In a city defined by reinvention, few comebacks feel as momentous as the return of the Waldorf Astoria New York. Following an eight-year, US$2 billion restoration, the legendary Park Avenue hotel has reopened its doors, its grandeur intact, its spirit refreshed, and its place in New York society reaffirmed.
The Waldorf Astoria’s central lobby
The revival, led by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill with interiors by Pierre-Yves Rochon, is a study in reverence and restraint. Rather than rewriting history, the team sought to let it breathe anew. The result: a property where gilded Art Deco heritage and contemporary ease coexist with disarming harmony.
Left to right: Concierge Mina Loutfalla; the upstairs dining room of Lex Yard at the Waldorf Astoria New York.
Guests enter through the iconic Park Avenue vestibule, where Icelandic artist Nína Sæmundsson’s Spirit of Achievement still lifts her bronze wings skyward. Inside, the legendary Peacock Alley once again forms the hotel’s social heart. Beneath chandeliers that scatter soft light over restored black marble columns and maple-burl panels, the Waldorf Astoria Clock, freshly polished and standing proudly, anchors the space. Around it, the theatre of New York life plays out with timeless elegance.
Left to right: The Waldorf Astoria New York’s Park Avenue entrance; an archival photo of the original Waldorf-Astoria Hotel circa 1910.
The hotel’s most dramatic transformation lies in its meticulous restorations. In the Silver Corridor, Edward Emerson Simmons’s murals gleam in pastel tones after painstaking conservation. The Basildon Room’s ceiling frescoes, inspired by Dante’s Divine Comedy, glow with renewed vitality. Even the 148,000-tile Wheel of Life mosaic in the Park Avenue Foyer has been carefully revived, a testament to the artisanship that defines the project at every turn.
Left to right: The restored murals in the Silver Corridor; a butler delivering room-service breakfast.
With only 375 rooms, down from the original 1,400, the Waldorf now offers something increasingly rare in Manhattan: space. Suites, dressed in hushed creams and polished metals, feel serene and generously proportioned. Double-glazed windows hush the city’s clamor, while Frette linens, deep soaking tubs, and Aesop amenities transform each room into a private sanctuary.
Left to right: The new reception area; Louis Rigal’s Wheel of Life mosaic.
Dining is equally intentional. Peacock Alley’s bar, curated by Jeff Bell of PDT, serves refined classics beneath floral and feathered motifs. At Lex Yard, chef Michael Anthony presents seasonal dishes with subtle sophistication, fluke tartare, slow-poached halibut, and chilled soups that echo the hotel’s aesthetic of understated luxury.
Left to right: A Park Avenue Junior Suite; the lower-floor bar and dining room at Lex Yard.
What truly sets the revived Waldorf Astoria apart, however, is its unwavering sense of hospitality. From the concierge to the quiet engineer crossing the lobby, warmth flows effortlessly. It feels like the return of an old friend, grander, more polished, yet unmistakably familiar. In a city that celebrates comebacks, the Waldorf Astoria New York stands tall once more. And as ever, all roads lead to one timeless meeting point: the clock.
Left to right: A silver-plated panel on the Waldorf Astoria Clock; a Bullfighter cocktail at the Peacock Alley bar.