 1964.
I've lived in Midtown for about as long as Mr. Porter did, in an Art Deco apartment complex that debuted the same month and year as the Waldorf Astoria. For me, the hotel always felt familiar—like coming home. It offered that same comfort to out-of-towners stopping in for brunch or friends meeting for after-work martinis: drinks, with a side of history.
By 2017, it was ready for an overhaul. The rooms felt tired and the public spaces were mismatched—the result of disjointed renovations that pushed the hotel out of alignment. Financial backers from China (first Anbang Insurance Group, now Dajia Insurance Group) and management under Hilton promised a return to brighter days. Under architecture firm Skidmore, Owings, and Merrell and designer Pierre-Yves Rochon, the hotel feels cohesive again.
The room count shrank from an untenable 1,400 to a manageable 375 (with an additional 372 plush residences by designer Jean-Louis Deniot). The landmarked part of the hotel, including the iconic Grand Ballroom, sparkles anew in green, burgundy, and moldings plated in Waldorf Bronze, a signature blend of bronze and nickel. And old stalwarts like the restaurant Bull & Bear made way for new menus from bartender Jeff Bell of PDT and chef Michael Anthony of Gramercy Tavern—names that feel less 1955, more 2025.
Like any New Yorker, the Waldorf Astoria has a penchant for reinvention. The original hotel–distinct but connecting structures built in 1893 by the Astor family, including John Jacob Astor IV, who died on the Titanic —was a Gilded Age treasure. Occupying Fifth Avenue between 33rd and 34th Street, its Peacock Alley passageway was where society went to flash their jewels and satins: the original red carpet.
In 1929, the original came down to make way for the Empire State Building. The new had to be just as bold, and so Schultze & Weaver Architects hired the best American tradesmen, all from New York, to puzzle the pieces together. 'The team did everything in one year,' Victor Wilson, the hotel's director of guest experience, told me as we walked through the Park Avenue lobby. 'It was the height of the Depression, and everyone wanted to work.' The hotel's Park Avenue lobby.
Wilson and I flipped through a 1931 copy of Architecture magazine published by Charles Scribner's Sons while standing in the center of the hotel, which has nearly doubled in size with a 'Library Lounge' as a reception area. Here, porcelain urns, sketches, and books line recessed shelves, creating a residential, unstuffy atmosphere. Nearby, Peacock Alley Lounge—the beating heart of the hotel–now feels more like a salon, with musicians playing nightly and guests craning for a closer look at the intricate ceiling. The walls, paneled in ebony and Oregon maple, and the giant black marble pillars veined with streaks of gold, are brilliantly preserved from long before the renovation. The bar itself is brand-new, backed by a dramatic floral mural. It's all sexier, with elements like dramatic blue banquettes and black-lacquered tables, and a woodsy signature scent (301 Park Avenue, by Fueguia 1933) perfuming the air.
Icelandic artist Nina Saemundsson's 'Spirit of Achievement' statue still glistens, as does Louis Rigal's 148,000-piece marble-floor mosaic, titled 'The Wheel of Life,' and the lobby's showstopping, eight-sided Goldsmiths clock, commissioned for the 1893 Chicago World's Fair by Queen Victoria. Sipping a tequila-based, 'Bullfighter' cocktail in Peacock Alley, I couldn't help but notice 20-somethings clad in head-to-toe black—no smiles!—snapping selfies in front of the Queen's clock. My 10-year-old son, who had last visited the hotel as a toddler, made a beeline for Porter's piano, named 'High Society.' It now holds court in the lobby, inviting everyone to tickle the ivories, gently .
There's plenty of old—and new—to love about the reborn Waldorf Astoria New York, and here is what it is like to stay.
New York City hotel rooms tend to be short on space—not so at the Waldorf Astoria. By taking down the overall count, the guest accommodations now start at a generous 570 square feet. Comfort is key: our Frette-decked bed felt light as air, and thanks to newly reinforced windows, we never heard the constant hum of Park Avenue traffic. There are 11 categories to choose from, and 190 rooms provide connectivity–a boon for multigenerational travelers. With its tight security and proximity to Grand Central, the hotel has also been a mainstay for celebrities, politicians, visiting dignitaries—and they will no doubt be staying in the Waldorf Astoria Suite, which is a whopping 5,000 square-feet.
Though the hotel was still in the pre-opening phase, my family and I holed up in a one-bedroom suite. It had ample closet space for the three of us; a full-length mirror (thank you!); a black lacquer minibar, anchored by a book detailing the hotel's legacy cocktails; and a grey marble bathroom, complete with a deep soaking tub, separate shower, and Aesop amenities. The overall palette? Silver, bronze, black, and beige: a nod to the Art Deco era, which I also found in small touches like the striated gold handle on a sliding door, or the opaque glass wall sconces, emblazoned with flowers and set off by brass. Our fireplace grill was inspired by the original Starlight Roof Ballroom, where Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie, and Louis Armstrong once played.
