The Waldorf Astoria hotel: not quite what it used to be....




By Beatriz Tasso Fragoso, special contributor

Photos: The Waldorf Astoria

I'd driven by it a million times but never actually entered the famed Waldorf Astoria. And then I did. A friend was staying there and invited me for a visit.

Dressed-down guests, nametag-wearing guests, elevator music, an air of cheesiness and a dated look, despite the grand entrance with mosaic floors and triple-height ceilings. Not what I had expected!

Once we took the elevator and walked the never ending hallways to her room, I immediately felt part of a scene in The Shining. Eery...