Four Seasons Schedules 12 New Openings In Late 2015 And 2016

Four Seasons continues to expand its global footprint with 12 new openings currently scheduled in late 2015 and 2016, including several first-time entries in new countries.

In 2015, the opening of Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay marked the first Four Seasons in that country, and the company added a second hotel in France with the re-branding of the storied Grand-Hôtel du Cap-Ferrat. By year’s end, the company will add three more destinations to the global traveller’s wish list with Four Seasons Hotel Seoul, Four Seasons Hotel Casablanca, and Four Seasons Hotel Casa Medina Bogotá, the first of two in the city.

Planned Four Seasons openings in 2016
Abu Dhabi, UAE – The first Four Seasons in the Emirati capital will be 200-room Four Seasons Hotel Abu Dhabi at Al Maryah Island, in the heart of the new Central Business District. The striking new building is on a prime stretch of waterfront adjacent to the new ADGM Square complex, home of the new Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange. A retro-modern Chicago steakhouse, a cocktail bar, and a poolside restaurant with sweeping views overlooking the sea are among an array of dining options planned. The building will also house 124 private and serviced residences.

Bogota, Colombia – The second of two additions to the brand’s South American portfolio, the modern, 64-room Four Seasons Hotel Bogotá will also introduce an exciting new Japanese concept restaurant to a city that is receiving growing international attention as a destination for gourmands. Bogota is also attracting a new generation of cultural explorers interested in its rich history and colourful contemporary art scene, not to mention its 5,200 parks and the surrounding mountains.

Dubai, UAE – Four Seasons entered the UAE with its beachfront resort in Dubai less than a year ago, and will opens its second location in the city next year – this time in the heart of the 100 acre (45 hectare) downtown business district with the 106-room Four Seasons Hotel Dubai International Financial Centre. An 8th floor sky bar boasting Burj Khalifa views with a cigar room on the mezzanine is among the food and beverage options, while the rooftop pool and garden will provide a welcome oasis in this fast-paced city. Interiors by Tihany Design.

Kuwait City, Kuwait –The first Four Seasons in Kuwait will be the 263-room Four Seasons Hotel Kuwait at Burj Alshaya in the central business district. An Italian dining concept created around three wood-burning ovens as well as a pan-Asian restaurant – both with outdoor terraces on the penthouse level – will be among five food and beverage options. Interiors by Yabu Pushelberg will include a spectacular indoor pool in the beautifully designed spa and fitness complex.

Kyoto, Japan – The 124-room Four Seasons Hotel Kyoto will be the company’s second destination in Japan, in the city’s historic Higashiyama-ku district, close to the Kyoto National Museum and myriad heritage sites such as the Toyokuni Shrine and Kiyomizu Temple. Local artists will be featured throughout the traditionally-inspired modern décor characterised by an understated Japanese aesthetic. The Hotel will have a spa and fitness centre with a pool, and four food and beverage concepts. There will also be 57 Four Seasons Private Residences.

New York, New York, USA – Located in the heart of Lower Manhattan in the Tribeca district and just a short city stroll from the new World Trade Center, Wall Street and the trendy Soho neighbourhood, the 185-room Four Seasons Hotel New York Downtown joins its renowned sister hotel in Midtown, offering travellers two excellent options in the city. The Robert AM Stern Architects building with interiors by Yabu Pushelberg will be home to an exclusive spa and fitness facility, naturally-lit event spaces, and soon-to-be-revealed street level restaurant and bar concept, as well as 157 Private Residences.

Oahu, Hawaii, USA – The highly anticipated fifth resort in the award-winning Four Seasons Hawaiian Collection and its first on Oahu, the 358-room Four Seasons Resort O‘ahu at Ko Olina is located beachfront on the island’s sunset coast, with easy access to recreational pursuits, historic sites and shopping. Resort features include multiple beaches and pools – several reserved for adults only – a multi-level spa and wellness centre plus on-site tennis and watersports, and preferred access at the Ko Olina golf club. Event spaces can host up to 900 guests. New design by Philpotts Interiors will enhance the original building by architect Edward Killingsworth.

