Four Seasons Hotel Downtown New York

It is with regret that I share this experience, which has significantly changed our travel loyalty to what we have previously compared to the same feeling of staying with family. The New York City Downtown location has harmed the brand's reputation and forever changed our view. This review is not for Four Seasons New York Downtown to use a prefabricated template response. The opportunity and time are lost forever. It is for couples and families considering staying downtown or midtown, without question do not stay downtown. My wife and I were devoted FS clientele and we specifically seek out travel locations all over the World specifically that have our Seasons accommodations. We had trusted the brand over the years to host us during travel an our most cherished celebrations and eagerly looked forward to our stays, always feeling like it was a home away from home. This sentiment persisted until our recent spur-of-the-moment trip to NYC on April 25-26, 2025. In planning a week before our dates flights and accommodations for a surprise anniversary getaway for my wife, I chose to book at the Downtown New York Four Seasons location, anticipating a quieter, more intimate experience due to the low occupancy,. This determination was made based on room rates for our exact dates were significantly less for all room categories compared to the same days of the week previous and weeks following. This decision led to a second-rate outcome. Our original reason for our reservation and was detailed in the comments during the booking that we would be celebrating our 10-year anniversary which fell on the exact day of our booking. Our schedules allowed for us to fly in the morning of and fly home the following day. Something came up right before our trip and our daughter, aged two, joined us, which is always for the better but was not initialed planned for and wasn’t mentioned in our booking. Upon arrival at the hotel at a couple minutes after 11am (earlier than expected, our flight was early and traffic was lighter), we requested check-in as soon as possible, for our daughters scheduled nap, as we had been traveling since 5AM. We had Legend Suite New York Yankees tickets that night against our cities team so it was of upmost importance of maintaining her schedule for the late night ahead. Despite having booked through AMEX Fine Hotels with specific benefits including early check-in (subject to availability), our request was mishandled. The check-in process involved prolonged negotiations for room upgrades, culminating at first refusal to accommodate our needs despite the apparent availability of suitable rooms. After 45 minutes of discussion, we were finally given provided with our original room booking. This is a lengthy but what is brief breakdown of what exactly transpired at check in… these times and dollar figures (all in $USD) are completely accurate. Upon arrival we were advised that we had been upgraded a room category as per our AMEX booking which I knew wouldn’t be an issue knowing the occupancy level the hotel. To my surprise, however, they had upgraded us to a room that has guests from the night before still in the room and wouldn’t be available until later that afternoon. Side note, FS followed up with me twice after my booking days before repeating that they were aware of my 12PM check-in request. I asked if FS would be able to extend the courtesy of upgrading us to one further level category based on availability, as I also knew there were no bookings for them the following night as well. I mentioned the Gotham Suite and he said he would likely be able to get us in for a “small fee” quote on quote, but he would just have to check with his manager. He left, and we waited 6-7 minutes at the front desk. When he came back with a smile, he said he “wouldn’t be able to do the upgrade complimentary but with a small fee would be with a $1,400.00 plus tax”. I knew the room would be vacant for the weekend after confirming online. I said time is of the essence and in our current situation I would be happy to offer $400.00 on top of our original pre-paid reservation (which was a little more than $1300) for the upgrade if we could please have the room sooner than later for our toddler who needed her 2-hour nap asap. The employee typed away on his computer again which I assumed was a messaging with the manager. Looked up and said unfortunately they could not accommodate that. I said ok how about the Oculus Suite which was one suite above our upgrade. After typing away again he said he would be able to upgrade us for an additional $600 at this point we have now been at the front desk for about 20 minutes. I mentioned that although it's not as memorable as a Gotham Suite, I would still pay an additional $400+ taxes and fees for the room because our toddler needed it urgently and was exhausted. After typing away for several more minutes I was told “No” again $600 was the best offer from what I was advised coming from the manager. At this point I said ok, please we will just take our original room we booked, which was a Hudson Corner room. After a few more minutes, he informed me that there are currently no Hudson Corner rooms available for noon. Thirty minutes had passed since the check-in process began. I advised that we needed any room that our booking would qualify. After a few minutes, we were informed that a standard room in the lowest category was available. I believe on the first floor of hotel rooms which is the 6th floor, a standard King “accessible”. I asked what that