The Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia at Comcast Center was on my radar ever since it opened. I decided that it would be a perfect opportunity for a weekend trip to Philadelphia to visit both the city, and the hotel. What captivated me to book this hotel was the overall aesthetic, and the views from the rooms high up in the Comcast Technology Center tower.
Table of Contents
Background
Originally located on Logan Circle at what is now The Logan Hotel, the FS Philadelphia relocated to its current location in August 2019, and the rooms occupy the 48th to 56th floors of the Comcast Technology Center. This makes the hotel the highest in the country. The 60-floor skyscraper was completed in July 2018. It is also the tallest building in Philadelphia and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The hotel contains 219 rooms, 39 which are suites. The hotel contains the well upscale Jean-Georges Philadelphia restaurant and JG Skyhigh Bar (both located on the 60th floor). Accessible from street level is the highly rated seafood restaurant, Vernick Fish, and the Vernick Coffee Bar next door. On the 57th floor is where you will find the 30000 gallon heated infinity pool and the spa.
Booking
We booked the FS Philadelphia through Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts because we wanted the benefit of 4pm checkout and the possibility of an upgrade. Since the rate was the same as booking directly with FS, it was an easy decision, and everything was simply done through the Amex FHR portal
Since Four Seasons is not part of any loyalty program, there was no opportunity to book the hotel night with points. After all taxes and fees, we paid ~$760 for the one night stay in their lowest category room: Premier Cityscape Room with 1 King Bed.
Check-in
Near the entrance of the Comcast Center is the shiny logo of the Four Seasons Hotel. After a temperature check due to the pandemic, we were on our way to the elevators straight to the 60th floor for the lobby. The ~50 second ride up the glass elevators was thrilling, each second revealing more and more of the city, until we were above the entire city!
And the first impression is absolutely stunning. It was surreal to finally see the hotel in person after seeing all the marketing pics of of other peoples’ reviews. Jeff Leatham is the creative director of the FS Philadelphia, as well as the FS Beverly Hills and George V Hotel in Paris. His team did an amazing job transforming the lobby space into a majestic display of colorful flowers. The heavy use of mirrors and polished marble floors gave this space an airy and luxurious ambience.
We arrived for check-in around 3pm and were given an explanation of the benefits that came with the FHR booking. This included breakfast either at the JG Skyhigh Bar, or through in-room dining. They also gave us a one category upgrade to a Grand Cityscape Room, and confirmed our dinner reservation at JG Skyhigh Bar. The restaurant remained closed throughout the stay due to the pandemic.
Grand Cityscape Room
We were assigned 1 King Grand Cityscape Room 5121, located on the 51st floor. It’s rare that you have to descend the building to access the rooms, but I guess that’s what happens when the lobby is located on the highest floor! This room category is 376–424 sq.ft. and fits a maximum of 2 adults. The room was bright, elegant, and beautiful… and the view was stunning.
Right after you step off the elevator, the calming colors of beige, browns, and whites were everywhere. The rounded shapes and slats are also a consistent theme throughout the hotel.
The recessed ceiling mimics skylights. The lack of designs on the carpet gives the hallway a very classy and clean appearance.
Upon walking through the doors, a hallway decorated with fluted wood panels on one side and fabric wallpaper on the other opens up to the rest of the room.
The room contains 1 king bed, as well as a desk/table area with an adorable chair, as well as a chaise lounger in the corner to enjoy the view. Opposite to the bed is the TV, and adjacent to the TV is the mini bar and fridge.
The view from the 51st floor allows you to see to the other side of Philadelphia, as well as Philadelphia International Airport. We spent quite some time observing the planes landing into the airport.
Control panels are conveniently placed bedside for ease of access. They contain the master switch for room lighting, as well the ability to open and close the curtains.
Adjacent to the bed is the entrance to the bathroom area (also accessible through the closet adjacent to the door). The curved wall enveloping the bathroom gives the room an organic elegance.
The bathroom contains only one sink, and uses Guerlain toiletries.
A wall separated the shower and bathroom area, and both contained privacy doors.
Exiting the toilet, we arrive to an open concept closet area, containing high quality wood hangers, umbrellas, and bathrobes. It also doubles as the area to keep personal items such as luggage and baggage.
Amenities
The hotel left a bag containing two bottles of hand sanitizer and two pouches of hand wipes, as well as a few masks.
And one of my favorite things about nice hotels are the plush slippers. Also, check out the gorgeously textured carpet floors in a warm and calming color.
About half an hour after we started getting settled in, room service knocked on the door and surprised us with a chocolate cake to celebrate Eric’s birthday weekend. I always love these kind of personalized surprises when staying at upscale hotels.
Bonus picture of the view outside the window at night. It was beautiful. There are not that many hotels worth keeping the curtains open at night, but this hotel was one of them.
Pool & Spa
The FS Philadelphia pool and spa is located on the 57th floor. Upon exiting the elevator, you are greeted with another beautiful display of flowers, like a miniature version of the display in the main lobby.
