The Waldorf Astoria New York hosts galas, conferences, product launches, board meetings and weddings for 12 to 1,500 guests, with 43,000 square feet of function space across eight private rooms. The hotel occupies the Art Deco tower at 301 Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan and has 375 redesigned guest rooms and suites.
Seminars and company events
The Grand Ballroom, at 9,990 square feet, is the plenary room: 1,500 theatre style, 762 classroom or 512 in a U-shape, with built-in audiovisual equipment. The Astor Salon and the Jade Room, 3,675 square feet each, take 288 theatre style, 168 classroom or 72 around a conference table, and suit breakout sessions or mid-sized meetings. The Basildon Room, 1,645 square feet, seats 140 theatre style and 90 classroom. The East and West Foyers serve as pre-function and smaller meeting spaces, with 196 and 120 theatre style. Eight boardrooms, 7,020 square feet in total, each seat 12 at an executive table with audiovisual technology, which suits board meetings and interviews during a larger event.
Weddings and receptions
The hotel sells weddings from ceremony to reception, mainly in the Grand Ballroom and the Jade Room. The Grand Ballroom seats 1,450 for a banquet and takes 1,500 for a reception, while the Astor Salon and the Jade Room each seat 250 for dinner and take 420 standing. The Basildon Room suits smaller dinners of 120.
Rooms and capacities
For dinners and receptions: Grand Ballroom 1,450 banquet and 1,500 reception; Astor Salon and Jade Room 250 banquet and 420 reception each; East Foyer 160 banquet and 330 reception; Basildon Room 120 banquet and 190 reception; West Foyer 120 banquet and 150 reception; and the Silver Corridor, 1,995 square feet, 200 for a standing reception.
Accommodation
The hotel has 375 guest rooms and suites, redesigned during the building's restoration, so delegates and wedding guests can stay in the building where the event takes place.
Catering
The hotel's banquet team creates custom menus for each event, from passed hors d'oeuvres to dessert. The building also houses three restaurants: Lex Yard, a brasserie by chef Michael Anthony; Peacock Alley, for dining and cocktails; and Yoshoku, which serves kaiseki tasting and à la carte menus.
History and setting
The Waldorf Astoria opened on Park Avenue in 1931, replacing the original Waldorf and Astoria hotels on Fifth Avenue, which dated from the 1890s. The building, designed by Schultze & Weaver, is a New York City landmark and one of the city's best-known Art Deco towers. It closed in 2017 for a full restoration that reduced the number of hotel rooms and added private residences in the upper floors.
Getting there
The hotel stands on Park Avenue between 49th and 50th Streets, a short walk from Grand Central Terminal and the 51st Street subway station. LaGuardia Airport is the closest airport, with JFK and Newark also serving the city.
