Manhattan's Presidential Suites: Park Avenue, Madison Avenue and the Upper East Side

Every September, the UN General Assembly brings the president of the United States to Manhattan, and for most of the twentieth century that meant just one address. New York's presidential map is richer than that, though: it takes in a penthouse that served as a second Oval Office, and the Midtown hotels that became the president's UN base when tradition changed.

Waldorf Astoria New York

For more than eighty years, the Waldorf Astoria was the president's hotel in New York. Every president from Herbert Hoover to Barack Obama stayed here, usually in the Presidential Suite during the annual UN General Assembly. The streak finally ended in 2015, when the U.S. delegation moved elsewhere after the hotel changed hands. It was the first General Assembly since the 1930s without an American president at the Waldorf.

After an eight-year restoration, the 1931 Art Deco landmark reopened in 2025 with fewer, far larger rooms, and the architecture that made it legendary is intact. Walk through the Park Avenue lobby to the famous Waldorf Astoria Clock, then settle into Peacock Alley, where the Steinway piano once owned by Cole Porter, the hotel's resident for three decades, still holds court.

The Carlyle, A Rosewood Hotel

If the Waldorf was the president's official New York address, the Carlyle was John F. Kennedy's personal one. Kennedy kept the duplex penthouse on the 34th and 35th floors as his Manhattan base, first during the 1960 campaign and then throughout his presidency. He stayed so often that New Yorkers took to calling it the "New York White House." Kennedy took meetings and received official guests from the suite, and the hotel installed a secure telephone line connecting it directly to Washington.

The Kennedy penthouse is now a private residence, but the Carlyle's Upper East Side glamour is unchanged. This is New York at its most quietly elegant: an Art Deco tower a block from Central Park, the whimsical murals of Bemelmans Bar, and live music at Café Carlyle. It remains a favorite of visiting heads of state and royalty, and it is easy to see why.

Lotte New York Palace

When the Waldorf era ended in 2015, the presidency moved a block west to Madison Avenue. Barack Obama based himself at the Lotte New York Palace for the UN General Assemblies of 2015 and 2016. Both years, he and Michelle Obama hosted the president's traditional reception for visiting heads of state and government in the hotel's Villard Ballroom.

The setting is pure Gilded Age. The hotel rises behind St. Patrick's Cathedral, and its public rooms occupy the Villard Houses, a group of 1880s brownstone mansions with a courtyard that opens onto Madison Avenue. Behind them, a 55-story glass tower holds the hotel's suites, which have sweeping views over Midtown. Have a drink beneath the gilded ceilings of the old mansion, then retreat to the tower to watch the city light up.

InterContinental New York Barclay

Just steps from Grand Central Terminal, the Barclay opened in 1926 and has spent a century as one of Midtown's most gracious addresses. Under President Joe Biden, it became the president's UN week home: White House records show him staying overnight at the Barclay during the General Assemblies of 2021 and 2024. The handsome neo-Georgian building pairs a grand lobby with a location that puts the UN, Fifth Avenue, and the East Side all within easy reach.

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About this guide: Presidential connections are drawn from public sources, including official White House schedules, presidential and historical archives, and reputable news outlets, as well as the hotels' own published histories. Hotel names, ownership, and amenities may have changed since publication. This information is provided for general interest, is not guaranteed, and should be independently verified. Hotelaholic is not affiliated with or endorsed by any U.S. president or government agency.