The Waldorf Astoria, New York City

I stayed at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in January 2004, which was my first (and only so far) trip to New York, and at the time only my second trip to the USA. Given that I didn't feel I'd be regularly jetting off to New York, I'd decided to check us into the hotel I'd always heard about and hence had always wanted to stay at. We arrived late evening by taxi which dropped us off at the main entrance to the hotel on Park Avenue. The lobby area is large, with the reception being located right at the back, meaning you have to walk through the lobby and past the main lifts to get to check in to your ... more

The Waldorf Astoria, one of the world’s landmark hotels takes up an entire New York block, between Lexington & Park Avenues at 49th and 50th streets. We thought this would be the ideal place for our 4 night stay in New York in August 2003. We booked the hotel through expedia.co.uk and got a good deal which worked out at £50 per person per night (room only). I had read a number of reviews (on other websites – so slap my hands!) and had mixed feelings about the accommodation we had booked. Some said it was great and others said it was pretty awful. It’s neither of those things, but it was an ... more

I had a very lucky trip to NYC Summer 2005. Lucky, because I went thru Priceline, and cheekily asked for a 5 star hotel, in August, for 5 nights, in downtown NYC for £75 a night! I ended up in the Waldorf Astoria!!! I've stayed in NYC for business before, and I knew to expect small rooms and spend a lot of money. Here, I was staying in the most historic hotel in the US, oozing Art Deco chic from every corner. Your first impression of the hotel is it's impressive Park Avenue frontage, seen many times in movies. The entrance and reception area is stunning . The clock in the reception hall, a ... more

I arrived late at night due to my flight being delayed. Expecting to start work the next morning I was disapointed that the reception was empty apart from the token receptionist milling around in the back of the desk area. Eventually getting my room key I made my way up to the room. I guess for a 5 star hotel I should have expected that the lifts would work correctly but then again I should have known better. Being an old hotel didn't really instill faith in me as I figured out that the only way to get the lift that I had chosen to go to my floor was to stop on the floor below mine and then ... more