The Healing Tent Experience: New Holistic Wellness Venue Opens At Four Seasons Resort Maldives At Kuda Huraa

The Island Spa at Four Seasons Resort Maldives at Kuda Huraa has enhanced its holistic wellness offerings with the launch of The Healing Tent: a dedicated 18-foot (5.5 metre) sanctuary for private wellbeing journeys that offer an intimate connection with nature, ancestral knowledge and one’s own core being.

Revered across cultures for their grounding energy, healing tents are transformative havens where spiritual wisdom and self-awareness align.  The ground represents the earth; the canopy walls represent the sky – and the supporting poles connect the earth to the energetic realm.

The Healing Tent Experience: Transform in Nature

Within the cocooning embrace of The Healing Tent, visitors to The Island Spa can choose from four transformational experiences:

• The Healing Tent Ritual: A holistic blend of Reiki and sound healing followed by guided breathwork and ice bath therapy for complete rejuvenation.

• Breathwork and Ice Bath Therapy: Breathwork followed by an invigorating ice bath immersion to boost blood flow, immune system function, muscle recovery, stress relief and sleep quality.

• Chakra Meditation: A balancing experience featuring pranayama (breathwork) and meditative relaxation techniques, enriched by the warmth of energy crystals.

• Reiki Energy Healing: Therapeutic healing combined with energy crystals and powerful singing bowl therapy to align the chakras, reduce stress, and boost health and vitality.

Commenting on the launch of The Healing Tent at The Island Spa, Luisa Anderson, Regional Director of Spa says: “Far from being just an uplifting treat, research increasingly shows that incorporating meaningful holistic practices into our lives has profound and lasting effects on our overall wellbeing, from reducing anxiety, depression and burnout to improving emotional regulation and self-awareness. With the launch of The Healing Tent, we hope to encourage more visitors to Kuda Huraa to take a proactive approach to their own wellbeing; it’s a beautiful way to boost physical and mental care in one.”

Located on its own private island – just a minute's sail across the sparkling lagoon – The Island Spa is a sanctuary unto itself. Pioneering marine-based OSEA therapies and rituals draw on the healing properties of the ocean and the surrounding nature via three “depths” of treatment experience: Deep, Deeper and Deepest. Each treatment journey is designed to restore guests' primal connection to the natural sources of wellness and the essence of their true self.

Appointment | Shadi Suleman Named General Manager for the Four Seasons Hotel Doha

Shadi Suleman Named General Manager for the Four Seasons Hotel Doha

Four Seasons Hotel Doha announces the appointment of Shadi Suleman as the new General Manager. A familiar face in the Qatari capital, Suleman was previously the Hotel Manager at Four Seasons Hotel Doha, before moving to Four Seasons Hotel Alexandria in 2017 to elevate his career as General Manager. After achieving tremendous success on the Mediterranean, he’s decided to return to the Arabian Gulf.

“My family and I have always loved Doha and we are very excited to come back,” says Suleman. “Over the past few years, Four Seasons Hotel Doha has seen extensive renovations, including beautiful new guest rooms, suites and restaurants, creating an amazing beachfront urban retreat. Next year we’ll all be feeling very proud to welcome guests from around the globe for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.”

Shadi has all the qualities of a successful leader,” says Simon Casson, President, Hotel Operations - Europe, Middle East and Africa for Four Seasons. “He brings the charisma, creativity and enthusiastic attitude that naturally inspire his team to give their best. Under Shadi’s leadership in Alexandria, the Hotel elevated its product and established an even higher standard of service. Along the way, he helped develop an incredible team of Four Seasons talent. I can’t wait to see what Shadi will accomplish now that he’s returning to Doha.”

A long-serving Four Seasons veteran, Suleman first joined the organisation in August 2002 at Four Seasons Hotel Riyadh at Kingdom Centre. In 2005, he returned home to Syria to be part of the pre-opening team at Four Seasons Hotel Damascus (formerly a Four Seasons hotel). In 2007, he joined another pre-opening mission for Four Seasons Hotel Istanbul at the Bosphorus. In 2008, he made the move to Four Seasons Hotel Doha as Director of Rooms, and advanced to Hotel Manager in 2013. He was promoted to General Manager at Four Seasons Hotel Alexandria at San Stefano in 2017.

