Ty Warner Hotels and Resorts, along with affiliated entities, and Four Seasons have completed agreements with plans to reopen Four Seasons Hotel New York in September of 2024 and Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore Santa Barbara in the spring of 2025. The Coral Casino Beach and Cabana Club has reopened under the management of a Ty Warner company.

For more than three decades, both iconic properties have hosted discerning travellers and locals alike, and Ty Warner’s team and Four Seasons look forward to welcoming guests back to these celebrated properties.

The internationally renowned Four Seasons Hotel New York and Four Seasons Resort The Biltmore Santa Barbara are currently undergoing enhancements and more details regarding reopening plans will be announced in the coming months.

But it was SO. MUCH. MORE.

PC: Four Seasons Hotel New York

The luxury hotel, located at 57 East 57th Street, closed to patrons during the pandemic (although doctors who worked on the Upper East Side were able to stay at the property from April through July, 2020). Once it seemed that the pandemic had waned a bit, the goal was for the hotel to reopen in Spring, 2022. That was delayed until 2023. Neither happened, though, because of an ongoing feud between the hotel’s owner, Ty Warner (he of Beanie Babies fame; he bought the hotel for $275M in 1999, when it was 7 years old) and Four Seasons corporate (who operates the hotel on behalf of the owner, as it does all Four Seasons properties).

Understandably, the upkeep of any 5-star Four Seasons location is costly. Warner had apparently balked at the costs of operating the hotel, particularly construction costs and management fees since it had been bleeding money even before the pandemic. But Four Seasons corporate, also understandably, had no interest in adjusting its fees to match the level of profitability the hotel was making (or, shall we say, not making). So, the two had been negotiating terms of reopening for well over a year and a half.

Better late than never

PC: Four Seasons Hotel New York

Although the press release from June said that the hotel would reopen in September, the New York Post reports that “sources” say it will actually happen in November…even though the hotel’s website is still a little vague about when it will actually reopen, referring to “fall 2024”:

Thank you for your interest in Four Seasons Hotel New York. The Hotel remains temporarily closed and is expected to reopen in fall 2024. Enhancements are planned, and we look forward to welcoming you back to our celebrated property upon reopening.

However, the Post says those same “sources” report that the hotel will begin taking reservations later this month.

Prices are up

What could be helping Warner’s decision is that hotel prices, on the whole, are at all-time highs. While hotel rates across the country are up 2.1%, CoStar says they’ve increased by 7.4% in NYC. With price increases like that, Warner may feel he doesn’t need to negotiate with Four Seasons to make a better profit on the hotel.

Signs of life

Meanwhile, lest anyone think this could be a repeat of the “we’re going to open! Just kidding…” of 2022 and 2023, the shuttered hotel appears to be showing more signs of life. Their LinkedIn page shows that the hotel is hiring bartenders, front desk agents, security guards, servers and a director of catering, and their website has been updated to say that “exciting changes are happening,” which include the debut of their new spa in early 2025.