Already home to finance and technology start-ups, advertising innovators, media influencers and growing information industries, Downtown is the new crossroads of creativity and commerce, soon to be joined by an all-new outpost of the world’s leading luxury hospitality company.
Opening in late summer 2016 in the heart of the new Lower Manhattan just a block from the World Trade Center, Four Seasons Hotel New York Downtown will be the brand’s second location in the city, and will introduce the very first Manhattan restaurant by acclaimed Chef Wolfgang Puck.
“In a city that always surprises, there’s a kind of renaissance happening in its oldest area,” says Peter Humig, General Manager of the soon-to-be-opened Four Seasons Hotel New York Downtown.
“No longer simply a business district, Downtown New York is being reborn as a place where people not only work, but they live. A new layer of community is emerging amid the neighbourhoods we already know so well including Tribeca, Soho and Wall Street.
“Exciting new architecture has taken shape, cultural institutions such as the Whitney Museum of American Art have opened alongside the area’s art galleries, new shops and restaurants are launching every week, and businesses are moving back to Lower Manhattan.”
In a timeless tribute to the city’s distinctive early 20th century architecture – the iconic Woolworth Building shares the same city block – architect Robert A.M. Stern has created a new, 82 story skyscraper soaring 926 feet (282 metres) above the historic streets of Lower Manhattan. Taking its place in the world’s most famous skyline, Downtown’s tallest residential building is also home to its newest luxury hotel.
Stepping inside the new Four Seasons Hotel New York Downtown on Barclay Street, the frenetic pace of life and work in Manhattan transitions to a moment of peace and calm.
The two-story lobby layers architectural elements in response to the ever-evolving urban landscape that surrounds it. Feet rest on soft wool carpeting as the eye takes in original artworks displayed against rich wood walls and woven metal screens. Brushed bronze accents and fabrics in muted jewel tones invite casual socialising, while a dramatic suspended staircase hints at the gracious gathering spaces above.
Throughout the interiors designed by Toronto and Soho-based Yabu Pushelberg, the aesthetic combines varying textures to create spaces that are distinctly modern, and yet immediately welcoming.
In terms of the F&B offering, celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck is opening his first restaurant in Manhattan within the hotel. His widely acclaimed and wildly popular steakhouse concept CUT by Wolfgang Puck – first introduced at Beverly Wilshire, Beverly Hills, A Four Seasons Hotel – will be accessed via the Hotel or its own entrance around the corner on Church Street.
With interiors by French architect and designer Jacques Garcia, CUT by Wolfgang Puck will encompass an 86-seat main dining room as well as a 32-seat lounge with 10 seats at the bar. A generously-sized private dining room will host up to 31 guests.
Like a mini-resort hidden in the midst of one of the world’s busiest locales, the Spa at Four Seasons is a sanctuary of pampering and results-oriented therapies. Here, Yabu Pushelberg has lightened the palette with white tay wood walls and floors of oak and travertine. Each of seven treatment rooms – including a luxe couple’s suite – is dressed in soothing organic lines.
Two-story windows line the 75 foot (23 metre) lap pool, and guests can choose to relax in loungers inside, or out on the secluded sundeck adjacent to the Spa.
Understanding that staying fit is as important on the road or on vacation as it is at home, the state-of-the-art fitness centre at Four Seasons is open 24/7, with the option to work out on one’s own or with the assistance of a personal coach.
