The most expensive hotel renovation on record is the Waldorf Astoria New York, whose eight-year restoration is widely reported at around $2 billion. It tops a short list of billion- and hundred-million-dollar revivals — from Miami's Fontainebleau to Kyoto-quiet Bel-Air — each cost web-verified, each open in 2026.
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A hotel renovation can cost more than building a new resort from scratch, because the most lavish ones are really restorations: stripping a protected landmark back to its bones, rebuilding it to modern standards, and often weaving in private residences to fund the work. The result is a handful of projects whose budgets run into the hundreds of millions, and in two cases past a billion dollars.
The clear leader is the Waldorf Astoria New York, whose eight-year overhaul of the 1931 Art Deco tower is reported at around $2 billion, though published figures vary and some sources cite less. Behind it, Miami's Fontainebleau spent roughly $1 billion in 2008, and New York's Plaza about $450 million. We rank by the cost actually reported, and where the numbers are contested we say so rather than pretending to a precision the public record does not support.
One honest theme runs through the list: a bigger budget does not automatically buy a better stay. Several of these projects poured money into structure, systems and apartments that no guest ever sees, and the Waldorf and The Plaza both emerged with far fewer hotel rooms than before, having sold much of the building as residences. The figures below are records of ambition and preservation; the quality of a night's sleep is a separate question. Every hotel here was verified open in 2026.
| Hotel | Reported cost | Completed | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waldorf Astoria New York | ~$2 billion (range $1–2bn) | Reopened 2025 | 8-year project; part residential |
| Fontainebleau Miami Beach | ~$1 billion | 2008 | Turnberry restoration of a Lapidus icon |
| The Plaza, New York | $450 million | 2008 | Mostly converted to residences |
| The Savoy, London | £220 million | 2010 | 35-month full restoration |
| Mauna Kea Beach Hotel | $180 million-plus | Reopened 2026 | Most extensive in its 60-year history |
| Hotel Bel-Air, Los Angeles | $100 million | 2011 | Two-year luxury rebuild |
The costliest of them all. The Waldorf Astoria closed in 2017 for what became an eight-year restoration of its landmark 1931 Art Deco tower on Park Avenue, reopening to hotel guests in 2025. Published figures for the project vary, but it is widely reported at around $2 billion, with the work covering both a meticulous restoration of the public rooms and the conversion of much of the building into 372 private condominiums, alongside 375 hotel rooms operated by Hilton.
The honest note: because the cost spanned a hotel-and-residential scheme, no single published number is definitive, which is why we give a range. The hotel is also far smaller than the 1,400-room Waldorf of old, so the spend bought preservation and exclusivity rather than scale. It is the headline answer to "most expensive hotel renovation," stated with the caveat that the exact figure is contested.
Turnberry Associates bought the faded Fontainebleau, Morris Lapidus's 1954 mid-century landmark, for about $500 million in 2005, then spent roughly $1 billion bringing it back, completing the work in 2008. The renovation restored the original curved grandeur while adding new towers, a vast pool scene and a nightlife-and-dining program, and it reset what a Miami Beach resort could charge.
The honest note: the scale that makes the Fontainebleau a record-setter also makes it one of the busiest, most event-driven resorts in the country, more spectacle than retreat. For a lively, design-history stay it delivers; couples seeking quiet will feel the crowds. Read our Fontainebleau Miami Beach profile →
The Plaza closed in 2005 for a $450 million renovation and reopened in 2008 as a very different building. The 1907 landmark on Fifth Avenue kept its grand public rooms, the Palm Court and the Oak Room among them, but the upper floors were largely turned into private condominiums and hotel-condo units, leaving a comparatively small number of traditional hotel rooms.
The honest note: the restoration of the lobbies and ballrooms is genuinely sumptuous, but the conversion means the Plaza now operates as a boutique-sized hotel inside a famous address, and the magic is concentrated downstairs. It is a record-budget renovation that produced fewer rooms, not more. Read our The Plaza, New York profile →
The Savoy closed in December 2007 for a 35-month, £220 million restoration, reopening in 2010 as one of London's most thorough hotel revivals. The work touched the entire building, from the famous forecourt and the American Bar to the Savoy Grill and all 268 guestrooms and suites, balancing the hotel's Edwardian and Art Deco identities rather than choosing one.
