On March 24, 1893, William Waldorf Astor opened the 13-story Waldorf Hotel and four years later was joined by the 17-story adjacent Astoria Hotel built by his cousin, John Jacob Astor IV. It became known as The Waldorf-Astoria. After being demolished in 1929, Waldorf-Astoria was rebuilt and opened on October 1, 1931, becoming the world’s largest and tallest hotel. As a pioneer in hotel services, including the first hotel to introduce room service, it is still a world-renowned hotel. Besides the hotel’s phenomenal surroundings and service, guests are also close to Madison Avenue shopping center, Lincoln Center, Central Park, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
There is a reason why the historic Waldorf Astoria Hotel has provided the backdrop for movies since 1945, including the legendary tango scene in the 1992 film Scent of a Woman. This landmark hotel is the ultimate symbol of New York elegance, luxury, and prestige. “The original luxury hotel” has been an iconic fixture on the east side of midtown Manhattan since 1931, stretching over a full city block between Park and Lexington Avenues and 49th and 50th Streets. Featuring restored Art Deco architecture, a breathtaking front entrance, and world-renowned service, this legendary building is just a few blocks from the lights and excitement of the Broadway Theatre District, fantastic New York City dining and shopping, and many of the top midtown Manhattan landmarks and attractions.
The standard accommodations at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel feature flat panel televisions with premium channels, marble baths or showers, triple-sheeted pillow-top beds, work desks with two-line speaker phones, and complimentary weekday copies of USA Today. In-room internet access is available for a fee, and Wifi is free in the hotel lobby. All the rooms and suites at the Waldorf are elegantly furnished and no two rooms are alike. Guests will enjoy a grand tradition of gracious service at this hotel, which is a Hilton property. Services include a multilingual concierge staff boasting an extensive knowledge of the city, state-of-the-art fitness facilities, and in-room dining served by waiters in black tie.
The Waldorf boasts a rich culinary tradition, having created dishes such as Eggs Benedict and the Waldorf Salad. Dining options at the hotel include the Peacock Alley Restaurant, home of the celebrated Sunday Brunch featuring over 100 desserts arranged around a spectacular chocolate fondue fountain. Guests can also dine in style at the Bull and Bear Steakhouse or Oscar’s Brasserie.
The Waldorf-Astoria has also been featured in numerous films, such as Arthur, You’ve Got Mail, Maid in Manhattan, Scent of a Woman, First Wives Club, For Love of the Game, Analyze This, and Serendipity, and episodes of Will and Grace and Law and Order.
Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, New York: Essential Information
| Reservations | Click here to make an online booking at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York |
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| Address | Waldorf-Astoria Hotel is located in the Midtown East area at 301 Park Avenue, New York, NY, 10022-6897, United States. |
| Toll-free Reservations | North America:1-800-916-4350; Worldwide(toll):1-817-333-5215 |
| Price Range | The Waldorf-Astoria Hotel is a very expensively priced New York City hotel. |
| Accommodations | The standard accommodations at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel feature flat panel televisions with premium channels, marble baths or showers, triple-sheeted pillow-top beds, work desks with two-line speaker phones and complimentary weekday copies of USA Today. In-room internet access is available for a fee, and Wifi is free in the hotel lobby. All the rooms and suites at the Waldorf are elegantly furnished and no two rooms are alike.
Click here to check room rates for the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel NYC |
| Check In/Out | 3:00 pm check-in, 12:00 pm check-out |
| Parking | Garage parking and valet parking are available |
| Dining | Dining options at the hotel include the Peacock Alley Restaurant, home of the celebrated Sunday Brunch featuring over 100 desserts arranged around a spectacular chocolate fondue fountain. Guests can also dine in style at the Bull and Bear Steakhouse or Oscar’s Brasserie. |
| Meeting Facilities | The Waldorf-Astoria Hotel New York has 60,000 square feet of flexible and individually decorated meeting and banquet rooms. Meeting and event services include direct fiber-optic satellite links, local area networks, audio/video broadcasting, and high-speed Internet. |
| Amenities & Services | At the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, you can also have access to 24-hour housekeeping, babysitting, twice-daily maid service, beauty salon, dry-cleaning, pressing/laundry/valet, fitness center, and business center |
| Credit Cards | American Express, Diners Club, Carte Blanche, Visa, MasterCard, JCB International, Eurocard, J.T.B., and Discover are all accepted. |
History
The Waldorf-Astoria Hotel is one of the most famous luxury hotels in New York. since it began operation in 1893, it has moved once. Its original site on Fifth Avenue is now occupied by the Empire State Building.
