Waldorf Astoria Atlanta Buckhead

I stayed at the Waldorf Astoria for one night and attended the New Moon Sound Bath at their spa. The class was overcrowded, unorganized, and far from relaxing — guests were bumping into one another in the pool, and staff had to physically move us. For a $200 service, this was unacceptable. What made it worse was a mandatory 22% gratuity ($44) added without my authorization. I never signed paperwork agreeing to it, yet the Spa Manager, Jessica Solon refused a refund. I am not disputing the $200 fee since I signed up for the class, but the forced gratuity was never agreed upon. A hotel manager stopped me on the way out and promised the General Manager, Carlos, would follow up, but I never heard back. As long-time Hilton Diamond members, we have always valued Hilton properties. However, after this experience, I will have to seriously reconsider staying with Hilton in the future.

Rooms dirty, flippant & very disinterested front desk. You would expect more from a hotel that claims they value their clients and their needs. Even after talking to “management” .. they instead decided to show some courtesy, do then make it should be me that should honored to stay there. Never going back.

I am a Hilton Diamond Elite member and have stayed at numerous Waldorf properties around the world and look forward to the new Osaka property in October. Typically, the experience and facilities are stellar, but the Waldorf Buckhead is a disappointing exception. I spent one night as a much-needed staycation on Aug 31. I had not been to the property since it was the Mandarin Oriental. One of the reasons I chose this property over a Bonvoy hotel as. platinum member was my memory of the spa, once the nicest hotel spa in the city. After checking in, I ventured down and snagged the last massage appt but had an hour to enjoy the men’s wet area which used to be amazing. To my regret, the steam room was not working, two of the three showers were not working (one with the shower handle totally missing), all of the soap dispensers in the showers and dressing area were empty, and I did not see an attendant in the area the entire time. I tried to enjoy the whirlpool, but the other guest there was playing videos at full volume. Needless to say, the experience only stressed me out more. Luckily my massage was good, but when I returned to the dressing area, my locker wouldn’t open and was broken. I was able to go outside and wait for a staff member who eventually sent someone to open it. However, they did not confirm my identity or combination. Glad the “spa” was empty. While in the spa, I did try the chat feature with the hotel, but no one ever replied back. Later, I left for dinner but has to wait 30 mins for my car to be brought up. There was a long line of cars to be parked, and I finally flagged down a valet who informed me it was coming but may be a while longer due to being understaffed. One good thing was Megan (I think) from the front desk who saw my frustration and asked what room I was in. When I told her, she replied that she was trying to respond to my chat from the spa but was just too busy. She apologized and offered to send a treat up to my room later, which she did. I appreciated the gesture. My room was nice enough but has not been touched from the previous two hotels. The sink backed up every time I used it, and the water provide was Dasani, not a five star brand! I has breakfast before I departed and ordered the avocado toast, one of my faves. It looked beautiful and tasty, but imagine my surprise to find it served on cranberry and raisin bread! It also has honey or something sweet drizzled over the top, and it was simply inedible. If I had wanted dessert, I would have gone to Krispy Kreme! Overall, this was an extremely disappointing stay, and the facilities are in great need of TLC, especially the spa which needs a complete overhaul. I think the hotel should just become a standard Hilton with these issues, not to mention being removed from AmEx Fine Hoteis. Never again!

My dream was to stay in the Waldorf Astoria just for one night, and I loved it. Bey was in town, and my daughter wanted to go, so I decided to treat to the Waldorf. If you want to be pampered, this is the place. Leave your man at home because Valet will treat you like a Queen. The front desk was excellent, and the room service and food was top tier. Loved it....

Perhaps the location is snake bit since it has been a Rosewood and Mandarin before Hilton converted to its WA brand. Nice physical location (e.g., reasonably modern rooms, interesting design, well-maintained landscaping, pleasant bar and restaurant, full featured gym, etc). The staff are all super enthusiastic and eager to please. The problem is they have not been trained and there is not enough of them. If this was another Hilton brand (Hilton Garden Inn or DoubleTree), all would be fine, but Hilton is positioning this against Ritz and Four Seasons and as such, this is not good enough. Stayed at the Four Seasons in Midtown the following week and the difference in staff training and availability is stark. Yes, the 4S is more expensive than the WA, but what’s the value proposition of the WA: eager, yet mediocre service to save a few hundred bucks while you try not to notice? I understand the summer is the slow season for Atlanta, but if Hilton wants to operate WA as a halo brand, then it needs to adequately staff and train. If not, put a Hilton Garden Inn or DoubleTree sign on it and run it as a nice, middle of the road hotel in a good location. Would not recommend spending your money on it, but if on an expense account, go nuts.