The latest delay in the reopening of the iconic Waldorf Astoria hotel — until spring next year, as I predicted would happen in early 2023 — is the latest insult to New York City by a Chinese company primarily interested in selling of super-luxury apartments for global investors. that may never turn on the lights.
For the Dajia Insurance Group, which took control of the Waldorf three years ago when another Chinese company collapsed, the fantastic property’s brilliant public spaces like Peacock Alley might even have their livers ripped out — if they even know what they want. to say.
Of course, the Waldorf will reopen one day. But Hilton, which manages the property, teased last week that the relaunch originally planned for later this year has been pushed back to spring 2025 — and that’s just the “expected” timeline.
The great monument is still undergoing an eight-year restoration and redesign. Eight years! (Hilton sold it to Anbang in 2014 for $1.95 billion. Dajia took over when the government in Beijing dissolved Anbang for murky reasons.)
A towering presence on the skyline and symbol of Manhattan glamour, the Waldorf was home to the legendary Peacock Alley and was the stomping grounds of Cole Porter, Frank Sinatra and Marilyn Monroe before it closed in February 2017.
The Waldorf relaunch was initially 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 ones will be twice as large, as well as 375 apartments priced from $1.8 million to $20 million.
But Anbang’s collapse, followed by the departure of Waldorf’s US project manager in early 2023, contributed to repeated slowdowns on top of those related to the pandemic.
Today, most of the building’s ground and second floors look like raw space through open windows and doors — save for a gleaming Park Avenue sales office with a Cole Porter piano on display.
The current condition of the building is also a concern for nearby businesses. An employee at Fresh & Co. across the street said, “It’s the great black hole of Lexington Avenue.” People don’t like walking up here
Monument restorations do not happen overnight. But the Plaza Hotel, which was elaborately redesigned to include apartments, completed the job in just three years. It took less than four years to build One Vanderbilt, a skyscraper 1,401 feet tall from top to bottom.
The still-dark Waldorf is an embarrassment for Hilton, which launched a “Waldorf Astoria Collection” of luxury hotels and resorts around the world in 2006. (The division is now called Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts.)
Of course, all that’s missing is the real Waldorf Astoria.
Earlier this year, Hilton launched a publicity campaign to convince the world that a new Waldorf Astoria was indeed coming.
Gramercy Tavern chef Michael Anthony has been named “culinary consultant-in-charge” of a planned, yet-to-be-determined American restaurant with two levels on the ground floor and mezzanine.
Also in the media mill were hotel managing director Luigi Romaniello, Hilton head of luxury brands Dino Michael and interior designer Pierre-Yves Rochon, who shared their enthusiasm for the “new” Waldorf.
Even the secretive Dajia got into the act. Project director Ray Gu told The Wall Street Journal, “The Waldorf had lacked, shall we say, improvements for many, many years.”
He must have missed La Chine, the wonderful modern-Chinese restaurant that replaced the miserable Oscar in 2015.
Hotel industry boosters, however, remain optimistic. Vijay Dandapani, CEO and president of the Hotel Association of NYC, said, “I don’t make much of the latest push for a few months, as I see construction moving rapidly on a daily basis. It should be a very special hotel as well. why much smaller when reopened.â€
But the Oscar sign still hangs inexplicably above Lexington Avenue at the corner of East 50th Street. At this rate, it may soon be the only evidence that a Waldorf Astoria ever existed.
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Image Source : nypost.com