Copyright theage
After eight years and a $US2 billion ($3.07 billion) renovation, the legendary Waldorf Astoria New York hotel has reopened. And it’s better than ever. Occupying an entire midtown Manhattan block between Park and Lexington avenues since 1931 (an earlier version was located where the Empire State Building now stands), the hotel is a Big Apple landmark, that has shaped modern travel and hospitality. The Waldorf was not only the first hotel in the world to introduce room service, in-room telephones and electricity on every floor, it was also the first to permit unaccompanied female guests to check in. The height of luxury was once a private bath in every guestroom, an amenity the Waldorf Astoria pioneered. And if you’ve enjoyed the tangy crunch of a Waldorf salad, sipped a Rob Roy or Waldorf cocktail, and ordered eggs Benedict for breakfast, you can thank the hotel’s chefs and bartenders who invented or popularised these recipes.
