The Waldorf Astoria, New York City

Advantages: 5 Star hotel in central location
Disadvantages: Some areas could be improved upon

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, ...
...you have to walk through the lobby and past the main lifts to get to check in to your room. It's not a problem as such, but you are left following your nose and common sense, which, when your body is telling you it's 2am, you're not really up to doing. We booked the hotel stay through BA Holidays rather than directly with Hilton (the Waldorf Astoria is now owned by this chain) and managed to get a good deal, which resulted in staying a night free ... Read review

Advantages: Location, Price, Facilities, it's the "Waldorf Astoria"!
Disadvantages: Mixed service levels, chaotic check-in

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 ...
...a Limo to transfer us the 45 minutes from Newark Liberty Airport to the hotel. The cars pull into a special garage area under the building out of site of the general public. First impressions were not good. The whole area seemed very disorganised with people obviously waiting for taxis and luggage stacked everywhere. The driver helped us with our luggage seeing as though there seemed a distinct lack of hotel staff (remember, this is supposed to be ... Read review

Advantages: Your staying in a historic Art Deco landmark!
Disadvantages: Service could be better....

...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 stunning timepiece, shows you that ...
...massive king size bed, with the requested cot bed from my daughter. There was a walk in closet, that was huge! The bathroom looked very art deco, and I was a little worried the plumbing might not be up to standard, but there wasn't a problem. I've stayed at the Hyatt Regency 5 star in NYC in the past, and it was a box in style and size compared to the Waldorf. We had a fax machine in our room, which I had to use due to a mixup with our car rental ... Read review

Advantages: LOCATION
Disadvantages: CHECKIN PROCEEDURE

...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 ...
...floor was to stop on the floor below mine and then change lifts? I was relieved to see that the room made up for the challenging start to my visit to New York. I was lucky enough to have a corner suite which gave me stunning views over the area. The rooms are somewhat small however, and rather dated. I hope that by the time I visit again they will have updated the rooms just a little. As with all american hotels, the bed was really soft. In room ... Read review