The swanky, new Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia on top of the 1,121-ft Comcast Technology Center, the tallest building in the city, opens on Aug. 12 with 219 guestrooms featuring unobstructed floor-to-ceiling views. Not only is this the highest hotel in Philadelphia, but it is the highest Four Seasons in North America.
“Philadelphia is a dynamic city, and we are excited to put it on the map as a world-class destination,” enthuses Melissa Quiñones DeShields, public relations director, Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia. “We are bringing together the perfect combination to create a world-class experience from our location atop the tallest tower in Philadelphia, to talented chefs and artistic partners, coupled with our international team of managers, we are elevating the experience in Philadelphia. Bringing the best of the best together under one roof.”
From the lobby of the building, glass elevators take guests on a swift 60-second journey to the hotel’s 60th floor sky lobby. Awaiting is the ultimate urban luxury hotel experience that includes new restaurant concepts by Jean-Georges Vongerichten and Greg Vernick, a full-floor spa and wellness sanctuary and extensive meeting space.
“Guests will be in awe from the moment they step into the glass elevators on their swift journey to the 60th-floor sky lobby, as they look out over the unobstructed cityscape from their dinner table at Jean-Georges Philadelphia or swim up to the edge of the 57th-floor infinity pool. We quite literally upend the traditional idea of a hotel and provide visitors with breath-aking experiences as they move through venues in our spectacular building,” says Ben Shank, the hotel’s general manager.
The hotel is set in the Comcast Technology Center, a skyscraper that has redefined the skyline of the City of Brotherly Love. In partnership with Comcast, all 180 rooms and 39 suites will offer the X1 Video Experience, which includes approximately 300 channel options and a complimentary library of more than 50,000 movies and shows on demand, all searchable with the X1 voice remote.
On the 59th floor, the city spreads out toward the horizon on all sides of Jean-Georges Philadelphia, a new restaurant by Michelin starred chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten. Forty-ft-high glass walls afford panoramic city views, while a mirrored ceiling reflects both the diners below and the city that surrounds them. Up a grand staircase flanked by waterfalls that bisect the space, JG SkyHigh cocktail bar sits on the 60th floor. On the ground level, James Beard award winner and hometown hero chef Greg Vernick highlights his unique approach to modern American dining at Vernick Fish, which spills into the street. Chef Vernick has also partnered with Four Seasons to bring Vernick Coffee Bar to the second-floor lobby of the Comcast Technology Center which is a to-go bakery and barista bar as well as a full-service 42-seat cafe.
Encompassing the entire 57th floor, the Spa, a sanctuary of wellness, includes a lifestyle boutique, fitness center created in consultation with celebrity fitness guru Harley Pasternak, and a spectacular 30,000-gallon indoor infinity pool. Spa director Verena Lasvigne-Fox has created an inspiring wellness menu featuring rhythmic and meditative sounds of singing crystal bowls. To add to the floor’s Zen, she consulted with Rashia Bell, a crystal healer and had 700 pounds of crystals embedded into the walls.
“As we become more connected with high-tech innovations that consume our everyday lives, I’m thrilled to create a spa program that helps our guests find balance,” says Lasvigne-Fox.
More than 15,000 sq ft of flexible function space includes a boardroom on the second floor, two ballrooms on the fifth floor, and two private event spaces on the 59thfloor.
Not only is the new Four Seasons a highlight of the new Comcast Technology Center, but so is the 34-ft-tall, 39-ft in diameter Universal Sphere that sits in its lobby, a cross between virtual reality and a planetarium. In it, viewers are immersed in “The Power of I,” an inspiring film produced by Steven Spielberg about the power of ideas. An emotional experience, guests leave inspired to make a difference in the world with their ideas, explained a Comcast employee. The film highlights what is possible when we all work together.
This attraction is free, and Comcast plans to hold 30 screenings a day, with a maximum of 25 guests per screening. Ticket reservations are not required, but same-day tickets can be booked at theuniversalsphere.com. The sphere can also be booked by groups in the evening.
“The Four Seasons is opening in the midst of a hotel supply expansion in Philadelphia, giving meetings and convention groups another top tier property in the city,” says Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau sr. vice president, convention division Kavin Schieferdecker. “In the next year, we plan to add nearly 1,000 new rooms across various brands and segments and that combined with what’s been added over the past 18 months will be a 15 percent increase in hotel inventory in Center City, offering exciting new options for our meetings and conventions clients.”
As if this is not enough, a new $50 million esports and entertainment arena is being built in the heart of the South Philadelphia Sports Complex, set to open in early 2021. We’ve got more on this news here.
