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Waldorf Astoria New York
New York City, New York, United States · Waldorf Astoria · Grand Luxury
After nearly eight years behind scaffolding, the Park Avenue Waldorf Astoria returned to guests in 2025 as a far smaller house: 375 hotel rooms instead of more than 1,400, with 372 condominiums occupying the floors above. Schultze and Weaver's 1931 limestone tower still rises 47 stories with twin copper spires on the full block between 49th and 50th, Park to Lexington, the palace that replaced the original Waldorf and Astoria hotels demolished so the Empire State Building could rise.
- 375 rooms
- Opened 1931
- Neighborhood: Midtown
- Rooms from 445 sq ft (41 m²)
- Architect: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill; original 1931 Art Deco hotel by Schultze & Weaver
- Interiors: Pierre-Yves Rochon
About Waldorf Astoria New York
- The Grand Ballroom has heard Frank Sinatra and Albert Einstein, and Elsa Maxwell once walked an elephant in for her April in Paris Ball.
- In 2014 Anbang paid about $1.95 billion, then a record hotel sale, and Hilton kept a hundred-year management contract.
- Only 62,000 square feet of the 1.6-million-square-foot tower is landmarked in New York, so almost the whole house could be reinvented around the 1931 bones.
- Conrad Hilton had wanted this hotel for years before his company leased it in 1949 and later bought it outright.
- When the Park Avenue house opened in 1931, rooms had speakers wired to the Grand Ballroom so guests could hear the orchestra without leaving bed.
History
The Waldorf and the Astoria began as two hotels on adjoining lots of Fifth Avenue below 34th Street, a cousin rivalry that became a hyphen. They closed in 1929 so the Empire State Building could take that ground, and the deal to move onto a full Park Avenue block, 49th to 50th, Park to Lexington, closed just before the crash. In 1931 Schultze and Weaver opened a 47-story limestone tower with twin copper spires and some two thousand rooms, then the tallest hotel in the world until Moscow's Hotel Ukraina passed it in 1957. Guest rooms had speakers wired to the Grand Ballroom. The hyphen in the name lasted until 2009.
Peacock Alley still keeps Cole Porter's Steinway and the Waldorf Astoria clock made for the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. Oscar Tschirky, Oscar of the Waldorf, gave the kitchen its salad, Thousand Island dressing, and eggs Benedict. Lucius Boomer ran the house. The Grand Ballroom has held Frank Sinatra, Albert Einstein, the first Met Gala, the first Tony Awards, and Elsa Maxwell's April in Paris Ball, which once brought an elephant through the doors.
Conrad Hilton had wanted this hotel for years. His company leased it in 1949, bought the building from Penn Central in 1972, and finished buying the land in 1977. In 2014 Anbang paid about $1.95 billion, then a record for a hotel, and Hilton signed a hundred-year management contract to stay at the desk.
The doors closed in 2017 so the upper floors could become condominiums and the rest could take a multibillion-dollar refit. After Anbang collapsed, Dajia and Strategic Hotels took over. Only 62,000 square feet of the 1.6-million-square-foot tower is landmarked in New York, so nearly the whole interior could be reimagined around the 1931 bones. Pierre-Yves Rochon redid the rooms. The old lobby was dark and busy; the symmetry came back, a recessed bar sits on the north side, and check-in moved into the quieter Library Lounge. A porte cochere on 49th Street lets cars skip Park Avenue. More than 1,400 rooms at close became 375 hotel rooms and 372 condominiums above, the smallest rooms roughly twice their old size, with dressing areas, bar corners, and about 5,600 new windows. Luigi Romaniello, who came from the Plaza, now runs the house. Guests returned in 2025 after nearly eight years dark.
The setting
Waldorf Astoria New York sits on 301 Park Avenue in Midtown. Grand Central is roughly 5 minutes' walk. Rockefeller Center is roughly 6 minutes' walk, and Top of The Rock is roughly 7 minutes' walk. This is hotel country. Stay toward Central Park South if you want a morning in the park; stay west of Sixth if the show is the point. MoMA, Radio City, and Bryant Park are the afternoon-to-curtain map. 2-minute walk to 51 St. 10-minute walk to Museum of Modern Art.
Restaurants and bars
- Peacock Alley — Restaurant
Amenities
- Spa
- Fitness center
- Fine dining
- Pet-friendly
Awards
- AAA Five Diamond (2026)
- Condé Nast Traveler Hot List (2026)
- MICHELIN Two Keys (2026)
- Andrew Harper Editors Choice (2025)
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