A first class stay that a hurricane could not spoil!
I do feel sorry for those people who have posted reviews on how the Waldorf looks 'shabby' and 'tired'. They must have been really unlucky with their rooms and / or service they received, as I couldn't fault it.
The lobby has been refurbished and looks fresh and opulent. Queues at reception for checking in? Well, it depends on the time of day. We arrived at 1pm and had a very short wait at reception. The booking was for my 40th birthday, and 2 drinks vouchers were waiting for me on arrival (worth $40 - thanks to the tip-off from Virgin Holidays). I smiled and asked nicely for a 'room with a view' and the receptionist said if we could wait an hour she would secure me a good one, so we went sight-seeing for a while and an hour later she sent us a text to say it was ready. Our room was on the 16th floor, was very large with windows on 3 sides, and had a fantastic view of the Chrysler Building - wow!
I couldn't see anything on the 16th floor on indeed in our room that was 'past it'. The bed was extremely comfortable and had beautiful, fresh, white bed linen. There was a huge flatscreen TV and an ipod docking station which I didn't expect.
The wi-fi is free in the lobby but can get slow and busy at times, as the lobby is also open to the public of course. I used the business centre PC's on two occassions at a rate of 40c per minute. You just put your credit card in to activate.
We had cocktails a couple of times both at Peacock Alley and Sir Harry's bar. Expect to pay around $20 for one but they are very good - and very strong!
It was bizarre being in the Waldorf during Hurricane Sandy - the staff didn't deviate from their normal behaviour, even though it got very busy and I'm sure there were lots of frantic customers. It was like being inside a safe haven that Sandy could not hit: no power failures or breaks in service. It was only when I stepped out the Park Lane entrance to have a nosy that I realised a tree had come down and just missed the hotel scaffolding - that was a close call.
The only negative would be the fact that the hotel is still swathed in scaffolding on the ground floor. They don't mention this on their website and try to downplay the renovations. In fact, the renovations are part of a rolling programme and will be going on for years. It was just slightly disappointing to arrive at the hotel and walk under the building work.
All in all, I rate the Waldorf highly. Nothing there is value for money, but you would be a bit misguided to think that it would be! Go there for the art deco surroundings, the opulence and really just to do in once in your lifetime.
Extra note: Our holiday was booked through Virgin Holidays who were absolutely fantastic during the storm crisis. Not only did they book us 2 extra nights there in the same room (thanks, Mr Branson!) but they got us on a special extra flight ASAP out of JFK as soon as it re-opened. Really exceptional service.