Surfside, Florida, USA – The exclusive 77-room Four Seasons Hotel The Surf Club revives the celebrated Surf Club in Four Seasons style, and will be the company’s fourth location in the Sunshine State. The 9-acre (3.6-hectare) complex with 965 feet (300 metres) of Atlantic beachfront will offer more than 40 beach cabanas among landscaped gardens and four pools. Design architects for the Hotel and 150 Private Residences are Richard Meier & Partners.

Tianjin, China – Underscoring the continued strategic importance of China as both an inbound and outbound travel market, the 259-room Four Seasons Hotel Tianjin will be the brand’s 9th hotel in the country. Part of a mixed complex with an office tower and retail stores, the Hotel is in a pedestrian-friendly area near Nanjing Road, the city’s main east-west thoroughfare and Bingjiang Avenue, the city’s major shopping area. With three food and beverage options and a spa and fitness facility with a pool, the hotel will be the first Four Seasons in China’s 4th most populous city.

THAILAND: 6 New Hotels for Bangkok

Every month, we tell you which hotel openings you need to know about (and which, inevitably, miss their deadlines). While we have a healthy list of arrivals around the world, there are a few places that are either consistently popular or having a bit of a hotel moment, so “new hotels for…” gives you a rundown of the openings you will want to know about for a particular destination.

And where better to start than Bangkok? Our archives are full of stories from the Thai capital, well worth visiting in its own right and for its fantastic choice of hotels – which are often great value. The next five years will see some big names throw their hat in the ring in the city’s very competitive hotel game. Here are six new hotels you should watch out for:

Rosewood Bangkok: we first talked about this hotel along with Rosewood Beijing and its gorgeous rooms. If Rosewood can give us something equally aesthetically pleasing inside its Bangkok sky villas with plunge pools, we may have to book ourselves that 2017 ticket to Asia right now. That’s when the 146-room hotel on Ploenchit Road will open – above what it should look like, a slender and angular building inspired by the wai, the Thai gesture of greeting and welcome.

Park Hyatt Bangkok: down the road from Rosewood and around the corner from sibling Grand Hyatt Erawan, Park Hyatt Bangkok should open mid next year (that is according to its Facebook page, it’s not even listed as a future destination over on the corporate website). About a year ago, we looked up at its twisting exterior, which will house 173 rooms and 49 suites. Hyatt is motoring on with both Hyatt Regency and Place the year after, but as we said at the time, the real question on our minds is when Andaz follows suit?

The Bangkok Edition: if there could only be one reason to have Bangkok on your radar between now and the end of the decade, it should be this: the pixelated jenga dream that is The Bangkok Edition. Dean & Deluca is already there selling overpriced lattes, but given where construction was at last year it will be at least 2016 before we will be checking in here (though we’d put money on it being later). Meanwhile, The Ritz-Carlton Residences at MahaNakhon, to be found on top of the 150-room hotel, have gone on sale.

Four Seasons Bangkok at Chao Phraya River: the Canadian group did not disappoint with its plans to fill the gap left by its Radjadamri hotel going to Anantara – a 312-room riverside development with 355 residences and rather intriguing architecture. Only just announced, we’d expect this to be ready by 2020, if not the late 2018 currently estimated.

Capella Bangkok: on the books for a long time already, this has been “coming soon” since 2009. We’re hopeful that as part of the Four Seasons development, Capella will have a shot at bringing its 100-suite (yes, all suites) hotel to us over the next few years and along the way build its portfolio – currently a somewhat random list of Singapore, Washington DC, St. Lucia, Ixtapa, and Dusseldorf.


Waldorf Astoria Bangkok: we only discussed this last week, another slender high-rise with both hotel and residences. Wedged in between what was the Four Seasons and the Grand Hyatt on Radjadamri, the Waldorf Astoria will have 170 rooms, which will run up to floor 17 and will be crowned by a sky pool.

Between the six of them, these hotels will bring 1100 brand new hotel rooms to Bangkok over the next five years. We have no doubt that count will go up as the years pass, along with news of renovations at existing properties. Think there are other hotels that should be added? Tell us in the comments.