Suleman’s commitment to perfection is built on his experience from these various Four Seasons operations in the GCC and Middle East. His extensive background contributes significantly to the expertise he’s bringing back to Qatar.

“I’m thrilled to be working again with all the great people at Four Seasons Hotel Doha,” says Suleman. “It’s an amazing multicultural team, representing more than 60 different nationalities. Their passion and dedication are really the secret ingredients that make Four Seasons so successful.”

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Four Seasons Hotel Doha Unveils Complete Redesign by Pierre-Yves Rochon

Four Seasons Hotel Doha has unveiled the details of its complete interior design overhaul, courtesy of award winning and world-renowned interior designer, Pierre-Yves Rochon (PYR).

Within this urban sanctuary, a refreshed colour scheme, including a rich spectrum of blues and beige in the guest rooms, evoke the earth, sprawling skies and Gulf views of Doha, while verdant colours and patterns in the new Tea Lounge pay homage to the splendours of nature.  The redesign continues to establish an elevated sense of place and time through a blend of classical and contemporary elements, and touches of Middle Eastern influences from the region, visible through the opulent and colourful chandeliers as well as the ornate furniture detailing. Qatari artwork from the owner’s original collection has been kept on the Hotel walls while nearly all the curtains have been revamped using a damask pattern

Lobby and Dining Outlets: The Beauty of Nature

The renovation of the Hotel strikes a harmony between the world of man and the beauty of nature that is reflective of the city itself. PYR was inspired by the unique landscape of Doha and this is evident through the colour scheme of the Hotel’s public areas and dining outlets. The feeling of the outdoors blends into the interiors with the creation of open-plan space and expansive glass windows.

The Lobby has been enhanced with a grandiose door reminiscent of grande dame entrances, and the Lobby has been redesigned as an open-plan space, allowing light to flood through the foyer as well as boasting views of the Arabian Gulf. A hand-blown glass chandelier, alongside an array of handmade and bespoke Italian furnishings, adorns the Lobby’s ceiling while also creating a magnificent focal point in the space.

Guest Rooms and Suites: Reflecting Sky, Sea and Sand

As a dynamic cultural destination with a thriving cosmopolitan district, Doha has direct access to a beach and beautiful blue sea. The redesigned rooms follow a soothing spectrum of blues and beiges reflecting the colours of the sky, sea, sand and earth. PYR aimed to evoke a feeling of timelessness while also creating an atmosphere in the rooms that is welcoming, uplifting, peaceful and comfortable for guests, with a powerful sense of place.

All the rooms and suites are furnished with discreetly integrated and energy efficient technologies to enhance the guest experience and bring a new dimension of modernity to the Hotel. All accommodations now feature automated curtains and lighting systems as well as temperature management preservation technology within the newly installed windows.

So Long, Minibar: How the Coronavirus Will Change Hotel Stays - NBC

A hotel that doesn't include a breakfast buffet and minibars would have been inconceivable to many Americans three months ago. But coronavirus has changed all that.

Hotel experts predict that the pandemic will drastically alter hotel stays in coming months, prompting many properties to embrace a host of new practices, up to and including temperature checks upon guests' arrivals.

The Four Seasons' guinea pig journey began last month, when H. Ty Warner, the property's owner, said he would open his hotel's doors to medical professionals working on the COVID-19 battlefront. The announcement set into motion a series of moves that have overhauled the hotel's standard operating procedure.

"We now have almost no touch points in the entire hotel, which is completely against a hotel's nature of being hands-on and kind," Tauscher said. "We used to be known for the human touch — but now we're all about no touch at all."

Check-ins and check-outs are performed virtually, with no human-to-human contact. Elevator rides are limited to one guest per car. Room service has been discontinued, and the hotel's restaurant, bar and complimentary coffee station are closed indefinitely.

The hotel's new dining option: pre-made boxed meals, available in an industrial refrigerator in the lobby.

How a Luxury Hotel on Billionaires’ Row Became a Dorm for Hospital Workers

Just a few weeks ago, it was typical for personal assistants to make reservations for thousand-dollar rooms at the Four Seasons Hotel New York for their high-profile bosses.

