The Waldorf Astoria in Midtown Manhattan once epitomized gilded hospitality, but on my last stay in 2017, I found the grande dame had transformed into a faded star clinging to past glories. A general sense of decay pervaded my diminutive suite, which had battered furniture, stained carpeting, rusted bath fixtures and cigarette butts littering the fireplace.

Mercifully, the hotel closed later that year. Now, after a change of ownership and an eight-year, $2 billion renovation, its return has set the travel media abuzz. I prefer to wait a few months before reviewing a new hotel, but I happened to find myself in New York the week after its reopening. I couldn’t resist a look.

Waldorf Astoria New York

On 49th Street off Park Avenue, the hotel’s porte-cochère makes arrival by car effortless. My traveling companion and I didn’t need help with luggage, and mistaking the khaki-clad doorman for a maintenance worker, we neglected to ask for directions to the front desk. We ended up wandering the long corridors bedecked with marble floors and elaborate mosaic murals but, alas, no signage. Eventually we found the reception desk, where a friendly staffer welcomed us with news of a room upgrade (a perk of booking through our Travel Office).