Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts is expanding their worldwide presence this year, with nine openings set for 2019 in such locales such as Athens, Napa Valley, Madrid and Montreal.
Montreal? Yes, you read that right. Remarkably, the luxury hotel company that was started in Canada has not had a presence in this vibrant Quebec city since 1994, when it ceased management of the L’Hôtel Quatre Saisons.
Now Four Seasons is making up for lost time. The new Four Seasons Hotel Montreal is presently accepting reservations for stays beginning June 1, 2019. The 169-room property is located downtown in the city’s Golden Mile Square, directly connected to Holt Renfrew Ogilvy from the hotel’s third floor lobby. Just a 10 minute walk from the Bell Centre, five minutes by car from the train station and 20 minutes from the airport, the new Four Seasons Hotel Montreal is pretty much ideally located. I’m a huge fan on Montreal but aside from the Ritz-Carlton Montreal and a couple of boutique properties, the city has been sorely in need of this level of luxury.
The timing of the opening happens to coincide with Montreal’s festival season. Montreal has long been a city of summer festivals – it just might have to do with celebrating the end of those very long winters -- and the hotel is banking that guests will be coming to the most heralded events of the year. The season kicks off with the 2019 Montreal Grand Prix from June 7 to 9, and continues with the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal from June 27 to July 6 and the Just for Laughs Festival from July 10 to 28.
“The [Formula One] event virtually takes over the city, and we’ll be right there in the middle of it,” says Four Seasons General Manager Gonçalo Monteiro. “And that’s just the beginning of what promises to be a summer to remember in Montreal.”
The 169 accommodations include 19 suites, and will range from Superior and Deluxe guest rooms with floor-to-ceiling windows and views of the Golden Square Mile to Premiere Carré Doré and Premiere Rooms, which will offer glass doors that open up beside each bed to a dramatic free standing bathtub. The Presidential Suite on the hotel’s highest floor will have two bedrooms, a large living area, and a dining table for eight. The master bedroom will feature an oversize bathroom with a double shower and free standing jetted tub.
The hotel will feature Marcus, acclaimed Chef Marcus Samuelsson’s first restaurant in Canada. Marcus promises to be a modern take on the traditional brasserie.The focus will be on sustainable seafood that will include a raw bar and the kitchen will be sourcing local vegetables, greens and grains.
Additional services and amenities include a 24-hour fitness center and sky-lit indoor swimming pool, as well as a Spa. It promises to be the only urban spa in Montreal to offer Kneipp Water Therapy.
The architects of Four Seasons Hotel Montreal are Lemay and Sid Lee Architecture, both of Montreal. The interiors are by Paris-based Gilles & Boissier. The hotel’s welcoming reception and lobby area have been designed as a series of indoor and outdoor social spaces by Montreal designers Atelier Zébulon Perron, who also designed the space for Marcus.
Those with deeper pockets can check out the 18 Four Seasons Private Residences that are located in the same building, with interiors by Montreal-based architect and designer Philip Hazan.
Visit Four Seasons Hotel Montreal for more details.
