latest delay in Reopening of the iconic Waldorf Astoria Hotel – Until the spring of next year, as I Prediction is early 2023 — is the latest insult to New York City by a Chinese company that is primarily interested in selling super-luxury condo apartments to globe-trotting investors who probably never turn on the lights.
For Dejia Insurance Group, which took control of the Waldorf when another Chinese company collapsed three years ago, the iconic property’s great public spaces like Peacock Alley could also be gutted — if they mean it. Also understand.
Sure, the Waldorf will reopen someday. But Hilton, which manages the property, broke the news last week that the relaunch initially scheduled for late this year has been pushed back again to sometime in the spring of 2025 — and that’s only The “expected” time frame.
The great landmark is still undergoing eight years of ongoing restoration and redesign. Eight years! (Hilton sold it to Anbang for $1.95 billion in 2014. Dajia took over when the government in Beijing dissolved Anbang for dubious reasons.)
The Waldorf, a powerful skyline presence and symbol of Manhattan glamour, was home to the famous Peacock Alley and the stomping grounds of Cole Porter, Frank Sinatra and Marilyn Monroe before closing in February 2017.
Waldorf was relaunched First promoted for 2020 – And then for 2021, 2022 and 2023.
It will have 375 hotel rooms and suites compared to the original 1,400, although the new rooms will be twice as large, as well as 375 condo residences ranging in price from $1.8 million to $20 million.
But after Anbang’s collapse, the exit of Waldorf’s US project manager in early 2023, in addition to the pandemic-related slowdown, contributed to the repeated downturn.
Today, most of the building’s ground and second floors are visible as raw space through windows and open doors – except for the gleaming Park Avenue sales office with Cole Porter’s piano on display.
The current condition of the building is also a nuisance to nearby businesses. An employee at Fresh & Company across the street said, “It’s the great black hole of Lexington Avenue. People don’t like to travel here from the city.
Historic restoration does not happen overnight. But the Plaza Hotel, which was extensively redesigned to include condos, completed the work in just three years. From top to bottom, One Vanderbilt, a 1,401-foot-tall skyscraper, took less than four years to build.
Still, the darkness is an embarrassment for Waldorf Hilton, which in 2006 launched the “Waldorf Astoria Collection” of luxury inns and resorts around the world. (This division is now called “Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts”.)
Of course, what’s missing is the real Waldorf Astoria.
Earlier this year, Hilton launched a promotional campaign to convince the world that a new Waldorf Astoria was indeed coming.
Chef Michael Anthony of Gramercy Tavern was named “culinary consultant in charge” of a planned, yet-to-be-named, two-level American brasserie on the ground floor and mezzanine.
The media mill also included hotel managing director Luigi Romaniello, Hilton luxury brand head Dino Michael and interior designer Pierre-Yves Rochon, who shared his enthusiasm for the “new” Waldorf.
Even the secret maid got in on the action. project Director Ray Gu told The Wall Street Journal“Let’s say, Waldorf was lacking in reform for many years.”
They must have missed the wonderful modern-Chinese restaurant La Chine, which replaced the ill-fated Oscar in 2015.
However, hotel industry promoters remain upbeat. “I don’t pay much attention to the latest pushback in a few months because I see construction moving forward rapidly on a daily basis,” said Vijay Dandapani, CEO and president of the Hotel Association of NYC. When it reopens it should be a very special hotel, despite being a very small hotel.”
But the Oscar sign still hangs inconspicuously over Lexington Avenue at the corner of East 50th Street. At this rate, it may soon be the only evidence that the Waldorf Astoria ever existed.