Want to take advantage of Four Seasons Preferred Partner benefits, including a space available room upgrade, complimentary breakfast, a hotel credit, and more? Contact Ford ([email protected]) for more details. He may even be able to help if you already have a stay booked.
In early 2023, Four Seasons announced plans to open a property in Morocco’s capital. This hotel is now bookable for stays as of later this year, and looks gorgeous.
In this post:
Basics of the Four Seasons Rabat, Morocco
The Four Seasons Hotel Rabat at Kasr Al Bahr is accepting reservations for stays as of October 1, 2024. What I’m most excited about is that this isn’t a newly built property, but rather it’s a converted historic building. That means you should get the charm of an old world property, while still getting all the modern amenities you’d expect from a newly opened Four Seasons.
Kasr Al Bahr means “castle of the sea,” as this was built as a royal summer palace in the 19th century, before later becoming a military hospital until 1999. Since then, the 12-acre cliffside property has undergone a significant renovation, and is reopening as a hotel.
The property will feature a total of 200 accommodations, including 160 guest rooms and 40 suites. The rooms start at 398-473 square feet (37-44 square meters), and specialty suites go all the way up to 4,305 square feet (400 square meters).
As far as dining goes, the property will feature seven different food and beverage venues. These include Flamme (an all-day dining restaurant), Verdello (a Mediterranean restaurant), Brasserie Marie (a French restaurant), Noora Lobby Lounge (all-day drinks and snacks), Bar Atlantique (the signature bar), and Cigar Bar (a cigar lounge).
On top of that, the Four Seasons will feature an impressive spa, with 10 treatment rooms, a Moroccan hammam, an indoor saltwater pool, and a 24/7 gym. There will also be several outdoor resort-style pools.
For those not familiar, Rabat is Morocco’s capital city, and it’s located on the Atlantic Ocean. The city holds a UNESCO World Heritage Site designation, and is known for its historic landmarks reflecting its past French and longstanding Islamic influences.
The Four Seasons Rabat will be a 20-minute drive from Rabat–Salé Airport (RBA), or a 90-minute drive from Casablanca Mohammed V International Airport (CMN). There’s also a high-speed train between Rabat and Casablanca, which takes just 45 minutes.
This will be Four Seasons’ third property in Morocco
Four Seasons’ portfolio in Morocco is growing nicely, as this will be Four Seasons’ third property in the country. It complements the Four Seasons Casablanca and Four Seasons Marrakech.
In fairness, the two existing properties probably aren’t Four Seasons’ most remarkable ones — I’ve heard the Four Seasons Casablanca is decent (but nothing amazing), while Marrakech is a very competitive luxury hotel market, with properties like Royal Mansour being tough to compete with.
Four Seasons Rabat rates & how to book
What are rates like at the Four Seasons Rabat? While the hotel is no doubt really expensive by Moroccan standards, in absolute terms it’s one of the more reasonably priced Four Seasons properties out there.
Currently rates seem to start at around $500 per night, though they vary based on the time of year, day of week, etc. The hotel also has some promotions, which can add value with your stay.
If you’re going to book this hotel (or any Four Seasons), you absolutely should book through a travel advisor who is affiliated with Four Seasons Preferred Partner. With this program, eligible travel advisors can add value to your stay without it costing you extra. They can add perks like complimentary breakfast (including via in-room dining), a hotel credit, an upgrade subject to availability, and more.
Best of all, Four Seasons Preferred Partner can generally be combined with any rates or promotions you’ll find directly with Four Seasons. For what it’s worth, the upgrades through this program are also prioritized over upgrades through other programs, so you’ll want to use Preferred Partner over a program like Virtuoso or Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts.
Ford and his team are happy to help with Preferred Partner bookings, and can be reached at [email protected].
Bottom line
The Four Seasons Rabat is opening in the second half of 2024, and should be a great resort. It will combine a historic property with (hopefully) the amenities, design, and service you expect from Four Seasons. I’ve been meaning to take a proper trip to Morocco for quite some time now, and I’d certainly consider including this as part of the journey.
What do you make of the Four Seasons Rabat? Has anyone been to Rabat, and if so, is it worth visiting?
Four Seasons jumped the shark long ago. Although it occasionally does interesting new hotels, it’s too big and too focused on expansion to ensure consistency and uniqueness of brand and experience. Reflagging hotels developed by others is not helping. And many of the new locations are not interesting. What’s next? Four Seasons Fresno? Four Seasons Tianjin? Four Seasons Benidorm? Four Seasons Porpoise Spit?
Lucky how would you rate Four Seasons overall as a brand?
How does it compare with, for example, Ritz Carlton, Mandarin Oriental, etc?