The original Four Seasons New York will finally be reopening again in the coming weeks, after an extended closure.
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Four Seasons New York opening November 15, 2024
The Four Seasons Hotel New York is expected to reopen its doors as of November 15, 2024. This is the Four Seasons located at 57 East 57th Street, between Madison and Park Avenue, in the area that’s often referred to as Billionaire’s Row. The location is hard to beat, as it’s just steps from Central Park, Rockefeller Plaza, Fifth Avenue shopping, and Sixth Avenue corporate offices.
This is one of two Four Seasons properties in the city, with the other being the Four Seasons Hotel New York Downtown.
All rooms at the Four Seasons New York are marketed as suites, as they range in size from 500 square feet (47 square meters) to 4,300 square feet (400 square meters). Some suites also have outdoor terraces, which is a feature you don’t often find in New York.
When the hotel reopens, initially only a subset of suites will be available, with all accommodations expected to open as of some point in 2025. It remains to be seen exactly how many suites will eventually reopen — the hotel initially had 368 keys. As part of this reopening, part of the property will be converted into extended stay accommodations, ranging from one to three bedrooms.
When it comes to food and beverage outlets, the hotel will have Ty Bar and Garden Restaurant, with the latter having a new Italian-inspired menu. The Garden Restaurant will initially be open for breakfast and lunch, and as of 2025, is expected to open for dinner. The Four Seasons will have a gym, and should eventually have a spa, currently projected to open in early 2025.
Why was the Four Seasons New York closed for years?
The Four Seasons New York first opened in 1993, and operated continuously until early 2020. It closed at the start of the pandemic, as so many hotels in New York City did, given the extent to which demand cratered. However, what was unusual is that the hotel remained closed even as other hotels started to reopen.
Now we’ll see the hotel reopen as of November 2024, well over four years after it first closed. So, why has the hotel been closed for so long? That’s a great question, and the details are a bit murky.
The hotel is owned by the eccentric Ty Warner, the billionaire behind Beanie Babies. While details remain limited, it seems that what started as a closure due to lack of demand turned into a contract dispute with Four Seasons over management fees. I don’t know anything beyond that, but obviously Warner was willing to keep the property closed on principle, or something.
I imagine that the property partially being converted into extended stay accommodations is part of whatever agreement was reached between Warner and Four Seasons.
Warner first purchased the property for $275 million in 1999, quite a discount compared to the $475 million that was spent building the hotel back in 1993. Over the past few years we’ve seen several “false starts” with the hotel reopening, though this time seems different, since we’re just a few weeks out, and rooms are on sale.
Warner also owns the Four Seasons Santa Barbara. That hotel also closed at the start of the pandemic, and has been “temporarily closed” ever since. Hopefully that changes soon as well…
Four Seasons New York rates & how to book
What are rates like at the Four Seasons New York? As you’d expect, luxury hotels in New York aren’t cheap to begin with. Then add in that the Four Seasons has large accommodations (all marketed as suites) and hotel rates in New York have increased in the past year due to an Airbnb crackdown, and pricing is roughly what you’d expect.
Rates seem to start at just under $1,200 per night pre-tax, but go up from there, depending on the time of year, day of week, etc. It’s always worth keeping an eye out on the hotel’s offers page, as I’m sure there will be some promotions over time. However, the pricing is competitive with other top luxury properties in the city.
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.
Bottom line
The Four Seasons New York is expected to reopen in the coming weeks, after having closed at the beginning of the pandemic. This is one of the more unusual hotel closures that we’ve seen, given how long it dragged on for. It’s good to see the hotel finally reopen, both in terms of more capacity being good for consumers, and in terms of the jobs this creates.
What do you make of the reopening of the Four Seasons New York?
Great to see an iconic NY property reopen. However, if the photos you posted are accurate, it’s disappointing to see the same room design as a decade ago, especially when we were promised a complete renovation.
$1200 plus tax, ha ha ha ha.
Few comments
1) Before Covid, NYC was seen as a terrible hotel market for hotel owners due to a huge amount of hotel supply (think high rise Hilton Garden Inn / Fairfields on every corner) and Airbnb, which kept rates low, and high operating costs, which kept profits even lower. In this environment, Ty Warner was upset that he had to keep paying Four Seasons fees even though the hotel was not profitable. Covid-19 gave...
Few comments
1) Before Covid, NYC was seen as a terrible hotel market for hotel owners due to a huge amount of hotel supply (think high rise Hilton Garden Inn / Fairfields on every corner) and Airbnb, which kept rates low, and high operating costs, which kept profits even lower. In this environment, Ty Warner was upset that he had to keep paying Four Seasons fees even though the hotel was not profitable. Covid-19 gave him an opportunity to close the hotel and put pressure on Four Seasons in terms of their contract
1) hershysf is correct that the conversion of 20% of those NYC hotel rooms to migrant housing has been a big reason why NYC rates have increased. Lucky is also correct that Airbnb rules have also driven NYC rates higher by removing a lot of Airbnb inventory. Another new thing here is that in the future, new hotels have to be approved by the city council, which means they likely will have to be unionized, which has slowed down future hotels under construction. This has made the rate outlook in NYC attractive.
Most of the migrant hotels will never reopen if/when that situation changes, and fewer new hotels will replace them given the city council rules - which is making profit outlook in NYC look better. As a result it probably became easier for Warner and Four Seasons to come to an agreement. Even with all of this, it is still not easy to make profits owning hotels in NYC.
NYC remains a very popular tourist destination, but long term, the city needs to figure out how to add hotel rooms and to keep them affordable for tourists, and how to make owning hotels more profitable (so that owners will want to build more hotels), all while making employees (unions) and tax collectors happy. Not an easy task in an expensive city like NYC.
Not trying to open up a can of worms with political comments... but the main reason rates have gone up isn't the AirBNB crackdown (although that's certainly a factors). A HUGE amount of hotel inventory has been taken offline trying to house all the migrants that have come to NYC. That is the main reason for rates going up. Rates were steadily going down due to so many hotels coming online, but now I think...
Not trying to open up a can of worms with political comments... but the main reason rates have gone up isn't the AirBNB crackdown (although that's certainly a factors). A HUGE amount of hotel inventory has been taken offline trying to house all the migrants that have come to NYC. That is the main reason for rates going up. Rates were steadily going down due to so many hotels coming online, but now I think it's something like 20% of hotels rooms are now being used to house migrants (someone please feel free to provide the exact/correct amount).
Note that the hotels being turned into shelters are typically bottom of the barrel hotels... Yes that has made an impact on hotel prices but at that level, not at the luxury level Four Seasons plays at. Luxury rates have increased dramatically all around the world due to high demand for luxury travel. That's about it. The Four Seasons in Philly routinely charges $1000+, and even the Boston ones are routinely $800+, $1000+ during peak spring/summer.
This is great news! The Central Park Suite with Terrace is terrific, and I can't wait for this property to reopen!
We always had a soft spot for the Manhattan suites, with their stunning views from the Chrysler Building to all the way downtown.