Where Do U.S. Presidents Stay In New York City

Every U.S. president since Herbert Hoover has either stayed in or lived at the Waldorf’s towers and President Obama became the latest President to stay in the beautiful four bedroom suite in New York City. The $7,000 per night suite is truly a piece of history with so many of the nation’s Presidents staying there.

This week was a particularly busy week at the Waldorf Historia Hotel.In addition to President Obama staying in the infamous presidential suite, there were about two dozen other heads of state staying at the hotel due to the 64th United Nations General Assembly.

The Waldorf-Astoria Hotel is a famous luxury hotel in New York. It has been housed in two historic landmark buildings in New York City. The first was on the Fifth Avenue site of the Empire State Building.

The present building at 301 Park Avenue in Manhattan is a 47 story, 625 ft. Art Deco landmark, designed by architects Schultze and Weaver and dating from 1931.

The Waldorf-Astoria Hotel has elevator large enough for Franklin D. Roosevelt’s automobile provides access to the hotel’s own railway platform that is part of Grand Central Terminal. This was a way for President Roosevelt to go from the train right into the hotel to keep the effects of his polio from the public.

Former U.S. president Herbert Hoover lived in a suite in the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in the late 1950’s. Currently, there a recreation of one of the living room of Hoover’s Waldorf-Astoria suite in the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum.

The hotel is rich in presidential history. The $7,000 a night Presidential Suite is on the 35th floor with many pieces donated by past presidents. President John F. Kennedy’s rocking chairs are in the suite and Ronald Reagan’s donation of a gold oval mirror and eagle-based table in the entrance. President Jimmy Carter provided the eagle desk set and an eagle wall sconces were a gift from President Richard Nixon.

The President, as well as the First Lady, get exclusive treatment at the luxury hotel. Monogrammed towels are placed in the master bathroom and the phones can be set up to identically match the White House phones. If the second button on the left in the White House calls the first lady, so will the same button at the presidential suite.

Why do Presidents pick the Waldorf-Astoria hotel when they are in Manhattan? Aside from the notably exceptional staff, it may be because The Waldorf is one of the few New York hotels to have a driveway that goes under the building. This is a great extra layer of security for the president.

The White House may not be paying the full rate at The Waldorf-Astoria Hotel as it usually negotiates a government discount at hotels. Even at a hefty $7,000 a night, the history of where the Presidents stay when in New York City is magnificent.

Photo of author

Author at Huliq.

Written By James Huliq

Leave a Comment