meant and was told it did not have a bathtub. Travelling with a toddler we needed a bathtub for our daughter. Finally, I said, we will just take that room please it’s been 40 minutes since we have arrived and this is really not how we wanted to start our stay. I was advised again that noon check in is based on availability and I said I know this. one of the main and only reasons I booked this location was the low occupancy compared to Midtown. Based on our level of urgency for our daughter, I opted for the standard King room. I asked for the difference $ to be refunded to my AMEX card. He then said he would have to ask his manager; he left again for 5-6 minutes. Upon arriving back he said we have good news, “our original booking with a Hudson Room would be ready in 20 minutes. The whole process had our family in complete disbelief. We never once saw or heard from the manger for the duration of our stay. A couple minutes later… Travelling all morning we didn’t have the usual milk required for our daughter before her nap. So, I went down to the same front desk and asked if he could help with filling my daughters bottle with warm milk. He was happy to help with this and upon arriving back from the restaurant, I tipped him and thanked him. At this point I thought I would ask for something that would make our departure smoother. Could we have 1 extra hour at check out (4PM) to 5pm which would really help us out for our flight at 8pm. He said he would have to check if someone was checking into the room after us the following night. I went back to the front desk with him and waited a couple minutes with my daughters bottle of milk and was told “yep that would not be a problem at all and would be happy to extend our stay by an hour to 5PM and made a note of it”…so I thought… Throughout our stay, more incidents highlighted a lack of the usual exceptional Four Seasons service. The following morning as we were seated for breakfast at 9AM in the hotel’s restaurant, CUT (which is exquisite and the staff wonderful). Side note, I had purchased new tennis shoes for my wife a couple days before her usual size fit slightly bigger which caused sever blisters from the previous days city walking to my dismay, even with insoles. I said to my wife, let me check with the concierge if they have a first aid kit and perhaps have medical bandage tap that we can tap your ankles to help get through our upcoming Mid-Town day plans. I went to the concierge, and I had a conversation with a new employee at the front desk. She confirmed they did in fact have a first aid kit and she would check for the tape bandages and meet me back at the restaurant so I could get back to my family having breakfast. About 20 minutes later she came to the restaurant to inform us the first aid kit did not have any bandage tape but there was a pharmacy 1 block away that we could likely get some from. With time being of the essence that morning, I ate quickly and went straight to the pharmacy and found what I was looking for and we bandaged my wife’s feet that made walking manageable. But.. After the amount of time that passed (20 minutes) I saw this as another opportunity missed by FS that so many other locations have gone above and beyond for. It was a slow morning. We were the only ones in the lobby in the morning entering and leaving the restaurant. FS could have gotten this for my wife after explaining the situation and the urgency for it. This is a characteristic that has become associated with the FS brand that it prides itself on. Lastly, we scheduled time for our daughter to use the pool at the end of our stay. My wife, daughter and I changed into our bathing suits and went to the pool at 4:03PM, as noted on my watch when we left. In our bathing suits and me in a robe and slippers provided as always by the hotel I used my card and clicked floor 3 for the pool and spa. I knew immediately what was happening. Our card wasn’t working. The employee at the front desk forgot to mention that we may have this issue past 4pm. Locked my wife, my daughter just in her bathing suit and me in a bathrobe and slippers, I went to the busy front lobby, the only place we could go without a working key for the room or elevators with my daughter to wait at the front desk among other guests checking in. When it was our turn, I explained the situation to the new front desk employee. He checked our information and confirmed there were no records of a check-in extension to 5pm, which is why our cards did not work. I just sighed disappointedly and said we would please like to have our cards reprogrammed to access the pool and our room so we can make the best of the last 45 minutes we had. We got back to the room at 430pm with just 10 minutes in the pool and I jumped in the shower while my wife and daughter packed. The culmination of these issues occurred with unannounced entry by an employee into our room at approx 4:40PM further exacerbated our discomfort while I was exiting the shower. The bathroom door was open and the Hudson Room layout has the rooms door directly in front of the bathroom and shower. I’m sure the hotel has records of what key cards are used throughout the hotel and there is a record of the employees’ key entry for that date and time. There was no mention of this when we checked out just before 5pm, from the same employee that reprogramed our cards. At this point we were just happy to be heading home and put this mistake of choosing FS Downtown behind us. This location left us disheartened and forever changed our loyalty to the Four Seasons brand.

