Quite Nice, but don't expect the world.
Written: Feb 23 '03
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Elegant public spaces, terrific location, comfortable bed with nice linens, Sunday Brunch Buffet.
Cons: Mechanical systems not up to par, a little faded around the edges.
The Bottom Line: If you expect the world, you will be disappointed. This remains a gem of a hotel, but it's a slightly faded gem.
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| teamw23's Full Review: The Waldorf=Astoria? |
The Waldorf Astoria is a NY institution, and is generally viewed as one of the nicest hotels in the city. The wealthy and famous have been staying at the Waldorf Astoria for years.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's what all the travel brochures say. You could read that anywhere. The reason you are reading this is to know is whether the hotel actually lives up to its stellar reputation, right?
I have stayed at many quite excellent hotels over the years in a variety of cities. This is certainly one of them, but it is not significantly nicer than many other high-end, big city hotels. In fact, this old gem is starting to look a little frayed around the edges. If you expect it to be the best hotel you've ever experienced, you will likely be disappointed. If you ignore all the hype surrounding this place and just want a solid place to stay in New York, it's basically a fine choice.
Here's a blow-by-blow of the weekend my wife and I spent staying at the Waldorf.
Location:
It's a central location near most everything. It's a very high-end neighborhood, with fancy shopping and the like within walking distance, and everything else a modest cab ride away.
Lobby:
The lobby is simply beautiful. It is definitely one of the most beautiful hotel lobbies I've ever seen. Inlaid mosiac floors, beautiful chandeliers, beautiful fresh-cut flower arrangements, lots of marble, dark stained wood and all of the highest quality and tastefully done.
Check-in:
I had read other reviews that warned of rude service from the staff, but I certainly didn't experience that from the check-in clerk. I'm a tall guy, 6'4" tall and I asked him for a "King bed, non-smoking, high floor" He consulted the computer and started hunting for what I wanted. He confessed to me that the rooms the hotel sells on the internet for low prices are typically near the elevators, ice machines etc. and don't have king beds. (I had booked through the internet and had gotten a quite spectacularly low rate.) Nevertheless, he worked on the terminal for a good five minutes, hunting through the empty rooms of the hotel, looking for something appropriate for us. He finally found us the king bed room we wanted and was really quite friendly and accomodating.
The Room:
By New York standards the room was decently sized, but certainly not large. This is a very old hotel, and the size of the rooms reflects the sensibilities of an earlier time. However, the ceilings are easily 12 feet high, with lovely crown moulding, and quite rich wallpaper.
There was a large, marble-topped desk, with an in-room fax machine, but no high-speed internet access port. Apparently there is some sort of high-speed internet available through the television but we really didn't try that. However, with the exception of high-speed internet access, the workspace was larger and nicer than one typically finds, even at nice hotels.
The windows actually opened (not enough to allow people to fall out, but enough to allow plenty of air into the room.) This feature turned out to be quite important to our stay, as will be clear below. In any event, I like the option of having some fresh air when I sleep, so any hotel that lets me open the windows earns points from me. I am amazed at how uncommon this is becoming in newer hotels.
The bed was quite comfortable, and the sheets and bedding were really first rate. It was winter when we were there, so they gave us a wonderful down comforter, wrapped top and bottom with sheets (kind of a duvet cover arrangement) and it was all spotlessly clean. The sheets were also of very high quality. I don't know whether they were 300 count or whatever, but they definitely weren't those crummy, polyester blend sheets some nominally high-end chains foist off on their unsuspecting guests.
The bed side tables were marble-topped, the bedside lamps were cut-glass, and the room also came with a comfortable chair and side table, and the ubiquituous (although more nicely done) 25-inch-TV-Inside-Wardrobe, and a fairly well-stocked minibar.
The bathroom was good-sized, with plenty of fluffy towels and the usual assortment of lotions and what-not one expects from a place of this caliber.
Sounds pretty good, ehh? It was, but before you make your final judgment you also need to know the bad things:
1. Air conditioning/heating system. The control panel looked like it was put in about 30 years ago, and it never worked properly throughout our stay. We had no problem getting heat, the problem was regulating it. The thermostat just didn't work at all. We came back to the room after being out most of the day, and the room was easily 95 degrees inside. All the metal surfaces on the doorknobs etc. were hot to the touch. We shut off the unit entirely and opened both windows to the 40 degree outside, and by leaving the door to the room open, we cooled everything down in short order, but we couldn't make it work properly at all while we were there.
They may have put new wallpaper up recently, but it appears that the makeover was mostly cosmetic. The underlying mechanical systems of this place do not appear to have been updated very recently. I would think twice about booking a room there during the intense heat of a N.Y. summer. Old things break, and woe to you if you lose A/C in the middle of the night in August.
2. The bathroom water control handles had been installed backwards, so that you turned one handle one way and the other the wrong way. An irksome detail that should not have been overlooked.
3. In order to get water hot enough to shower in, you had to turn the water control almost entirely over to hot. Again this does not inspire confidence in the underlying mechanical systems.
4. The remote control had one function (channel down). Every button on the remote did the same thing. I called housekeeping to fix the remote, but the one they replaced it with didn't work at all (which they apparently never bothered to check).
5. The lightswitch to the bathroom was grimy and dirty.
6. The dust ruffle around the bottom of the bed was faded and had several little tears in it.
7. The in-room coffee service (the cheap little coffee maker and coffee you make yourself), had a charge of $4.95 associated with it. I've never been a hotel from a Ramada Inn up to the Four Seasons and above that expected me to pay for coffee that I made myself in the room. That's so out-of-step with the rest of the industry that they ought to be embarrassed.
8. Ice maker mysteries - I went in search of some ice and there was no icemaker anywhere to be found. I asked a maid, and she said she would have to call somebody to ask, and that she didn't think there was one on my floor. She said try down two floors, so I got on the elevator and proceeded to wander around aimlessly on another floor with no signs anywhere to direct me. I never did find any ice and gave up in disgust. They give you an ice bucket, they might put up a sign or put a card on top of it telling you where you might find ice. Maybe I was supposed to order it? I dunno, but this seems kinda dumb to me.
I can't speak to the hotel restaurants in any detail. We had Sunday Brunch, and it was really first-rate. There were lots of delicious offerings on the buffet and the service was pretty solid (although we had to wait forever to get our check at the end of the meal.) It is advertised as one of the nicest brunches in the city, and it more than lives up to that hype.
So what does that all mean: I think it means that although this is not a bad place to stay, it's far from perfect. The Waldorf Astoria is indeed a classic property, with some lovely touches, but it's also a very old hotel, and despite an apparently recent remodel, it's still showing its age to some degree.
I got a pretty good deal on my room there, and was ultimately satisfied, if not overwhelmed. You can certainly do far, far worse in New York and pay more, but the Waldorf Astoria doesn't quite live up to its stellar reputation. I'd stay there again if I got a good deal again, but I don't think I would pay anything approaching their regular rates.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
teamw23
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Reviews written: 47
Trusted by: 4 members
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