Waldorf Towers, New York City

100   Recommended
September 12, 2014 by EXPERT

 Map | 2 Reviews | 100% Recommended
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The Waldorf Towers
 Map | 2 Reviews | 100% Recommended

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This past Christmas my family decided to go to New York City on what we thought would be one of our last family trips. However, my Dad was unable to travel due to being diagnosed with a serious heart condition which required surgery which was occurred two weeks before we left. My parents stayed behind and encouraged us to continue the trip; in the end, my best friend and his wife who just married in November joined us. The first night of the trip was at the Ritz-Carlton Central Park. The remaining four nights were spent at the Waldorf Towers. Here is the report:

Due to fluctuating rates for a 2 BR suite, my TA kindly reserved for me a 2 BR Luxury suite for the rate of $1079 a night which was essentially composed of a 1 BR Luxury suite for $629 with a connecting bedroom for $450 a night. These were Virtuoso rates (BAR less 10% IIRC) which included upgrade if available at check-in and afternoon tea once for 2 once per stay. The Waldorf Towers is my "Home away from Home" in New York City and it was wonderful to be able to return at magical Christmastime.

Check In

We arrived from the Ritz-Carlton at the Motor entrance to the Waldorf Towers which limo's and taxi's can enter from 50th and exit on 49th. It can be completely enclosed for presidents and other dignitaries. Entering in to the Waldorf Towers we were warmly greeted by many of the longtime staff we have gotten to know over the years. Check-in was quick and smooth but since it was only noon our suite was not ready for us yet and they had a full house the night before. We went for Sunday Brunch at Peacock Alley (more on that below) and then spent the remaining time in the Astoria Lounge on the 26th floor, which, BTW, is now for the sole use of Waldorf Towers guests. While I waited for the room to be ready, the others went out to SoHo. At 3:00pm, I received word from the Astoria Lounge Manager that our suite was ready and someone was coming up with the keys.

Room

Vinmore, one of the Concierges, came up to the Lounge and escorted me to the 33R and 33R2 which was our 2 BR suite. Since they were full the hotel was not able to upgrade me on this occasion. The "R" suites are very nice, on the northeast corner of the hotel, and are among the larger "Luxury" suites in the hotel.

As you enter 33R there is a small foyer where on the left is the master bedroom and further down the hall the 2nd bedroom 33R2; straight ahead of you is the master bathroom (accessible from both the hallway and the bedroom's boudoir); and the living room and dining room to the right.

The living room featured 2 large sofa's with coffee table in the centre of the room; a work desk with dedicated fax machine by the windows overlooking 50th street, and a 42" LCD screen. Beyond the living room was a dining room for 6 people connected to a very small kitchen. The minibar was located in the full size refridgerator. A 3rd bedroom can be added to this suite, Room 3300, and the connecting door is in the Dining room.

The Master bedroom is very large featuring a king bed, chaise longue, and a regular CRT TV. Connecting to the bedroom is a boudoir with make up table, lots of wardrobe space, and then the master bath with large tub and separate stall shower. The hotel uses Penhaligon "Blenheim Bouquet" toiletries still but since the hotel knew I like Bulgari Green tea toiletries the hotel specially ordered them in for me and BOTH bathrooms in the suite had both sets of toiletries. Very nice touch!!

The 2nd bedroom is much smaller than the master bedroom with a king bed. It is perhaps 275 sq. ft. at most and paying money to stay in this room alone would not be a very good value in my opinion. The bathroom in the 2nd bedroom is smaller and features a tub/shower combination. Because we had enough living space elsewhere in the suite, this bedroom was only used for sleeping so it was adequate for our needs.

The rooms and suites are dead-quiet and one never hears any noise from adjacent rooms. In the Towers there are only about 15-20 rooms and suites per floor for a building which occupies an entire New York City block. The high ceilings (14 feet perhaps) make for very spacious accommodations.

Dining

Since I was already spending a lot of money at the hotel I thought I would dine at the hotel to ensure I would be able to re-qualify for HHonors Gold through points. It helps that I enjoy the F&B at the Waldorf.

We had Sunday Brunch at Peacock Alley; had dinner at Bull & Bear; and had a special Christmas Dinner in-suite organised through Hospitality Sales. Each meal was wonderful.

I was quite gutted when the hotel announced after 9/11 than they were discontinuing the Sunday Brunch at Peacock Alley -- it had been my favourite Sunday brunch. When I heard that the Brunch has been started up again I was elated and had to try it out on this trip.

Typically, we are on the hotel VIP list and as such hard to get reservations such as the Sunday Brunch become easier. We were late due to a communications mix-up but Peacock Alley held our table for us.

In short, the array of choices has shrunk but the quality level of each choice has gone up. Before, there would be 15 different salads (bean, potato, caesar, mixed leaf, etc) and lots of side dishes to fill one up. This time, there were less of those and more substantive choices. Highlights were the raw bar with about a half dozen choices for Oysters, an array of mussels, crab legs, lobster claws, jumbo shrimp, and lox prepared in different ways; the eggs bennie bar including a sublime lobster benny; beef wellington; lamb and filet carvery; crepes and waffles made to order, and a chocolate fountain.

Additionally, there were some pasta options, chicken, fish, a large bread table with about 10 different kinds of bread, cheeses, and your standard breakfast selections including an omelette station.

For those who remember the chicken in cream sauce and the cheese ravioli these tasted exactly like they used to -- a little slice of heaven!! The lamb and the filet were excellent -- some of the most tender and flavourful pieces of meat I have had and especially at a buffet.

