In early August 2008, having arrived at La Guardia from LA X, the last thing you'd want to do is arrive in a stuffy indoor car park and wait there for about half an hour whilst a member of staff gives you the look of death for not tipping him! This kind of sums up the experience. The moment my family and I arrived we were very disappointed. Service was rubbish-we waited at the reception desk for about 45 minutes whilst people buzzed around EVERYWHERE.
I was personally upset upon arrival to my room. It smelled of urine and smoke, the bathroom was appallingly tiny and the toilet failed to flush. It was a good summary of the Waldorf experience.
Come dinner time on the first night, we were waiting for about an hour for some disappointing food which should have taken about half an hour maximum. The waiter had an attitude problem and felt the need to correct a jet-lagged and disorientated yours truly for pronouncing a dish wrong.
Breakfast was fun, though (NOT). It was worse than waiting in a long queue at the supermarket. Whole groups of tourists gathered around our table to talk to friends sitting at other tables, taking photos and in general disturbing most people trying to eat their breakfast. Often, the queue for breakfast was so long that it extended up the stairs which lead to the room itself. To have an enjoyable breakfast you'd probably have to be down there by 6am.
After two dreadful nights, we left the Waldorf Astoria and I honestly could not have been happier to find a haven in the form of "Le Parker Meridien". Not only was it less teeming with people, the staff were friendly, the rooms beautiful and modern and the service impeccable.
This is a plea to anyone thinking of going to the Waldorf. Don't go! It thrives on reputation alone and is as tired and frankly dead as the film stars of the past who resided there from time to time.
hotel reviews