This Four Seasons property is wonderful. Service is always top notch and this location didn’t disappoint. Restaurant and bar onsite. Pool, spa and fitness center on the 3rd floor. I had a king size bed on the 17th floor. Large space for New York!! Bathroom had large tub. Separate shower and toilet. Ordered room service and the food was good. Cocktails in the bar were also divine. I will come back to this location for sure. Worth the penny.

For the price, I feel like there should be better rooms. I thought after being down from Covid they would have massive upgrades. They got rid of the Rolls-Royce house car which so many four seasons have. It really set it apart in New York. Pretty disappointed with the interior and the rooms. Service was amazing though. Doormen were really nice and helpful!

The FIRST REAL 7 STAR HOTEL IN NYC…the location is perfect, the food is delicious, the hotel and decor are Beautiful, the service is Divine and WOWWWWW, the staff are beyond Phenomenol and I mean Absolutely Extraordinarily Over the Top Phenomenal♥️. We checked in for an Anniversary Celebration and were Blessed to meet a very Kind Caring Gracious front desk Host that greeted us with a Big Smile, “how are you today” and saw our Anniversary note in the reservation… he said “we are going to make your Anniversary very SPECIAL”. The sweetest person we ever met at any hotel in the world and we stay at the finest hotels in the World. He looked at my wife and promised to create an extraordinary day for her❤️. He upgraded our room, send Champagne and cake to the room and called later to see if we were Happy… WOW, he’s AMAZING. He went above and beyond and was so Professional then pointed out that his manager was the one who had to approve such lovely treats AND upgrades for guests, he said his manager smiled and said “let’s make their Anniversary, EXTRAORDINARY”. “Min” also said his manager always loves to give guests AMAZING SERVICE…I made sure to find out the managers name :) Jessica has the sweetest soul, she loves her job and her staff adore her and now I know why… she’s an Angel and will go far in the luxury Hotel business so I will thank her and her team for making my wife so HAPPY. The fantastic service didn’t end ther, the 2 front doormen were the sweetest too, they smiled, offered the house car, wouldn’t let my wife carry anything and stood outside with us like protective bodyguards as we waited for our limousine to arrive, we love those guys and front desk “Min” too and as our trip was ending… we met the sweetest room service man. Monaj, who brought breakfast in bed service to the room and didn’t just drop off our breakfast cart/table, he asked my wife if he could serve her coffee in bed as it’s where we set up the table in the suite… he handed her coffee, then poured her cream and stirred it for her like she was the Queen of Manhattan. I told Monaj that this was the kindest sweetest act of Grace and Kindness I’ve ever seen in any Hotel around the World.❤️ To say that The Four Season Downtown NYC IS GREAT, doesn’t capture how much we Love it and her staff. The management team deserves kudos and gratitude from us because this Hotel is Spectacular and so well run that we extended another night and canceled our other hotel reservation :). We officially adopterd the Staff because we LOVE THEM AND THEIR MANAGERS. The Warnest Regards from Jack and Alicia❤️🙏😇 EDIT: we extended our stay online and called the front desk to let them know we canceled our next hotel to stay here with these adorable kind staff members and say we’re ready to move rooms and thanked them for the Anniversary suite… Ashley sweetly said “we saw your new reservation and extended your stay in their Penthouse Suite, I didn’t want to take advantage of their kindness but she insisted that they wanted to extend the Anniversary Celebration… I was shocked how absolutely sweet and caring Ashley was… her voice and tone were so genuine, I was in Awee of her sweet GRACE. WE LOVE JESSICA AND ASHLEY TOO, the team were absolutely BEYOND STUNNINGLY SWEET❤️❤️❤️

A little disappointed that they chose to close the only restaurant/bar on a Friday night when we wanted to hang out there. But once they knew how disappointed we were they offered to drive us in the house car a few times to make it up to us. The staff was very friendly. The room was very, very nice. The one night we were able to visit the bar, the drinks were exceptional.