First 5 floors of Waldorf Astoria evacuated

Here is what Reuters has:

Suspect Package Causes Scare at Powell's N.Y. Hotel
Thu March 6, 2003 11:24 PM ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York City police on Thursday night ordered the evacuation of the lower floors of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, where Secretary of State Colin Powell is staying, after a suspicious package was found.
"They're taking it very seriously," a police spokesman said.

Powell is in New York to attend a key United Nations Security Council session about Iraqi disarmament on Friday. His itinerary includes a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov.

The lower five floors of the luxurious landmark hotel were evacuated some time after 10 p.m. EST, police said. It was not immediately clear how long the evacuation would last.

An official with Powell's party said the secretary was on an upper floor and had not been affected by the evacuation order.

He held meetings earlier at the hotel with his counterparts from Britain, Spain, France and Germany.

At: http://asia.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=2341040

But the Waldorf has old-style grandeur. And you can still get a Waldorf Salad there.

Sybil: If you'd just look.
Basil: I have looked. There's no celery, there's no grapes, ... walnuts! That's a laught, easier to find a packet of sliced hippopotamus in suitcase sauce than a walnut in this bloody kitchen.
Sybil: Now, we've got apples.
Basil: Oh, terrific! Let's celebrate! We'll have an apple party: Everybody brings his own apple and stuffs it down somebody's throat.

Found a more recent update: it was a false alarm.

Briefcase Sparks False Alarm at Powell's Hotel
22 minutes ago Yahoo

NEW YORK (Reuters) - An attache case regarded as suspicious caused the brief evacuation of some floors of the New York City hotel where Secretary of State Colin Powell (news - web sites) was staying on Thursday night but no bomb was found, police said.

"The bomb squad opened it up and found there was a non-explosive device in there," a police spokesman said.

A guest at the hotel, the Waldorf-Astoria, reported that the situation was back to normal within 90 minutes of the evacuation order.

Powell is in New York to attend a key United Nations (news - web sites) Security Council session about Iraqi disarmament on Friday. His itinerary includes a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov.

The lower five floors of the luxurious landmark hotel were evacuated just after 10 p.m. (0300 GMT Friday), police said.

An official with Powell's party said the secretary was on an upper floor and had not been affected by the evacuation order.

He held meetings earlier at the hotel with his counterparts from Britain, Spain, France and Germany.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=578&e=3&cid=578&u=/nm/20030307/ts_nm/crime_powell_dc

I did burn up a good chunk of a reenlistment bonus in one evening at the Savoy in London, back in the 80s. Two dates (both good friends and I couldn't choose between them so I took them both), champagne, caviar, floor show, Cuban cigars, bridal suite, the works. If the Waldorf is anywhere near as opulent as that palace, then I could get into it ;)

(The Savoy had the neatest dance floor - it was on some sort of pneumatic mechanism - it just raised itself up like Lazarus out of the surrounding floor structure).

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