Review: Four Seasons Philadelphia (One Of The Best US City Hotels)

For the next portion of our Good Morning Milan, Goodnight Moon trip, Ford, Miles, and I, spent two nights at the 219-room Four Seasons Philadelphia at Comcast Center. I’ve been curious to stay at this hotel since it opened back in 2019.

Let’s be honest, when most people think of the best city hotels in the United States, a property in Philadelphia is unlikely to come to mind. However, ever since this hotel opened, I’ve heard endless praise for this property, with many suggesting it’s among the best city hotels in the United States.

Now I get what all the fuss is about, and I’d argue that this is Four Seasons’ best city hotel in the United States. This property is truly a gem in the skies, as it’s located at the top of the Comcast Center in Philadelphia, so boasts amazing views. The property has everything you expect from Four Seasons, from great dining, to exceptional service, to very impressive amenities. Let’s get into the review…

Booking the Four Seasons Philadelphia

The Four Seasons is by far the most luxurious property in Philadelphia, and it’s priced accordingly. Rates vary throughout the year, but generally speaking, you can expect that entry level rooms will go from anywhere from $700 to $1,300 per night, depending on what’s going on in town. You can always check Four Seasons’ website to see what offers are available.

The best way to book any Four Seasons hotel is through a travel advisor affiliated with the Four Seasons Preferred Partner program. When booking through Preferred Partner you pay the same rate you’ll find directly on Four Seasons’ website, but you’ll receive extra perks, including the following:

• A room upgrade, subject to availability
• Complimentary daily breakfast
• A hotel credit to use during your stay

Four Seasons Preferred Partner is generally combinable with promotions being offered directly through Four Seasons, including advance purchase rates, free night offers, and more.

Full disclosure — the whole reason we visited the Four Seasons was because of an event the hotel group was hosting for select travel advisors, so the hotel covered the cost of the rooms. The event was ultimately postponed, but we decided to stay anyway, since we had already made plans. All opinions expressed are my own — Ford was the one invited, and Miles and I tagged along.

Four Seasons Philadelphia location

The Four Seasons Philadelphia is located within the Comcast Center, which is the city’s tallest skyscraper. Specifically, the hotel takes up floors 48 through 60, which is the very top of the building.

I absolutely adore hotels at the top of skyscrapers. While these used to be common, it seems that we increasingly see hotels taking up the lower floors of skyscrapers, especially in the United States.

I’m not an expert on Philadelphia, but I found the Four Seasons’ location to be pretty central, and we could do plenty of walking around the downtown area from here. Philadelphia seems like a pretty nice city with a great food scene.

If you’re arriving at Philadelphia International Airport (PHL), you can expect that it’ll take around 20 minutes to drive to the hotel, with some variance of course based on traffic.

Four Seasons Philadelphia lobby & check-in

The Four Seasons Philadelphia has a ground floor welcome area, where we were immediately greeted by a couple of bellmen, assisted with our bags, and escorted to the elevators to the main lobby.

The Christmas decorations on the ground level were already beautiful, but paled in comparison to what we’d see upstairs.

The Four Seasons Philadelphia’s lobby is on the very top floor, so there are express elevators that go up there, and then separate elevators that can take you to your guest room.

The elevators between the ground floor and lobby are super fast, and have glass that allows you to look outside, so if you’re afraid of heights or get dizzy, maybe turn around or close your eyes (Ford isn’t usually scared of heights, but had to turn around on the first ride up, while Miles loved it).

The first thing we noticed upon exiting the elevator was the Christmas decorations. Ordinarily the hotel has flower arrangements by Jeff Leatham (who also does flowers at the Four Seasons Paris George V), but given the time of year, there were instead holiday decorations… wow!

The reception area was immediately outside the elevators, and was tough to miss, given the glowing wall made of onyx.

That’s only the start of the lobby area, though, as the 60th floor also has multiple dining venues and bars. It has a glass roof along with some mirrors on the ceiling, so it’s visually one of the coolest lobbies I’ve seen at any hotel in the US. More on that in a bit.

Our check-in process was quick and friendly. As usual, Four Seasons properties are exceptionally kids friendly, so they rolled out a cute little cart for Miles, where he could pick a gift as a welcome amenity. Four Seasons really nails the concept of making kids happy so that parents are happy as well.

Soon enough we had our keys in hand, and headed down to our room…

Four Seasons Philadelphia corner suite

We were assigned room 5127, located on the 51st floor. This hotel must have some of the prettiest and most extensive seating that you’ll find on each floor, by the elevator.

We were generously upgraded to a Skyline Corner Suite, marketed as being 807 square feet (75 square meters), located at the very end of the hall and on the right.

Upon entering the suite, we found ourselves in the living area, which was separated from the bedroom by a sliding door. The living area had a dining table with four chairs, a couch, and a chair with an ottoman.

Our living area felt a little more snug than usual, as they had set up an adorable tent for Miles to sleep in, which he *loved*, as you’d expect.

Behind the tent was the minibar, with a Nespresso machine, tea selection, and drinks and snacks for purchase.

Waiting on the dining table was a beautiful welcome amenity for both adults and kids, including a bottle of champagne, bottled water, and some sweet treats.

Miles loved “his” welcome amenity… including the gingerbread art drawn on the window for him!

The bedroom was a good size, with the typical Four Seasons signature bed, along with a chair in the corner, plus a wall-mounted TV.

Behind the bedroom area was a closet space, with double sinks, a walk-in shower, a tub with panoramic views, and a toilet.

Toiletries were in reusable containers, from Rossano Ferretti.

