Big Apple's grande dame to get face-lift

NEW YORK - It's goodbye for now to the grand Art Deco lobby and celebrities crossing paths en route to "The Towers" at the Waldorf Astoria: one of the world's most luxurious hotels is closing for renovation.

The legendary establishment opened at its Park Avenue location in midtown Manhattan in 1931 with more than 1,400 rooms, the largest - and tallest - anywhere at the time.

It has hosted a stream of international political leaders, movie stars, tycoons and power players of all kinds for more than 85 years.

From Marilyn Monroe to Grace Kelly, US presidents Herbert Hoover to Barack Obama, as well as global leaders in town for the United Nations General Assembly every year, the Waldorf Astoria has been the place to be.

The hotel is massive, occupying a full city block of prime New York real estate.

Famous for its upscale services, the Waldorf says it invented the concept of 24-hour room service.

The Art Deco style is carried through details down to the door handles in the lobby bathrooms.

However, the grande dame is showing her age.

Guests have complained about dated rooms, peeling paint and issues with cleanliness.

The hotel's owner, Anbang Insurance Group, says it will close the hotel for major renovations starting on Wednesday. The work is due to last two to three years.

The Chinese company bought the historic gem in 2014 from the Hilton hotel chain for $1.95 billion.

Although it has released no official renovation plan, Anbang is expected to convert a large number of rooms into luxury apartments with boutique stores on the ground floor, leaving only a small part of the building as a hotel.

The facade - which became an official landmark in 1993, joining the Empire State Building and Brooklyn Bridge - is in no danger.

But the interior is not protected under the landmark designation, and some are worried that such treasures as the four-story grand ballroom and sprawling mosaic by the French artist Louis Rigal decorating the entrance will disappear forever, despite Anbang's promise to consult preservation officials.

"I'm very, very sad," said 70-year-old Donna Karpa from Washington, a regular from the age of 5 who was in town for the weekend.

"I'd come every year as a little girl," she said. "We would come with my family for Christmas and we'd see the Rockettes (dance show) and we would go ice skating at Rockefeller Center. It's great and the location is wonderful."

Besides the guests' many wows, the hotel's employees - 1,400 of them in total - chiefly remember the rich, famous and powerful who have frequented the Waldorf every day.

But just like many of the guests, the hotel's employees agree that even if they adore the place, it's time to refresh.

"We love the nostalgia, but it's kind of dated," said Ron Ruth, an aircraft mechanic from San Francisco who came for his 23rd wedding anniversary.

"The heating and the cooling, and the bathrooms are really small, too small for my wife."

Agence France - Presse