Honeybee Hotel: The Waldorf Astoria's Rooftop Garden and the Heart of NYC

by Leslie Day

The fascinating story of the urban honeybee garden on the roof of the legendary Waldorf Astoria hotel. The tale of Honeybee Hotel begins over one hundred years ago, with the Astor family and the birth of the iconic Manhattan landmark, the magnificent Waldorf Astoria. In those early days the posh art deco masterpiece had its own rooftop garden for guests to enjoy. Fast-forward to the turn of the twenty-first century, and we meet executive chef David Garcelon, the creative genius behind the idea of restoring the celebrated rooftop garden. His vision included six hives containing some 300,000 honeybees, which would provide a unique flavor for his restaurant’s culinary masterpieces. Yet Garcelon’s dream was much grander than simply creating a private chefs’ he wanted the honeybee garden to serve as a bond among people. Soon the staff of the hotel, the guests, local horticulturists, and beekeeping experts formed a community around the bees and the garden, which not only raised vegetables, herbs, and honey to be served in the hotel but also provided healthy food to the homeless shelter across the street at St. Bartholomew’s Church. Through her meticulous research and interviews with culinary glitterati, entomologists, horticulturists, and urban beekeepers, Leslie Day leads us on a unique insider’s tour of this little-known aspect of the natural world of New York City. She familiarizes us with the history of the architectural and cultural gem that is the Waldorf and introduces us to the lives of Chef Garcelon and New York City’s master beekeeper, Andrew Coté. Day, an urban naturalist and incurable New Yorker, tells us of the garden’s development, shares delectable honey-based recipes from the hotel’s chefs and mixologist, and relates the fate of the hotel in the wake of the Waldorf’s change of ownership. During our journey, we learn quite a bit about apiaries, as well as insect and flower biology, through the lives of the bees that travel freely around the city in search of nectar, pollen, and resin. This absorbing narrative unwraps the heart within the glamour of one of the world’s most beloved cities, while assuring us that nature can thrive in the ultimate urban environment when its denizens care enough to foster that connection.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

208 pages, Hardcover

First published September 30, 2018

About the author

Inspired by nature and her vibrant city since childhood, Leslie Day, author of the books Field Guide to the Natural World of New York City, Field Guide to the Street Trees of New York City, Field Guide to the Neighborhood Birds of New York City, Honeybee Hotel, and now her fifth book published this year: River – A Hudson Memoir learned about the great biodiversity of the city from living on a houseboat on the Hudson River for almost four decades. As a science teacher, Leslie taught her students about the natural world that surrounds them. Now retired from teaching full time, Leslie teaches botany classes for the New York Botanical Garden and continues to create ways for people of all ages to connect to the natural world.

Reviews

[Laura Harrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite non-fiction book of the season. Possibly the year. Beautifully written with exquisite detail and a myriad of wonderful pictures. The author teaches at one of my most favorite places in the world-The New York Botanical Garden. A must read for naturalists, history buffs and anyone interested in old New York.

[Inches · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is worth reading just to learn about the amazing world of the honeybee.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed Day's description of New York City during the age of World's Fairs and Art Deco. The juxtaposition between the city's romantic history and the tedious, scientific yet also romantic method of the honeybee was captivating. However, I did feel that this author spent too much time giving accolades to various chefs and dining directors, and I could have done without the full-paragraph description for each single vegetable and herb in the Waldorf Astoria's garden.

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am so grateful to Leslie Day for putting together this sweet gem of a book. It has everything a great NF book can have. She has done loads of research - the secret life of bees, the history and future of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, the natural world of NYC, the culinary industry and the heart, gifting and recipes of those who work in it, and the outreach and ministry to the homeless of the city. She has illustrated everything she covers with BW archival and colorful contemporary photos. Her writing is concise and even playful at times. The chapters are short but full of fun, interesting, engaging information that keeps you reading. The format is trim and easy to hold. And to top it all off (no pun intended), the publisher thought enough of this book to crown it with an attractive cover.
Someone said perfection is when nothing more can be taken away. Well Day, in The Honeybee Hotel, has distilled the story of the Waldorf-Astoria's rooftop garden and apiary into a perfectly delicious, satisfying treat of a book.
Can someone out there write a children's book version?