The service was decent as plates were cleared fairly timely and our drinks (tea and water) were topped off fairly consistently as well. This is in light of the brunch being absolutely full with a long waiting list of people trying to get in. The Lobby of the Waldorf=Astoria was chaotic with the check-in lines snaking towards the Park Avenue entrance but during brunch I really did not notice it to be as frantic as it actually was.

The cost has gone up to $85 per person but includes tea/coffee, juice and one Mimosa or Bloody Mary. I truly enjoyed the brunch.

Peacock Alley looks nice as it was renovated but I miss the Peacock Alley of before -- it seems that a lot of the elegance it used to have has been lost. However, I would return again and again.

While NYC is not short of top notch steakhouses I still like Bull & Bear a whole lot. I like the clubby atmosphere and I just adore their steaks. Upon arrival we were greeted by the Maitre d' and had wonderful service the entire evening. It appears that the Captain was taking very special care of our table throughout the meal.

The Waldorf Salad and the French onion soup were excellent -- the soup is a little notch under what one could get at a classic french bistro in Paris.

Our steaks (the filet mignon and the New York Strip) were cooked to perfection and seasoned just enough. Tender and flavourful it was just sublime. The mashed potatoes were creamy and the asparagus cooked to perfection. Our Pinot Noir went well with everything and a spectacular dinner was had. It is always nice to be able to look out on to Lexington to see the hustle and bustle as well. A classic stand-by, Bull & Bear did not disappoint!!

Service

We had booked a special Christmas Day dinner through Hospitality Sales at the hotel. For $130 per person we had a meal with turkey, beef filet (I actually thought it was turkey OR beef filet but it turned out to be AND!!), sausage stuffing, roasted glazed chestnuts, rapini, mashed potatoes, creamed corn, Waldorf Salad, asparagus salad and spinach salad with buche noel and petit fours for dessert.

I had some trepidations about the food quality of such a catered event but my fears were for naught as it was a very very good meal which surpassed my expectations.

Our dinner was scheduled for 7:00pm and around 6:00pm staff arrived to set up the dining room for our event. White tablecloth was laid out and two side tables were set up with large buffet style warmers. Around 6:30 the food arrived and staff set them up in the warmers and arranged everything on the tables and the buffet in the dining room.

Everything was cooked to perfection and the filet was some of the best we have ever had -- tender and flavourful. The only issue was the volume of food. After pigging out, we had 17 slices of filet, 18 slices of white turkey meat and 22 slices of dark turkey meat remaining!!! Though we ordered for 4 people it looked as if the food was prepared for 8-10!!

The whole affair was swellegant to say the least. The desserts were of the highest calibre -- I guess the Waldorf is used to these sorts of events as they host some of the city's top social events and cater to dignitaries and Heads of State on virtually a daily basis.

There were two glitches. The minor one was that no bread/rolls were provided with our food and despite requesting for them, none ever showed up. The major one was when we requested for the leftover meats to be heated up and served to us again the next day. This simple request, which was not a part of their "script" caused much confusion and errors. First, beef and turkey sandwich meat arrived; then, some other concoction involving bovine and bird meat arrived; numerous calls to room service did not resolve anything. Finally, exasperated I called the Towers Front desk, explained everything for the 5th time and finally it was partially rectified and our leftovers arrived, though minus everything else (gravy, cranberry sauce, etc). A final call to the Front desk finally saw everything the way it should have been.

To the Waldorf Towers' credit, when I mentioned this at check-out, another room service order we had was removed completely from folio

All in all, the cost was high but was worth every penny. It is not always one can spend Christmas day in a large suite in the sky with friends and have a wonderful meal in the dining room of your own suite. Service charges and taxes added about 45% on top of the per person cost. Yet, I cannot but repeat, it was worth every penny (and HHonors point!!). I still salivate thinking about the beef filet!!

Overall

The Concierge service at the Waldorf Towers is one of their strengths for me. It certainly helps to have a wonderful relationship, built over 10 years of frequenting the hotel on almost a yearly basis, with the Chef Concierge Michael. He is a class act and is extremely well connected -- there has not yet been a reservation he has not been able to get for us.

He was instrumental in completing a surprise Christmas gift for my sister -- a Nintendo Wii, which the Concierge at the Ritz-Carlton Central Park sourced and purchased for me. I had fooled my sister into believing she was not going to get one due to availability and even booked her a Make-up lesson at MAC to complete the dupe. A RC-CP page purchased the Wii and delivered it to the Waldorf where Michael had it wrapped and hidden in the GMs office. Notes were put on the reservation and staff briefed that this was to remain a secret.

On Christmas day, at the appointed time, the Concierge Vinmore delivered the gift to the suite, completing the surprise. The hotel sent up engineers so that we could play the Wii immediately on the flatscreen tv in the living room. This was something I really appreciated as seeing my sister's reaction -- from hugging me one moment, slapping me on the arm the next, and then hugging me again -- was truly priceless and precious. It is these small things which make up for the sometimes not-as-polished-service as compared to Peninsula, Four Seasons etc.

For me, the Waldorf Towers has a warmth and comfort of a home away from home. Is the service as polished as the Four Seasons? No. Is the value for money virtually second to none in the Big Apple? Yes!! Is it like home? Most certainly. The staff are like family members and the hotel truly did their best, the best so far, in making our stay special. Are there "better" hotels in NYC? Perhaps. But for many of the reasons I outlined, this is why I return to the Waldorf Towers time and time again. And as the staff at the Waldorf Towers always say when I arrive, "Welcome Home to the Waldorf Towers." What more is there to say?

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