The Guide to Four Seasons Hotels

Highly recognized as one of the top luxury hotel brands, Four Seasons has a lot to offer. With a mix of city hotels and destination resorts, the brand has strong loyalty despite not having a loyalty program or a Four Seasons credit card.

One thing it does offer is the Four Seasons Preferred Partner program, which provides extra benefits when travelers make a reservation through a partner travel advisor.

While you won’t earn points for a Four Seasons stay, wise travelers use a credit card that provides a bonus on travel and hotel stays. Here is what you can expect from Four Seasons locations, including some of the best Four Seasons in the world and how to take advantage of a Four Seasons Preferred Partner rate.

Popular Four Seasons hotels and resorts locations

The best Four Seasons in the world is certainly subjective, but some continue to impress guests in iconic locations. Let’s look at some of the most exotic Four Seasons hotels in the U.S. and overseas.

Towering above the Mississippi River, the Four Seasons Hotel New Orleans, a new high-rise hotel, is a short walk from the hubbub of the French Quarter and its numerous restaurant-lined streets. In a city famed for its cuisine, the French restaurant and oyster bar offers a pleasant alternative if you don’t want to leave the hotel.

The Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea claims to have the island’s largest rooms, and unlike other properties, does not charge a resort fee. Views of the stunning coastline from guest rooms are a highlight.

Guests can relax on daybeds by the swimming pool, use the spa or participate in numerous watersport activities available at the resort. If the property looks familiar, that’s because you may have seen it in the first season of HBO’s “The White Lotus.”

Along the city’s famous Magnificent Mile, the Four Seasons Chicago benefits from great dining, an indoor pool and even an on-demand ice cream cart that can deliver sweet treats to the room at the touch of a button. Prefer something stronger? There’s also an on-demand martini cart.

Surrounded by an inner courtyard, the Four Seasons Mexico City is a tranquil getaway in the heart of Mexico City’s hustle and bustle. On the Paseo de la Reforma, guests and locals can visit Fifty Mils, which The New York Times has called one of the best bars in the city for a cocktail. After recent renovations, the hotel is considered one of the best in the capital.

Just 20 minutes from Denpasar International Airport on the Indonesian island of Bali, the Four Seasons Resort Bali at Jimbaran Bay is an all-villa property that sprawls across 35 acres.

The resort features infinity-edge swimming pools, excellent dining (don’t miss the Balinese restaurant in the gardens), an impressive spa, complimentary cultural activities and direct access to the shore from a private beach club, which boasts the island’s longest beachfront swimming pool. Many top villas have private gardens with plunge pools, outdoor showers and majestic sea views.

This is the second Four Seasons in Bali and is secluded within the forest and wraps around the Ayung River. Many guests often book both Four Seasons properties together with the unique experience of traveling between the two via river raft.

Divided between suites in the main building, which descends down to the river, and private villas, the experience here is one for self-reflection, relaxation and the enjoyment of nature. Activities include napping during a meditation session in an aerial silk hammock, enjoying comforting spa treatments and relaxing by the infinity-edge pool with the sounds of the rushing river below.

In northern Thailand, the Four Seasons Tented Camp Golden Triangle is surrounded by nature. Guests here can meet the property’s rescued elephants, visit local villages or relax at the resort’s spa. While the resort calls them tents, the accommodations are more like garden-shrouded villas with private pools and indoor-outdoor bathrooms.

Taking advantage of its riverfront position along the Chao Phraya River, this Four Seasons revels in its beautiful city views, private gardens, world-class Thai artwork, excellent dining (don’t miss the Argentine-inspired BKK Social Club, which is regularly named one of the best bars in the country) and a spectacular spa. The hotel is also home to the only Michelin-starred Cantonese restaurant in the country.

Overlooking Tokyo Station, Four Seasons Hotel Tokyo at Marunouchi is the smallest Four Seasons in the world, but it offers top-tier service. The staff is happy to meet guests on the train platform and escort them directly to their rooms, the best of which overlook the hustle of the busy station behind soundproof windows.

The personalized service of a small hotel paired with the high quality of Four Seasons make this an oft-recommended hotel in Tokyo, even after a second Four Seasons opened in 2020.

In a restored bank building blocks from the famous Gran Via and Puerta del Sol, Four Seasons Hotel Madrid is just one of a long line of recent luxury openings in the Spanish capital. Expect doting service (the staff is required to respond to guest texts within 90 seconds), a selection of more than 1,500 pieces of artwork from budding Spanish artists and the largest hotel spa in the city.

Laid out in a series of villas within the Serengeti, the Four Seasons Safari Lodge Serengeti offers a way to get up close and personal with the animals while not forgoing Four Seasons’ traditional sense of luxury. Villa guests receive complimentary spa treatments, poolside barbecues in the villa and a personal assistant around the clock.

The Maldives does not lack luxury resorts, but many require an expensive seaplane ride from the international airport. The Four Seasons Resort Maldives at Kuda Huraa, however, is only a 25-minute speedboat ride from the airport, putting guests in paradise with little extra effort.

Overwater bungalows as well as beachfront and garden villas provide plenty of choice. Families will enjoy the wealth of activities for children like a kids club, infinity-edge swimming pools and beautiful beaches for snorkeling and swimming.

Can you earn and redeem points at Four Seasons hotels?

Most programs equate 1 point with 1 cent, but if you have the Chase Sapphire Reserve® card, you receive 1.5 cents of value per point. The Ink Business Preferred® Credit Card and the Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card offer 1.25 cents per point in value when booking through the Chase Ultimate Rewards® portal.

Keep in mind that booking through the portal does not allow you to take advantage of Preferred Partner perks, which must be booked via a travel advisor.

What is Four Seasons Preferred Partner?

Four Seasons Preferred Partner is a special rate available to select travel advisors on an invitation-only basis and comes with several special perks.

• Complimentary breakfast for two people per bedroom (helpful if booking a multiroom suite or villa) in the restaurant or via room service.

• $100 credit for rooms or $200 credit for suites.

• One-category, space-available upgrades.

• Early check-in or late checkout considerations.

This program is similar to others like Marriott STARS (available at select brands like Ritz-Carlton and St. Regis) and American Express Fine Hotels + Resorts. While the perks vary among programs, the ability to receive something more than what you would typically do when booking at the hotel is rewarding. For Four Seasons hotels, this helps to make up for not having a loyalty program with elite status perks.

Best of all, the Four Seasons Preferred Partner rates are similar to what you would pay when booking directly with Four Seasons in the USA or Four Seasons overseas. Booking these reservations is best when using a credit card that earns a bonus for travel spending.

Four Seasons offers a top luxury experience

While frequent travelers may lament the lack of a loyalty program, the Four Seasons brand has developed a reputation for top luxury.

With properties across the U.S. and overseas, Four Seasons offers impressive hospitality to those willing to forgo extra points. The most value comes from Four Seasons Preferred Partner rates since these provide bonus perks like resort credits and free breakfast without needing to be a hotel loyalty elite member.