As you approach the entrance to the pool and spa area, there’s another even smaller display of these flowers. The long corridor was a relaxing area to enjoy the city views.
Once we stepped through the entrance, the receptionist immediately greeted us. She asked us if we were interested in one of their spa services, or if we were here for the pool. The receptionist desk also had three vases of flowers filled with lively peonies, orchids, and roses. Behind the golden curtain were various products for sale. We had been told that there were capacity restrictions placed on the pool area, limiting the pool to two parties at any given time. Luckily, the pool was not full at around 5pm, so we were quickly granted access.
A staff member setup two pool chairs for us. Although the pool area isn’t large, the tall glass windows gave this space a grandeur that I really appreciated. From within the pool, we spent so much time observing the various landmarks and buildings in the distance. We ended up chilling for about an hour.
They even arrive with water bottles and small packaged snacks for guests to enjoy while lounging by the pool!
We were curious to check out the locker room area. It was clean, and had beautiful details such as this sculptural piece highlighting a bowl of orchids in water.
The toilets were spacious and elegant.
JG SkyHigh (Dinner)
We had made reservations at 7pm at JG SkyHigh. When I tried making a reservation myself, they had no more availability on OpenTable. I called up FS directly, and they had no issues making one for me.
JG SkyHigh is located right next to the main lobby on the 60th floor. When I got to the restaurant, I asked for a window seat. It appeared that they only offered the window seat to us only because we were guests at the hotel. Seems like this restaurant gives preferential treatment to hotel guests, which worked out in my favor. The view from our table was perfect.
At the table were little pouches for you to keep your mask in while you dine, as well as a packet of antiseptic wipes.
And an adorable mini vase of roses to add a gorgeous pop of color to the table.
The menu was as follows, and the food that interested us the most were all the appetizers. We settled on ordering all the appetizers, except the warm white asparagus dish.
The sweet pea soup with Parmesan foam was warm, rich, and pretty delicious 8/10
The burrata with rhubarb compote was not bad, but it tasted kind of exactly as you would expect 7/10
The spring pea guacamole were served with tortilla chips. It was an interesting take on guacamole, but I did not enjoy it much 6/10
The wagyu cheese steak spring roll came with a spicy pepper relish. What better place to try a fusion Philly cheesesteak than in Philadelphia itself? The portion was small for the price, but it was still pretty good 8/10
Finally, the calamari with yuzu and sesame sauce. We had to send the first one back because the calamari was soggy and oily. The second batch was better, but far from good enough 6.5/10
After dinner, I made sure to walk around the bar area, and headed down to the restaurant as well (which remained closed during our stay due to the pandemic). You can tell from this view that the restaurant is truly situated at the top of building, with beautiful glass and mirror ceilings and walls. The architecture and overall aesthetic was overall stunning.
The staircase leading to the Jean-Jorges Restaurant was grand and insanely elegant. The lighting here was superb, especially since the sun had just set.
I am a huge sucker for floral centerpieces, and this restaurant had an amazing one.
In-Room Breakfast
For our FHR benefit, we were given a choice of either breakfast at JG SkyHigh, or in-room breakfast. Since we already had an opportunity to dine at JG SkyHigh for dinner, it was an easy decision for us. We love room service.
We ordered breakfast to be delivered at 9am, and they arrived promptly. The staff member helped setup our table by the window.
I would have never imagined that I would get such a gorgeous view eating room service in Philadelphia.
For breakfast, we were given a credit of $100 to spend, so we chose the Amish Country Breakfast (3 Organic Eggs Prepared to Your Liking, Choice of One (1) Breakfast Side, Artisanal Toasted Bread or Homemade Pastry, Hot Beverage and Fresh Juice), and the French Toast. To finish up our credit, we ordered a side of turkey bacon, asparagus, and pork sausage.
The sugar crusted brioche French toast was delicious, but the highlight was the great ambience.
Service
The service as a whole was fine, but not outstanding. The service at check-in was procedural, but not particularly welcoming. The snacks for guests by the pool was great.
The only mishap was while waiting for our reservation at JG SkyHigh for dinner. We requested a window seat and the maitre d’ asked us to sit by the bench while he figured out whether or not there was one available. Around five minutes later, another staff member asked if we were looking for something. We told her that we had been asked to sit and wait while her coworker looked for a window seat for us. She said that a window seat was not an issue, and escorted us to the lovely seat by the window. The miscommunication was rather off-putting.
Summary
When visiting a new city, it doesn’t necessarily make sense to stay in a high end hotel since most of the time would be spent outdoors exploring. We, however, made FS Philadelphia a destination in itself, and we would gladly do it again. We would not recommend JG SkyHigh since the view is the same as the pool and rooms anyway. However, if you’re not planning to stay at the hotel, a drink at the bar would be a great idea!
Overall, I would highly recommend Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia to someone who values beautiful design, fresh, vibrant flowers, and stunning views during the day and night.
