Four Seasons is known for being one of the world’s most luxurious “mainstream” luxury hotel groups, and the brand has properties all around the globe. But did you know that the company also has a hotel in Damascus, Syria? Well, it sort of does… at least that’s how the hotel markets itself, and it’s not completely “fake.”
In this post:
The history of the Four Seasons Damascus, Syria
The 297-room Four Seasons Damascus opened all the way back in 2005, and it was indeed a “real” Four Seasons property. It was built as the city’s best hotel, and looks beautiful.
The hotel was financed by Saudi Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal (who owns a large stake of Four Seasons, through Kingdom Holding Company), and was constructed by a local construction company. At a later date, Al-Waleed sold his stake in the hotel to Syrian businessman Samer Foz, with the Syrian government being the second largest stakeholder in the hotel.
While it has obviously been a rather turbulent time in Syria for the past 15 or so years, things for the hotel finally changed in June 2019, when Four Seasons had to sever ties with the property, due to US sanctions on Foz, with him being accused of war-profiteering and doing business with former Syrian president Bashar al-Assad (who was overthrown in late 2024).
What’s interesting is that even though the hotel is no longer officially run by Four Seasons, they do still seem to maintain a very high standard. The United Nations and other agencies have used this hotel over the years, as it has the best security rating in Damascus. The United Nations has spent an average of around $10 million per year here over the past decade, so at this point spending has reached around $100 million.
I’ve been fascinated watching all the videos posted online about the hotel in recent years…
The property is still very committed to the Four Seasons brand
Here’s what makes this so interesting, as I see it. It’s not uncommon to see businesses try to just outright steal intellectual property, especially in countries that might not have the strongest laws in that regard. For example, take the “Four Season International” shop at Salalah Airport (SLL), in Oman, which uses the Four Seasons logo.
Obviously in the case of this property, it was built as a Four Seasons, and the reason it was forced to leave the group was due to sanctions. But what I find interesting is the extent to which it still “presents” as a Four Seasons. If you watch videos about the property, you’ll see that even the sugar packets at the hotel still have Four Seasons branding, all the employee name tags have Four Seasons branding, etc.
For that matter, if you go to the hotel’s Facebook page, you’ll see that the banner photo even shows Four Seasons’ “Luxury Is Our Love Language” tagline, with the property’s name, and that campaign was only launched in 2022, after its affiliation with Four Seasons ended.
For that matter, the hotel’s Instagram page is very active, with nearly daily updates, as they continue to heavily market it.
Anyway, curiosity is getting the best of me. Admittedly I wouldn’t expect an international lawsuit to get very far in Syria, though I can’t help but wonder if Four Seasons tries to stop the hotel’s use of their brand name, or if they actually don’t mind it, given that the hotel is high quality, and it’s only due to sanctions that it’s no longer affiliated with Four Seasons.
Bottom line
There’s a Four Seasons Hotel in Damascus, Syria, and based on the logo and all the branding, you’d assume this is fully part of the Four Seasons brand. However, that’s not the case. While this opened as a Four Seasons back in 2005, ties were cut in 2019, due to sanctions.
Nonetheless, this hotel continues to be popular with the United Nations and other agencies that need to be in the city, due to its security rating. While you won’t find this hotel on Four Seasons’ website, it would be easy to get confused based on how the hotel presents itself.
What do you make of this unique “Four Seasons?”
Ben, there is no international court for commercial lawsuits. The ICJ is dealing with lawsuits between countries (e.g., about disputed territory) and the ICC is dealing with criminal proceedings. Hence, if Four Season wanted to litigate, they would have to sue the hotel in a court in Syria. It's very unlikely that they confirm sanctions against Syria ...
@Jared - never got to stay at the hotel, but dined at Al Hababi during my trip to Syria as an embedded journalist with the UN Corp. In the eloquent language of Roy Kent, it was ****ing incredible!
Look at all those people staying there or surprised by UN spending.
It's all propaganda and distractions.
Iran was under sanctions for over 40 years.
Cuba for 60 years, North Korea even longer.
Doesn't seem to make these regime near collapse at all.
It's kind of the same case as the Four Seasons in Moscow and St Petersburg which keep the same name although they're not affiliated anymore with the Four Seasons brand
We spent a week in Syria in May this year - 2026. Our travel agent for this trip is Syrian and he told us the Four Seasons was only accepting reservations from the UN, NGOs and other government people. We have traveled very extensively in Africa (48 countries so far) and when we stay in 5 star properties there are always UN people which is why we stopped donating to them. We stayed in Damascus...
We spent a week in Syria in May this year - 2026. Our travel agent for this trip is Syrian and he told us the Four Seasons was only accepting reservations from the UN, NGOs and other government people. We have traveled very extensively in Africa (48 countries so far) and when we stay in 5 star properties there are always UN people which is why we stopped donating to them. We stayed in Damascus at Beit al Wadi, a small Riad-like boutique hotel that was wonderful. We have stayed in many genuine Four Seasons properties all over the world and they are our preferred brand.
