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.”
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?”
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