For those who want more privacy, there is now a discreet entrance via a porte-cochère on 49th street. But entering via the Park Avenue lobby, with its walls and pilasters of Rockwood stone, still feels like a moment. The Rigal mosaic–once shockingly covered by carpet, Wilson admitted—is a work of art, the hand-cut marble tiles displaying a Greco-Roman-inspired montage of men, women, and all the Earth's bounties.
One unique design flourish has nothing to do with the bones of the building–but rather the uniform of the staff. British couture designer Nicholas Oakwell, and his company, NO Uniform by Nicholas Oakwell, fashioned everything from sequin dresses to peacock-blue velvet blazers and sharply tailored winter coats. The uniforms are seasonal, smart, and fresh. 'Our vision was to design a curated wardrobe that was not the typical, institutional uniform, but something high-quality and fashion-forward—and our guests have been taking notice,' said Luigi Romaniello, the hotel's managing director. Lex Yard, the AvroKO-designed brasserie at the Waldorf Astoria New York.
Have you ever tried a Waldorf salad? Have you ever tried a Waldorf salad you liked?
The original recipe–a combination of celery, apples, and mayonnaise—was invented in 1893 by the legendary maitre'd Oscar Tschirky, at the 34th Street property. Over the years, and at various restaurants, it has morphed into something that didn't suit many tastebuds (including my own). But chef Michael Anthony, the executive chef of Gramercy Tavern, has delivered an impossibly fresh take at Lex Yard, his AvroKO-designed brasserie off Lexington Avenue. (The restaurant encompasses two floors, with the downstairs, pink-hued space feeling a little sleeker.) Anthony tosses gem lettuce, celery, apples, grapes, and candied walnuts into a light lemon dressing–and then adds the finest slivers of grated cheddar cheese for a garnish. Starter, main course, dessert–I'd eat it at any point during the meal and during the day. Other standouts from his menu of new American classics? The loaded lobster roll, topped with caviar; any of the pastas (an Anthony signature); the delicately salted rib eye with broccolini, tomatoes, and peppers; and the beef fat fries, with charred onion soup cream sauce.
Those same fries made for a great bar snack at the Peacock Alley Lounge, where mixologist Jeff Bell, a James Beard Award winner, crafts a selection of martinis, old fashioneds, and throwbacks like his take on the Waldorf's original Commodore #2: Knob Creek bourbon, lemon, pomegranate, and Tempus Fuguit creme de cacao. For something lighter, there's sake and supremely good sushi at Yoshoku, an elegant but rather low-key collection of tables functioning as a Japanese restaurant in the Park Avenue lobby. With its soaring ceilings and that Rigal mural, just over the shoulder, the setting might feel formal, but the menu is conducive to sharing. The three of us ordered tuna, salmon, and yellowtail sashimi, halibut meunière , Wagyu striploin, and tender grilled chicken with garlic miso tare, eggplant, and Tokyo turnip—and dove right in.
A 10th-floor terrace, the hotel's first outdoor dining space, will soon be open to guests. The Basildon Room.
The Waldorf Astoria's dramatic, Instagram-worthy spaces—not seen in years—are poised to host some of New York City's most coveted events. With its immaculate box seats and stage to rival any Broadway theater, the Grand Ballroom is the city's only three-tiered ballroom, accommodating an astounding 1,550 guests. It is also a landmarked space: a chandelier, not original to 1931, was even removed during the restoration.
Other historical spaces of note: the Basildon Room, with frescoes of Dante's Divine Comedy by 18th-century child prodigy and Swiss painter Angelica Kauffman, imported over from an English estate in financial distress. Painted a delicate shade of green, with Rigal-esque panels displaying dancing figures, the Jade Room is an homage to the former Bradley Martin ballroom on 34th Street: 'At some point, they changed the name to Jade Room–and it was the most popular room in Manhattan,' Wilson explained of the original.
My favorite space of them all is the Silver Corridor, a Versailles-inspired, glass-walled fantasy with 16 ceiling murals by Edward Emmerson Simmons. They depict mythological figures, in various states of undress and repose, and represent the four seasons and 12 months of the year. But which month or season has been lost to time, explained Wilson, as he pointed out the elevators, built extra-wide to accommodate ballgowns from a bygone era. It didn't matter. When you're staring at those shiny exquisite floors and walls, and the gods and goddesses from on high, it's easy to invent a New York story all on your own.
The Waldorf Astoria New York has 32 ADA guest rooms, with nine ADA lifts accessing the public spaces.
Located in the heart of midtown Manhattan, the Waldorf Astoria New York is a short stroll or taxi ride away from other architectural highlights including Rockefeller Center, St. Patrick's Cathedral, and The Pool and The Grill, in the landmark Seagram Building. Green spaces such as Central Park; museums including MoMA; and grand department stores, such as Saks Fifth Avenue, are all part of the midtown fabric. For subway and train transportation, Grand Central Station is within walking distance.
As a Hilton luxury brand, Waldorf Astoria New York is bookable with Hilton Honors points. It is also part of American Express Fine Hotels + Resorts, which means Platinum card holders booking on Amex Travel get a $100 property credit and complimentary daily breakfast for two. Nightly rates at Waldorf Astoria New York are from $1,500.
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