The London Lounge

New York's Waldorf Astoria is on the endangered list.

Although it is not going to be torn down, it will closed for a three year renovation. The hotel will be converted mostly to residential condos with about 300 to 500 hotel rooms left out of the current 1,413. My prediction is 300 or even less.

Ralph Gardner, Jr., in "The Wall Street Journal" noted that another hotel redevelopment, The Plaza, has resulted in a place devoid of people and energy. Although the public spaces have been saved, it has the feel of a mausoleum. E.g., the Edwardian Room is preserved, but it is no longer a restaurant. It is a shop. See http://www.wsj.com/articles/another-con ... 1467673494

Although there will be discussions and even union protests to save The Waldorf, I doubt that it will be saved in its current state. Exhibit A is The Plaza.

As a child, both The Waldorf and The Plaza were magical places where very special people got to stay on their visits to New York. As a child I used to attend an annual charity lunch at The Waldorf, and I used to wander its endless halls. The Waldorf seemed like a city within a city.

I doubt that the current "boutique" hotels, such as the W, carry the same wonder.

I agree and those two hotels had similar magical and now nostalgic meaning for me.

A visit to the Plaza some years ago was just appalling . I have never been back since …
Used to enjoy going to the bar and looking over at Central Park on a snowy evening.
It's all over now.

The Waldorf …now just cheap rooms sold on Expedia. The Towers not much better.

Just really horrible what has happened.

But no use lamenting the past. Forget it.

I hate to say it but there's no use anymore.

Just yesterday evening, I gave a light-hearted presentation at my club about the Age of the Grand Hotel. That age is firmly over, although some forms of the business survive.

The spectacular semi-public spaces (ballrooms, palm courts, lobbies, vast restaurants, etc.) that were a key characteristic of the Grand Hotels reflected forms of display, entertainment, consumption and socialising that virtually disappeared in the second half of the 20th century. Other socioeconomic factors curtailed demand for Grand Hotels along traditional lines but the cultural aspect is crucial and it has made that sort of facility, as it existed, superfluous.

It is similar to the huge surplus of churches in European cities. If Christian worship plummets within a few generations from 75% on Sunday and 5-10% daily to nil daily and sub-10% on Sundays, many large churches become museums/mausoleums, which is what has happened.

I, personally, wish it were otherwise, but that does not change the facts. At least grand hotels buildings are much easier to adapt to other uses than churches.

Mark Seitelman wrote:
Ralph Gardner, Jr., in "The Wall Street Journal" noted that another hotel redevelopment, The Plaza, has resulted in a place devoid of people and energy. Although the public spaces have been saved, it has the feel of a mausoleum.

Mr. Gardner is SO wrong. Evidently he has not visited or prefers to ignore the massive Plaza and Todd English Food Halls that overtook the whole ground basement of The Plaza. It may not be the high society place that some wish for but despite the fact that you might be charged a ridiculous $16 for a small (paper) cup of hot chocolate, it is packed from 10 am to 10 pm seven days a week. Of course it lacks the charm and exclusivity of the Oak Bar and Room upstairs but we could hardly argue "devoid of people and energy". Another type of people and energy, but still.
We can look at the redevelopments of The Pierre, The St. Regis, Hampshire House, and many, many more from hotel to condos also as a tool that permits the buildings to stay viable. What other alternative is there if not?