The Waldorf Astoria has come to embody a particular kind of New York experience. Reopened in 2025 after an eight-year, $2bn restoration, the hotel—gilded and lavishly ornamented—holds its own among nearby landmarks, including Rockefeller Center, Fifth Avenue and Grand Central Terminal. Its Art Deco public spaces have been painstakingly restored and remain open to all—worth visiting for a drink or a bite, even if only passing through. In the Park Avenue lobby, mosaics and murals reassert the intentions of the original architects, Schultze & Weaver, while Peacock Alley—returned to its 1931 design—retains its role as a place to see and be seen, with maple burl panels, black marble columns and Cole Porter’s grand piano anchoring the room. Upstairs, the hotel’s 375 rooms offer a refined, airy calm, with cream furnishings, floral arrangements and Aesop bathroom products. A trio of restaurants serves everything from the original Waldorf salad—first created here in the 1890s—to traditional Japanese cuisine, alongside a 22,000-square-foot Guerlain spa.

Waldorf Astoria
301 Park Avenue
New York City
United States