The Four Seasons Hotel in Midtown Manhattan is finally set to reopen in early November, ending a closure that began with the pandemic and lasted more than four years due to an epic contract dispute, The Washington Post has learned.
As first reported by The Washington Post, the iconic luxury lodge on East 57th Street remains closed because its owner, Ty Warner (the reclusive, stingy billionaire founder of the Beanie Babies empire), is at odds over fees with Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, which operates the luxury hotel chain.
This summer, the Four Seasons had been aiming for a September grand opening for the I.M. Pei-designed 52-story Art Deco tower — once known as the city's most luxurious hotel — and after several last-minute postponements, the reopening is now scheduled to coincide with the start of New York City's holiday season, two sources with direct knowledge of the plans told The Post.
The hotel's website said Tuesday that the “hotel is temporarily closed and plans to reopen in fall 2024,” and officials said it will begin taking reservations later this month.
If the Four Seasons meets its November target, it will end a string of failures that included spring 2022 and 2023, when Warner and the Four Seasons were at odds over rates as the city's hotels faltered in the post-pandemic downturn.
But Manhattan's hotel industry has been booming this year after the city cracked down on Airbnb, significantly reducing accommodation options in 2023. Room rates in New York City rose 7.4% over the past year, compared with a 2.1% increase for the national average, according to CoStar.
That's good news for Warner, which bought the building in 1999 for $275 million — a steep discount considering it cost $475 million to build the 368-room tower in 1993.
The property, in a district of luxury towers known as Billionaire's Row, has recently been showing signs of new life. Workers were busy Tuesday restoring the tall glass entrance doors that in recent weeks had been flanked by potted magnolias.
The long-dark hotel lobby, with its high ceilings and marble staircase, was once again visible from the street, lit by a huge chandelier. Swing-era jazz wafted down the street, and piped scents of autumn mixed with hints of cedar and tobacco.
The plain brown paper that covered the hotel's sales windows for years has been replaced with glossy photos advertising upcoming bars, restaurants and event spaces. A poster at the East 58th Street entrance advertises spas by Raphael, a Swiss-based beauty chain.
The “new spa” is scheduled to open in 2025, according to the website.
As first reported by The Washington Post, the Four Seasons also plans to begin offering apartments for rent next year after converting about 50 rooms into rental units, which sources said are still under construction.
It's unclear whether the new rentals will include the infamous Ty Warner Penthouse, a 4,300-square-foot unit on the 52nd floor with panoramic city views that was advertised for a whopping $50,000 a night.
“The decision to go with rentals over condos is likely because Ty Warner doesn't want to sell ownership of the buildings,” said a hotel industry expert who spoke on the condition of anonymity. “He likes to be in control.”
A representative for Toronto-based Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts said the hotel will begin accepting reservations soon and welcoming guests later this year, but did not comment on rental units.
Warner, through a spokesman, declined to comment.
According to the hotel's LinkedIn page, the hotel is currently hiring bartenders, front desk clerks, security guards, servers and a director of catering.
Of the five-star New York hotels that have closed during the pandemic, only the Four Seasons remains closed: Competitors like the St. Regis, The Peninsula, and Lotte New York Palace all reopened by the end of 2021.
The last guest at the Four Seasons Healthcare workers come to New York in the middle of the pandemic He enrolled in April and was provided free accommodation by Warner until July 2020.
But a contract dispute between Warner and the Four Seasons kept the hotel closed for the next three years, with Warner arguing the hotel wasn't making enough of a profit because of labor costs, industry experts told The Washington Post.
In 2021, the union representing the workers, the New York Hotel and Gaming Labor Council, secured $10 million in severance packages for 100 members who accepted the buyout.
