Four Seasons ends ownership standoff, will reopen Midtown hotel

For three years, the pandemic and a dispute between the Four Seasons and an owner in Manhattan kept an iconic Midtown hotel shuttered. That could change in 2024.

The Four Seasons brand and Beanie Babies founder Ty Warner — owner of the hotel at 57 East 57th Street — resolved the issues between them and agreed to reopen the property next year, Bloomberg reported. Another Four Seasons resort, the Biltmore Santa Barbara, will also be able to reopen under the agreement.

Specifics on the resolution between the Four Seasons and Warner were not provided, but construction costs and management fees were at the heart of the dispute. Even before the pandemic, Warner reportedly balked at the operating costs at the money-losing hotel. Four Seasons, however, saw little issue to adjust its management fees to match profitability levels.

The Four Seasons doesn’t actually own the properties in its portfolio, but instead operates them on behalf of the owners.

The hotel closed when the pandemic came to town, though doctors working on the Upper East Side were able to stay at the property. The hotel targeted a spring 2022 reopening but blew past that as the dispute lingered, even as other Manhattan hotels roared back to life.

Earlier this summer, the Wall Street Journal reported the owner and operator were working towards an agreement, which was anticipated to come before the end of the summer. The 368-room property is expected to reopen next fall, though that timeline could change based on construction work that needs to be done.

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The reclusive Warner purchased the hotel in 1999 for $275 million, seven years after it opened. The development of the property cost $475 million.

The resolution of this standoff may also spur the Plaza Hotel at 786 Fifth Avenue back to life. 

Part of the hotel has been closed since the pandemic and the Four Seasons has eyed taking over management of the property. If the Four Seasons reopens at 57 East 57th, however, it was expected that Paris-based Raffles Hotels & Resorts would be awarded the Plaza.

— Holden Walter-Warner