The honest note: unlike The Plaza and the Waldorf, the Savoy stayed a full hotel rather than turning into apartments, so the spend went straight into the guest experience. The trade-off is simply price, this is one of London's most expensive addresses. Read our The Savoy, London profile →
The newest entry. The Mauna Kea Beach Hotel, Laurance Rockefeller's 1965 landmark on the Big Island's Kohala Coast, completed a $180-million-plus, multi-phase renovation described as the most extensive in its sixty-year history, with a grand reopening in 2026 and a new spa following in the same year. It modernised rooms and amenities while keeping the mid-century bones that made it famous.
The honest note: this is a recent reopening, so the resort is still bedding in its newest facilities through 2026, and some elements like the spa arrived after the main relaunch. For a freshly renovated classic in a spectacular setting it is hard to beat; just confirm what is fully open for your dates.
The most intimate project here. The Hotel Bel-Air, a discreet 1940s retreat tucked into a canyon above Los Angeles, closed in 2009 for a roughly two-year, $100 million renovation, reopening in 2011 with larger suites, a new spa and a Wolfgang Puck restaurant. The pink-walled, bougainvillea-draped grounds and swan lake were preserved while the rooms were quietly brought up to date.
The honest note: $100 million is modest beside the billion-dollar projects above, but spread across a small hotel it is one of the highest per-room renovation spends on the list, and the result is a genuine luxury hideaway rather than a grand landmark. The restraint is the point. Read our Hotel Bel-Air profile →
The pattern across these projects is clear: the very biggest budgets go to landmark towers part-funded by selling residences, while the purest hotel renovations, like the Savoy and Bel-Air, spend less but put more of it where guests actually sleep. If a record budget is what draws you, book the Waldorf or the Savoy; if you want the renovation that most improved the stay, the smaller projects often win.
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The restoration of the Waldorf Astoria New York is the most expensive on this list. Estimates of the eight-year project, which included converting much of the 1931 tower into residences, are widely reported at around $2 billion, with some sources citing figures from $1 billion upward. The hotel reopened to guests in 2025 with 375 rooms. Because published figures vary, we present it as a reported range rather than a single exact cost.
Reported figures for the Waldorf Astoria New York restoration range from about $1 billion to $2 billion, with $2 billion the most commonly cited for the full project, which combined a deep restoration of the Art Deco landmark with a conversion of much of the building into 372 condominiums. It reopened to hotel guests in 2025 with 375 rooms operated by Hilton. Estimates differ by source, so treat any single number as approximate.
Yes. Turnberry Associates paid about $500 million for the faded Morris Lapidus landmark in 2005 and then invested roughly $1 billion in a renovation completed in 2008, restoring the resort and adding towers and amenities. It is one of the largest single-resort renovation budgets on record and reset the Miami Beach luxury market.
Not always. Several of these projects spent heavily on structural restoration, residences and back-of-house systems that guests never see, and some, like The Plaza and the Waldorf Astoria, converted large parts of the building into private apartments, leaving fewer hotel rooms. A huge budget signals ambition and preservation, but the guest experience depends on the rooms and service, not the headline figure.
The largest run for years. The Waldorf Astoria New York was closed for roughly eight years, The Plaza for about three, and The Savoy in London for nearly three. Even a focused luxury rebuild like Hotel Bel-Air took around two years. The scale reflects landmark-status approvals, structural work and the difficulty of restoring historic interiors to modern standards.
All six are open and taking guests in 2026: the Waldorf Astoria New York (reopened 2025), Fontainebleau Miami Beach, The Plaza in New York, The Savoy in London, the freshly reopened Mauna Kea Beach Hotel on Hawaii Island, and Hotel Bel-Air in Los Angeles. Several have fewer hotel rooms than before their renovations because of residential conversions, so book early at the smaller ones.