Remnants of the hotel’s luxurious past — the Art Deco-inspired entrance, the onyx ceiling in the main lobby, the oversize soaking tubs in the suites — are extravagant extras now that the five-star property has been converted into something akin to a military barracks.

The Four Seasons, just like nearby Central Park and the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing, Queens, is yet another New York City landmark being retrofitted to fight the pandemic.

Although other hotels in the city are helping with hospital bed overflow, the Four Seasons has dedicated itself exclusively to keeping doctors, nurses and other medical professionals well rested and safe

At the entrance, two nurses, wearing N95 masks, take the temperatures of all guests, asking questions about symptoms over the past 72 hours and if they’ve washed their hands. Once inside, guests go straight to their rooms; there is no bar or restaurant. Elevators carry one passenger at a time; others must wait on taped Xs on the floor, placed six feet apart.

Of the hotel’s 368 rooms, only 225 will have guests to limit crowding on the property.

Guests and hotel staff no longer interact. For check-in, keys are placed in envelopes on a table

Dirty items are collected only after guests, who stay for a minimum of seven days, check out and the room has been fumigated

Stéphane Gras Appointed General Manager at Four Seasons Megéve & Les Chalets du Mont D'Arbois

Stéphane began his career at the Waldorf Astoria in New York before joining Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts in 1999 as Assistant Room Service Manager at Four Seasons Hotel New York.

He hold a Bachelor's degree in International Hotel Management from the Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne, Switzerland.

His career in the Group has taken him to the four corners of the world: the United States, Egypt, Azerbaijan, the Czech Republic, and more. After 20 years abroad and a series of extremely enriching experiences on a professional, human and cultural level, He took up his position in Megève on February 3, 2020. He now manages the destination's two hotels (Four Seasons Hotel Megève and Les Chalets du Mont d'Arbois, Megève, A Four Seasons Hotel) as well as the Golf du Mont d'Arbois and the mountain restaurants in the Edmond de Rothschild Heritage Group (Le Club du Mont d'Arbois, La Taverne du Mont d'Arbois, La Pizzeria de la Taverne, L'Idéal 1850, L'Auberge de la Côte 2000).

Spyridon Georgakopoulos Named Hotel Manager at Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at The First Residence

Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at The First Residence welcomes new Hotel Manager Spyridon Georgakopoulos.

"Being a part of the international hospitality industry since 2005, I believe that we continue to develop ourselves and others around us day by day," says Spyridon. Having lived in various countries, growing up and working among people of different cultures has helped shape the person he is today. "I always have something to learn especially from people of different traditions and customs; they always reveal a deeper understanding of life."

Growing up in the coastal port city of Volos in Greece has taught him to appreciate Mother Nature. He grew up amid Volos's sunny weather, the Aegean Sea and the beautiful landscape

In his new role as Hotel Manager of Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at The First Residence, He will use his leadership and experience to contribute to the rebirth and repositioning of this great Hotel, which celebrates twenty years since opening as the first Four Seasons in Egypt and the Middle East region, spearheading and redefining the luxury experience.

His high level of commitment, organizational skills, and multicultural experiences led to his success in his prior appointments, and I am confident that he will undoubtedly continue to create excellence in his new role in Cairo," says Mahmoud El Keiy, General Manager.

He has expressed his fondness and affection for being immersed in Cairo's culture. "Egyptians are friendly, welcoming and family-oriented, the culture here is very special to me as it reminds me of home. 

Spyridon Georgakopoulos

Four Seasons announces nine planned new hotel openings in 2019

The coming year will mark several significant new openings for Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, the world’s leading luxury hospitality company, with the debut of nine new hotels and resorts around the world, plus the continued expansion of its residential portfolio.

• Four Seasons Astir Palace Hotel Athens

• Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences Bangkok at Chao Phraya River

• Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences Bengaluru at Embassy ONE

• Four Seasons Resort and Residences Los Cabos at Costa Palmas

• Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences Madrid

• Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences Montreal

• Four Seasons Resort and Residences Napa Valley

• Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences One Dalton Street, Boston

• Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia at Comcast Center

Additional future projects recently announced include hotels, resorts and residences in Dalian, China; Makkah, Saudi Arabia; Hanoi, Vietnam; and Caye Chapel, Belize.