Waldorf Astoria New York

Waldorf Astoria New York
The hotel from the north, with St. Bart's visible in the foreground.
Hotel chain	Waldorf Astoria
General information
Location	301 Park Avenue Manhattan, New York, U.S.
Coordinates	40°45′23″N 73°58′27″W / 40.75639°N 73.97417°W / 40.75639; -73.97417
Opened	1931; 94 years ago (1931)
Closed	2017; 8 years ago (2017) (temporarily for renovations)
Owner	Dajia Insurance Group Co.
Management	Hilton Worldwide
Height	625 ft (191 m)
Technical details
Floor count	47
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Schultze & Weaver
Other information
Number of rooms	1,413[1]
Number of restaurants	Peacock Alley Bull and Bear Steakhouse La Chine
Website
Official hotel website
New York City Landmark
Designated	January 5, 1993[5]
Reference no.	1812[5]
Designated entity	Exterior
New York City Landmark
Designated	March 7, 2017[6]
Reference no.	2591[6]
Designated entity	Interior (ground through fourth floors, partial)
[2][3][4]

The Waldorf Astoria New York is a luxury hotel and condominium residence in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, United States. The structure, at 301 Park Avenue between 49th and 50th Streets, is a 47-story, 625 ft (191 m) Art Deco landmark designed by architects Schultze and Weaver and completed in 1931. The building was the world's tallest hotel until 1957, when it was surpassed by Moscow's Hotel Ukraina. An icon of glamor and luxury,^[7] the Waldorf Astoria is one of the world's most prestigious and best-known hotels.^[8] Once owned by Conrad Hilton, Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, a division of Hilton Hotels, operates under the name of the original hotel in locations around the world. Both the exterior and the interior of the Waldorf Astoria are designated by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission as official landmarks.

The original Waldorf-Astoria was built in two stages along Fifth Avenue and opened in 1893. It was demolished in 1929 to make way for the construction of the Empire State Building. Conrad Hilton acquired management rights to the hotel on October 12, 1949, and the Hilton Hotels Corporation bought the hotel outright in 1972. It underwent a $150-million renovation, $555 million in 2023 dollars ^[9], by Lee Jablin in the 1980s and early 1990s. The Anbang Insurance Group of China purchased the Waldorf Astoria New York for US$1.95 billion in 2014, making it the most expensive hotel ever sold. The Waldorf Astoria closed in 2017 for renovations. The upper stories were converted into 375 condominiums, while the lowest 18 floors will retain 375 hotel rooms. Dajia Insurance Group took over the Waldorf Astoria when Anbang went bankrupt in 2020, and, after several delays, the hotel is not expected to reopen until early 2025.

In 2009, the Waldorf Astoria and Towers had 1,416 rooms. The main hotel had 1,235 single and double rooms and 208 mini-suites. The Waldorf Towers on the 28th to 42nd floors had 181 rooms, of which 115 were suites with one to four bedrooms. The most expensive room, the Presidential Suite, was designed with Georgian-style furniture to emulate that of the White House. The hotel has three main restaurants: Peacock Alley, The Bull & Bear Steak House, and La Chine—a Chinese restaurant that replaced Oscar's Brasserie in late 2015. Sir Harry's Bar in the hotel, is named after British explorer Sir Harry Johnston.

The Waldorf Astoria has been known for its lavish dinner parties and galas, often at the center of political and business conferences and fundraising schemes involving the rich and famous. After World War II, it played a significant role in world politics and the Cold War, culminating in the controversial World Peace Conference of March 1949. The Presidential Suite was the residence of Herbert Hoover from his retirement for over 30 years, and Frank Sinatra kept a suite at the Waldorf from 1979 until 1988. Some of the luxury suites were named after celebrities who lived or stayed in them, including Cole Porter, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Douglas MacArthur, and Winston Churchill.