Most interesting part of this post was that the UN had spent $100 million at this hotel. I had previously donated to the UN world food program. No longer an active donor to them, but it is enlightening to see how some of the UN money is spent in deciding whether to contribute in the future.
Wait till you find out where all your tax money went.
Your diction of "fake" is quite a poor reflection in this context. "Fake" has a derogatory meaning -- popularized by the con artist who would never win a national spelling bee contest ,especially after he tweeted " The Prince of Whale" . "Imitation" is a better diction because Four Seasons brand is obviously proud of its global reputation and won't mind lending its name to a hotel that is not in its portfolio.
Imitation isn’t correct. Infringement is probably the best way to describe it because FS absolutely WOULD mind someone borrowing its branding.
Hi Ben, my family and I actually stayed at this hotel for over a month when we first arrived in Dimasq in September of 2009. My dad was a diplomat, and we stayed here until we found a home to our liking, as many foreign service personnel do during the transition. Having lived in other Four Seasons properties globally, this was no less or different. A special memory was dining at the exquisite Al Hababi...
Hi Ben, my family and I actually stayed at this hotel for over a month when we first arrived in Dimasq in September of 2009. My dad was a diplomat, and we stayed here until we found a home to our liking, as many foreign service personnel do during the transition. Having lived in other Four Seasons properties globally, this was no less or different. A special memory was dining at the exquisite Al Hababi restaurant where we feasted on a whole roast lamb platter and ate the single most memorable dessert in my life - milk fat spread into a very thin sheet and folded with honey and a finished with a hint of rose - which would just melt in the mouth releasing this lightly sweet and umami flavor! Afterwards we were treated to Ghraoui chocolates - my favorite chocolate and a love affair that remains till this day. We left in 2011, in midst the Arab Spring. However, Syria most def remains on the top of our list of most memorable and beautiful places which we have travelled to. The hotel was fantastic, especially since Middle Eastern hospitality is unmatched. I wonder how it has evolved in recent years.
Sounds like the Four Seasons in Cyprus?
There's also a fake Sheraton in Damascus. It was a real Sheraton. It maintains the Sheraton branding or at least did when I last looked. The fake Four Seasons is maintaining appearances because it will almost certainly be welcomed back into Four Seasons. Then there's the Intercontinental in Kabul. View from the Wing has written about these hotels.
Bah. Yeah, Gary's on the case (though he isn't reviewing much these days, so I don't think he'd go check any of them out firsthand.) Ben shouldn't bother, either. Leave stuff like this for the vloggers. Like, Escape with Emily (the girl using the Meta glasses on Volotea story from this June) can do it.
Then Emily will get the views and clicks.
Doing it right, eventually Ben will lose visitors to Emily.
That's why I don't frequent Gary unless I had nothing to watch on Netflix or wanted some TMZ moment.
Matthew still gets the reviews right even if his coffee obsession is a bit extreme.
Price to pay for being an influencer. You can't fall behind.
Yes, they could be waiting until sanctions are all lifted against the various people/entities to rejoin the parent companies, and thus could be trying to keep up appearances, perhaps with tacit approval of those companies.
I was about to mention that the InterContinental Kabul has been operating as an InterContinental despite having severed ties a long time ago. Beat me to it! :P
I've actually been to this hotel. I did not stay there, as I opted to stay at a historical boutique hotel in Old Damascus instead. The hotel is very nice and the service is very good and friendly, though it has very, very, very, heavy security given this is where foreign dignitaries stay in the city. While the hotel is quite nice, I wouldn't say it is particularly luxurious from a leisure perspective (just a...
I've actually been to this hotel. I did not stay there, as I opted to stay at a historical boutique hotel in Old Damascus instead. The hotel is very nice and the service is very good and friendly, though it has very, very, very, heavy security given this is where foreign dignitaries stay in the city. While the hotel is quite nice, I wouldn't say it is particularly luxurious from a leisure perspective (just a very small pool, lobby is not that great either). This is probably due to the heavy fortifications around the hotel. Happy to share some photos.
It seems that there is a similar story with Four Seasons in Moscow and St. Petersburg - both are no longer managed by Four Seasons due to sanctions since 2022, but kept the Four Seasons branding and continue to operate as luxury hotels. They even have website with almost the same design as the Four Seasons one.
Look... me and the McDonald's people got this little misunderstanding. See, they're McDonald's... I'm McDowell's. They got the Golden Arches, mine is the Golden Arcs. They got the Big Mac, I got the Big Mick. We both got two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles and onions, but their buns have sesame seeds. My buns have no seeds.
You are not Akeem
MY SON WORKS!?
Wipers
too bad that we will never be able to check it out
Seems like they should call it the Foz Seasons.
Time to do a trip report. All sanctions were lifted this year so it will be interesting to see if it gets its official backing again.