Good or Great, Excellent or Exceptional?
What is the difference between Good and Great? Excellent and Exceptional? What type of travel experience would you prefer? How do hotels make themselves Great? Exceptional?
I have recently spent some time improving my knowledge on the Four Seasons range of hotels, residences and resorts and would like to share some of what I learned with you. I will start with putting it out there, that when I have to stay in Sydney for work or leisure, I absolutely love to stay at the Four Seasons Sydney. The location of the hotel is second to none. As are the staff who look after you as if you are a valued family member, not a guest. My wonderful experiences here (including the dinner opportunities at Mode restaurant with Dilshan, best waiter EVER!) made me want to learn more about Four Seasons around the world.
World travel is tricky at the moment, and industry conferences and gatherings are just not happening as they used to. Four Seasons found a way around this by inviting individual travel professionals to connect with them via Zoom and Microsoft virtual platforms to talk, connect and teach us about their properties. Here is your first hint that Four Seasons have a unique approach – this was not pre-recorded presentations to a room of 200 agents, this was a personalised, one on one meeting that each hotel Sales Director took with me. Just me. One Travel Professional from all the agents that work in Australia. How special does that make me feel?
My goal in you reading this is that you can start to get an idea of why Four Seasons is a special brand, and even if you only spend one night at a hotel as a special way to end your holiday, or as your hotel of choice to celebrate a special birthday, anniversary or occasion. I will try and explain myself indiscreet topics to keep it simple. Let’s see how I do.
Location – this is usually the first thing people look at when choosing a hotel. Is it centrally located in the city? Accessible to public transport? Walking distance from main attractions? One of the things that stood out to me over the many calls I made was the answer to this with Four Seasons is “yes”.
Four Seasons Madrid is smack bang in the old part of the city, and is actually a series of historical buildings liked together seamlessly to preserve their history and you can walk everywhere. Four Seasons Hong Kong is physically in the same building as the train station where you can check-in for your flight and leave your luggage (which makes its way as if like magic to your plane) then take the short ride to the airport. Four Seasons in London has two properties – Tower Bridge and Park Lane – and you don’t get better addresses than that. And in Sydney? The George St Tram is at your door step as is Circular Quay, and you are in the heart of the Rocks. Perfect!
Don’t want to stay in a city? Four Seasons Hampshire is a stone’s throw for day trips to Peppa Pig World, Salisbury Cathedral, Stonehenge, Goodwood Estate, Petworth House, Hampton Court Palace and more. It’s all about location.
Rooms – this is often the next criteria that people use to judge their hotel. The thing that struck me about the Four Seasons is that the rooms are not “over the top” when it comes to local flavour. Its not like you have walked into a souvenir store of the country you are visiting. The décor is classic, modern, but always with a subtle touch of authenticity. The pattern woven into the carpet. The art works on the wall. The design of the tiles. The manufacturer of the lamps. The fabrics and linens. The room décor and books available in the rooms. All locally themed, many locally made, all taking inspiration from the local culture and history. Nothing obtuse of garish, but all authentic. The room sizes in Four Seasons properties in the larger cities are also amongst the largest in the city in many cases.
Dining and Drinking are a major part of the holiday experience for many people. Four Seasons has elevated the “in house” experience to the next level. At least 3 of their hotel bars in their Asian Hotels are in the Top 50 rated bars in the world. Almost every hotel has a Michelin rated chef responsible for one of the dining outlets. The attention to detail is taken next level to the ingredients in the signature cocktails and dining menus being unique to the destination you are in and sourced from local, sustainable sources. More on this later. From “Gentleman’s” and “Cigar” bars to rooftop alfresco elegance, chandeliers and décor that will blow your mind, to private dining and function rooms, Four Seasons properties are leaders in the food and beverage experience. The hotel dining room concept of old (a lacklustre experience for when you could not be bothered to go out after a busy day) has well and truly gone. The dining and beverage experiences in Four Seasons properties is just as important as the accommodation, location, service – its part of the whole experience. Michelin standard is the norm now.
Well-being and safe, healthy travel – this has been proven at Four Seasons to be something that people are looking for now. Space, outdoor areas, no crowds, and an overall holistic approach to a holiday that includes spa treatments beyond a 1-hour facial (though that is available too). Yoga, Meditation, outdoor activities and cultural, learning experiences await, all in the comfort of your hotel or resorts. Four Seasons Hoi An (Vietnam) offer a crystal massage experience using the song of quartz bowls being rubbed to create a soothing sound. Four Seasons Hampshire (England) for example allows you to experience falconry, croquet, fly fishing, skating, clay pigeon shooting and more all in the grounds of their estate, whist staying at a property more of a manor house than a hotel…. the quintessential English experience all in one place.
I have saved the most important (and hardest to communicate) part of the Four Seasons brand until last. Its people. I use that word deliberately instead of “staff” as the Four Seasons brand sees the people who work in their hotels and resorts as family, a valued asset to their business, much more than just being “staff”. There is something uniquely intuitive about their service. They are trained, yes, but then empowered to go above and beyond if they think that there is something they can do to elevate a guests experience from good to great. Excellent to exceptional. There is a set of basic rules to follow I am sure, but there is no script, no set responses. Intuitive service. Always the guest is put first, to be treated like family. Always when a guest walks through the door, they should instantly feel relaxed, like they have just come home. Always to be made feel like they are the most important person in the hotel, whether you have booked the standard city view room or the Presidential Suite. This is the unique gift that the Four Seasons can offer its guests. I have had clients who have stayed at Four Seasons also stay at other 5-star properties with wonderful names and reputations, and 100% of the time they say they “enjoyed” the other place, but it was not as good as the Four Seasons, for reasons A, B and C. They even say, it is an intangible thing – an experience and a feeling. Not the rooms, not the food, not the view – but the way the Four Seasons people made them feel. Special.
There are many Four Seasons properties I have not mentioned by name in this blog. Seychelles and Maldives (did I hear you ask to hire a private island with exclusive luxury yacht use included?), Jakarta and Bali, Singapore, Bangkok, Kyoto and Tokyo (there are some amazing things to learn about the two properties in this huge city) Dubai (where there are also two properties with two distinctly different styles). Phuket, Seoul, LA, Bora Bora, China, Istanbul (again two properties in the one city with unique features), Budapest (with a view and alfresco dining to drool over!), Kuala Lumpur and Langkawi, and Hawaii (have you seen White Lotus?)
I could waffle on for hours about what I learned and try to describe the beautiful images of the hotels and their facilities, but the take home message I am trying to convey is that all the material, tangible parts of a Four Seasons stay make it Good, Excellent. The people who work there and take care of your, their thoughtfulness, intuitive service and skills, they make your stay Great, Exceptional.
A night (or 2 or 3) at a Four Seasons hotel or resort should be included as a part of your next holiday plan. It may not be what you have tried before, or it may be what you are used to, but either way I will sit here and guarantee that you will depart having had a memorable experience that you will not forget. Maybe, like me, you will remember your dinner waiter from 3 years ago by name. When you return to that hotel next time, I bet they will know your name too. That’s what makes Excellent become Exceptional.