The present Waldorf Astoria building at 301 Park Avenue is a 47-story, 625 feet skyscraper designed by architects Schultze and Weaver in 1931. It is part of The Waldorf Astoria Collection, the very upscale brand of hotels previously of the Hilton Hotels and Conrad Hotels chains.
The name of the hotel, Waldorf=Astoria, is officially written with a double hyphen, rather than a single, although originally a single hyphen was used. A popular New York City expression, “Meet Me at the Hyphen” means meet me at the corridor between the Waldorf and the Astoria. That’s because originally the Waldorf=Astoria were two separate hotels.
The Waldorf=Astoria traces its roots back to 1893, when millionaire William Astor built his hotel, called the 13-story Waldorf Hotel, on the site of his father’s mansion, and next door to the home of his aunt, the famous socialite Caroline Webster Schermerhorn Astor. At that time, he was having a feud with his aunt, and the construction of the hotel worsened the feud. The aunt called the Waldorf Hotel the “glorified tavern next door”. The founding proprietor of the hotel was George Boldt, who also owned the boutique hotel Bellevue in Philadelphia when he went into business with William Astor to operate the Waldorf Hotel.
A few years later, William’s cousin John Jacob Astor IV, also wanted in on the hotel business. With help from Boldt, he managed to persuade his mother, William’s aunt, to move uptown. John then built the 17-story Astoria Hotel on the site next to William’s. The two hotels are linked by a corridor, and they combined their names, forming the Waldorf-Astoria, with the “=” being a lasting symbol of the connection between the two.
The Waldorf=Astoria changed the way people look at hotels. Not just a place to spend the night, the Waldorf=Astoria becomes “the destination”, a social center for people to meet, see, and be seen. The hotel was ahead of its time and was instrumental in advancing the status of women, who were admitted without the need for a chaperone. It was the first to introduce room service and the first to suggest that people should live permanently in their own hotel suites. The filthy rich, of course. George Boldt also became filthy rich as well as internationally prominent.
In 1929, the original Waldorf=Astoria buildings were demolished to make way for the Empire State Building. A new Waldorf=Astoria was constructed 15 blocks north, on Park Avenue. When it opened on 1 October 1931, it was the biggest and tallest hotel in the world. It gave prominence to the Art Deco style of skyscrapers. The opening was officiated by President Herbert Hoover through a radio broadcast.
Boldt retired from running the hotel and moved to Florida, but retained the rights to use the name “Waldorf-Astoria”. Unfortunately, he died in a plane crash in 1947.
Two years later, Conrad Hilton, founder of the Hilton chain of hotels, bought the Waldorf Astoria in 1949. Today the Waldorf Astoria continues to epitomize the very height of elegance and luxury. T-shirts, tank tops, faded jeans, cut-offs, and casual hats are not permitted in the main lobby, Park Avenue Lobby, restaurants, or public areas of the hotel. Even name badges are discouraged outside the private conference rooms of the hotel. The dress code ranges from casual in Oscar’s Restaurant to elegant casual at Bull and Bear Steakhouse.
How to reach the Waldorf-Astoria
The Waldorf-Astoria is located at 301 Park Avenue. Take the 6 train to the 51st Street subway station. Walk west along East 51st Street until the intersection with Park Avenue. Turn left, walk south along Park Avenue until you see the Waldorf Astoria on your left, at the corner of Park Avenue and East 50th Street.