Four Seasons Hotel New York Downtown, 27 Barclay Street
After a slice of the Upper East Side, I headed south to Lower Manhattan to experience one of the world’s best-rated hotel brands – the Four Seasons Hotel New York Downtown.
Excellent service is synonymous with the Four Seasons and this was evident from the moment I arrived. Doormen relieved me of my luggage, gave me iced bottled water and escorted me to the vast elegant lobby, a welcome and cool haven from the 90-degree heat outside.
Check in was as professional and welcoming as you’d expect from a hotel of this calibre. And while you’re waiting for your key card, take a look at the stunning charcoal drawing of angel feathers by local artist Robert Long. Interiors are the inspiration of talented Toronto and SoHo-based design group, Yabu Pushelberg. It’s calm and sophisticated: think rich wood walls, cool marble and woven metal screens with shades of brown and white. An exquisite sculptural suspended staircase – the perfect wedding backdrop – leads seductively to reception and meeting spaces above, including the 2,990 sq ft Greenwich Ballroom.
Floors 7 to 24 contain 189 luxury guest rooms, including 28 suites. Check in to the 23rd or 24th floor for stupendous views from the TriBeCa Suite or choose the 2,400sq ft Royal Suite. This 926-ft tower hotel is also home to 157 Four Seasons Private Residences. Indeed, General Manager Peter Humig said at last year’s opening: “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.”
I can see the transformation in the streets around WTC 1, the Santiago Caltrava-designed Oculus WTC travel and retail hub, and the shopping areas at Westfield (www.westfield.com) and the omnipresent cranes. From an area that had lost confidence in the decade post 9-11, this part of Lower Manhattan is rising Phoenix-like from the ashes of that human and financial tragedy. The Oculus, in particular, has a bird-in-flight design that epitomises current zeitgeists of inspiration and innovation.
My suite is spacious and cool, with extensive views of Midtown. Heated marble flooring is standard in a bathroom that boasts a tub so capacious it could fit an entire family. Power shower, intelligently designed lighting and an enormous theatre-size smart TV. The super-king-size bed is divine and exceptionally hard to leave each morning for my gym session.
The state-of-the-art equipment in the fitness center, open 24/7, was superb and the space never felt crowded, even at 7am. Abundant TechnoGym stations and floor-to-ceiling windows provided abundant light. The space was kept beautifully clean with fresh towels at each workstation. The free weights and balls were in a separate yoga area and best of all: a gorgeous 75-foot lap pool with two-storey windows and a tranquil outdoor sundeck reserved exclusively for spa guests.
A post gym steam and massage was fabulous. The spa at the Four Seasons New York Downtown is a haven of calm relaxation with seven treatment rooms, including a VIP couples suite.White
White tay wood walls are complemented by exquisite oak and travertine flooring. Spa Coordinator Jessica Waddy was very professional and welcoming, and explained the benefits of the cosmetic brands at the spa: Dr Burgener from Switzerland and Omorovicza from Hungary.
Breakfast is my favourite meal of the day, and I lingered long at Wolfgang Puck’s CUT restaurant on the hotel’s ground floor. Excellent service here from Claudia and her colleagues, who brought me endless coffee, thirst-quenching orange juice and fabulous food. My French omelette with Gruyère, wild mushrooms and roasted pearl onions was sublime, as was my following morning’s succulent fried egg sandwich with Gruyère cheese and Applewood bacon in a warm brioche.
Dinner options at CUT favour prime beef plates with a Japanese accent, as well as seafood from Maine and Rhode Island. This award-winning steakhouse is the celebrity chef’s first foray into Manhattan and attracts a sizeable following from locals and hotel guests. The restaurant has an 86-seater main dining room, as well as a 32-seat lounge and funky bar space. There is also a private dining room for up to 31 guests.
The Four Seasons Hotel New York Downtown is perfectly located for sightseeing. Just one block from the Oculus World Trade Center transport and retail hub, it’s a short walk or taxi to the Brooklyn Bridge, South Street Seaport, National Museum of the American Indian and of course Wall Street, Trinity Church, Battery Park and the Hudson River Park. It’s also in the same block as the iconic Woolworth building, tours of which can be conducted by prior arrangement with the concierge.
SoHo, TriBeCa, the West Village and the celebrated High Line (www.thehighline.org) are also all within easy reach from this perfectly located Downtown luxury base.
It was my birthday during my stay and my dear friend Regina and I celebrated with a three-hour Bateaux dinner cruise on the Hudson and East Rivers. Leaving from Chelsea Piers in the all-glass boat we loved the skyline views and superb outdoor viewing deck. We enjoyed lobster bisque and a beet and goats cheese salad, followed by a superb miso-glazed cod and raised beef short ribs. I succumbed to a fabulous salted caramel cake for dessert, while my friend chose a New York cheesecake.
We had an hour’s gap between the three courses to enjoy the views on deck: The One World Trade Center, The Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Brooklyn Bridge, as well as the Downtown and Lower Manhattan skyline. The singer and band were excellent, and service from our waitress Asia was superb – and we were dining in air-conditioned comfort the whole way – especially welcome in the heatwave.
A Bateaux dinner cruise including 3-course dinner, live music and premium open bar with views of the illuminated Manhattan skyline costs from £228 per person. Book directly via www.attraction-tickets-direct.co.uk
Later that evening, I enjoyed a nightcap with new friends in the bar at CUT. What a fabulous end to a very special birthday and a beautiful stay at one of the most gorgeous hotels in Manhattan.