[Lynda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honeybee Hotel unfurls Leslie Day's journey of exploration of the history of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, including recent years when it had a thriving roof-top garden, complete with honeybee hives.
Day's meticulous research and information on the honeybee is fascinating and detailed.
Similarly, the social history of New York's Waldorf-Astoria, is intriguing.
A beautiful connection is that of the hotel with the church next door, St. Bart's, which supports the homeless and marginalized of New York.
Head chef David Garcelon envisaged a roof-top garden that would supply his chefs with fresh, lovingly-tended produce. As a spin-off, all prepared but untouched food, as well as food fresh from the garden, was contributed to St Bart's. This is a story that explores the soul of the iconic Waldor-Astoria, and its little corner of New York City.

[Debra · Rating 4 out of 5]

The size of this book belies the amount of information inside. This is really two stories - one the story of the Waldorf Astoria from its origins to the present structure now being renovated and the second an amazing look at the bees that inhabited the chef garden area. The chapters alternate between the two stories, each extremely interesting. I would buy this book just for the story of the bees. I kept saying to myself - I had no idea the complexity of bees.
The font set of the book is very small, but the pleasure of the read is large.

[Martha Meyer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a slim volume, part reminiscence about the Waldorf Astoria’s recent history before the Anbang remodel, part fascinating, deeply researched introduction to honey bee life. Strong recommendation (skip the Waldorf chapters) for any anyone interested in pollinators . Lesley Day is a New York City naturalist who authored 3 field guides to the NYC natural world and she writes so beautifully about bees. I will never see a bee the same way again.

[Mary C · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a wonderful book of bees and really nice grand hotels. I know more about bees and beekeeping now than I would ever have to know, but the facts in this book are unbelievable and the research must have been exhausting. So happy to get the back story on the Waldorf-Astoria, and I'm sad I won't ever get to stay in the expansive hotel it was, but also happy to know that the Historical Society of NYC made sure and kept the public spaces protected for the future.

[Ashley · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writing was so meh. The content was interesting overall, but veered too often to mundanity. This book did make me want to visit the Waldorf though, and i relearned some things about bees that I had forgotten. (Buzzing is from their wings vibrating! And it takes many thousands of bees visiting 5-10 million flowers to make one 16oz jar of honey. Whoa)

[Marla Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a good read. I got distracted with it a few times. It's more bee intricacies than I have ever read about! I love the combination of history of the hotel, turning a concrete rooftop into a garden, providing local food, and raising bees. So cool! Lots of interesting things about chefs and the food industry too (sometimes more than I wanted to know). But overall a very interesting book!

[Merrill Medansky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating story of the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City and the honeybee hives and gardens on the roof, coupled with the sharing of meals and produce with the homeless shelter and food pantry across the street. An inspiration for any city!

[Veronica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alot of history in this short story of the hotel food chefs and the honeybees. I find myself wanting to learn more about the history of NYC, bees and herbal gardening. Its a wonderful book and wanting to read more!

[David Provost · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lightly entertaining account of the doings at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, by an egocentric author.

[Daniella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read but found myself lacking the motivation to get through this book at points, especially the bee heavy section. Too me way longer than it should have for me to finish.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting and the book provides cocktail recipes using honey that was harvested from the rooftop beehives!

[Christine D · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting story but not very engaging writing.
I found myself skimming through much of this very short book.

[Linda Broeder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting information about bees and bee colonies. Background on the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, including the chefs and historical significance.

[H. Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

Used this for research. Love how the history of the hotel and beehive life is intertwined.