Of course the highlight of the room was the incredible views of the city and Delaware River. While Philadelphia might not be known for its skyline, it’s really cool to be so high up, especially when you have a corner room, and essentially get a 180-degree view of the city and surroundings.

As you’d expect, the views were particularly nice around sunrise and sunset.

The room had fast Wi-Fi and great tech, with easy control panels. Housekeeping was also excellent, with nightly turndown service.

Four Seasons Philadelphia spa, pool, & gym

The Four Seasons Philadelphia wellness area is located on the 57th floor, and is expansive, as it takes up the entire level. The Four Seasons has what’s regarded by many as Philadelphia’s best spa — I didn’t get any treatments, but you can find all the details here.

The hotel also has the city’s highest pool, which is open daily from 6AM until 10PM, with families being allowed from 8AM until 8PM. It’s an 18-meter infinity pool, so it’s a very cool space that Miles and I enjoyed swimming in.

The pool also has a good bit of seating, including eight loungers, plus two L-shaped couches.

The Four Seasons also has an expansive 24/7 gym. Four Seasons properties consistently have above average gyms, but I thought this one was particularly good, with a huge selection of cardio and strength training equipment. I also liked the views, high ceilings, and the wall with TVs.

Four Seasons Philadelphia restaurants & bars

The Four Seasons Philadelphia has a nice variety of dining options, comprised of the following:

• SkyHigh is the hotel’s all-day lounge and bar on the 60th floor, serving breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner, and drinks
• Jean-Georges is the hotel’s signature destination restaurant on the 60th floor, and it’s open nightly for dinner
• Vernick Fish is the hotel’s seafood restaurant on the ground level, and it’s open daily for lunch and dinner
• Vernick Coffee Bar is the hotel’s coffee shop (as you may have guessed), and interestingly, it’s located in the main part of the Comcast Center lobby, and not in the hotel

Let’s take a closer look at each of the venues…

SkyHigh is the hotel’s all-day dining venue, serving breakfast from 7AM until 10:30AM, lunch from 11:30AM until 2:30PM, and dinner from 5PM until 9PM. It also stays open until even later than that for drinks. You can find all the menus here.

Typically lobby bars (at least in the United States) aren’t really happening places with a vibe, but this is a different story. This place had so much energy throughout the day and particularly in the evenings, both with locals and hotel guests. It’s so cool, because it’s located on the building’s top floor, with very high ceilings, made up of both glass and mirrors.

We had breakfast here one morning (the second morning of our stay we had an early flight, so left before breakfast). I had a cappuccino to drink, while Ford had an iced coffee.

Breakfast is entirely a la carte. We’re not super indulgent breakfast people, but I had the avocado toast with a fried egg, Ford had a veggie omelet, and Miles had the french toast. They were all very good.

On our second night we decided to have dinner at SkyHigh as well, since Miles was super tired (after a couple of shorter than usual nights) and we had an early start the next morning, and this was convenient.

We split the herbal sunflower seed hummus, the crispy calamari, the roasted cauliflower with turmeric tahini, and the wagyu beef tenderloin. Again, the good was excellent — this is really more of a full service restaurant than just a lounge, if you ask me.

The Four Seasons’ Jean-Georges restaurant is located just down the staircase from SkyHigh, and it’s a stunning space. Since we were traveling with Miles, we chose not to eat here. It’s open nightly from 5PM until 9PM, and you can find the full menu here.

We also had lunch one day at Vernick Fish, which is located on the street level, so it’s accessible directly from outdoors, and is probably the most popular venue with locals. The restaurant is from local Chef Greg Vernick, and it’s a seafood restaurant that’s also described as a modern take on an American oyster bar.

It’s open daily from 11:30AM until 10PM, and serves lunch, dinner, and drinks, and you can find all the menus here.

Upon sitting down, we were offered freshly baked bread.

I decided to order the three-course lunch for $49. This included the watercress and frisée salad as a starter, grilled cod with crispy potatoes and napa cabbage slaw as a main, and dark chocolate mousse as a dessert (Miles shared all of this with me).

Ford ordered the yellowtail crudo as a starter, and then the yellowfin tuna rice bowl as a main (just off the standard menu).

Lastly, there’s Vernick Coffee Bar, located in the upper lobby of the Comcast Center. So it’s not actually directly in the hotel, but it is associated with the Four Seasons, and you can charge purchases to your room, etc. The coffee shop even offers a seated lunch daily from 11AM until 2:30PM, and you can find all the details here.

Speaking of coffee, I appreciated how as always at Four Seasons, there was a complimentary selection of coffee, tea, and sweet treats, available in the lobby in the mornings. It’s always great to be able to get your first cup of coffee even well ahead of when breakfast starts.

Four Seasons Philadelphia service

Among the major hotel groups, I think the one thing that most sets Four Seasons apart from the competition is service. Across the globe, Four Seasons just does a stellar job hiring nice people who are passionate about providing great service, and this property is no exception.

Service was friendly, anticipatory, and frictionless across the board, from the friendly folks at the front desk, to those working in the dining outlets, to the attention to detail of housekeeping.

Bottom line

The Four Seasons Philadelphia is my favorite Four Seasons city hotel in the United States that I’ve stayed at. I’m a huge fan of hotels at the top of skyscrapers, as they’re rather rare, at least domestically. So to have a hotel at the top of Philadelphia’s tallest building is pretty awesome.

The Four Seasons has beautiful spaces, excellent dining, a nice spa and wellness area with an infinity pool, and the friendly service that the brand is known for. Admittedly this property is priced at the very top of the Philadelphia market, but if you can swing it, I’d highly recommend it.

What’s your take on the Four Seasons Philadelphia?