Four Seasons hotels and resorts offer some of the best luxury hotels and resorts in the world. They are never cheap, but by being clever, staying in the low season, and making use of offers and complimentary upgrades, you can get a better deal than simply booking the rack rate.
There are currently around 100 properties in more than 40 countries with plans to build and launch many more new hotels. Each hotel is one of the finest hotels, resorts, and residence clubs in each location, and in this article, we outline some genuine ways to save money on your next Four Seasons hotel stay and how to bag your next Four Seasons room at the very cheapest rate.
In a nutshell, book your next Four Seasons stay via our luxury travel concierge, and we can get you free loyalty-style benefits, room upgrades, and perks at the same rates. There are a number of other ways to book Four Seasons hotel rooms cheap, which I have outlined below, but our luxury travel concierge offers the best value when you take all the free extras into account.
Why Four Seasons?
The thing the Four Seasons hotels do so well is to provide a guarantee of room quality, service, and of a resort of an extremely high standard. Wherever you go in the world, the rooms will be large and luxurious. The bathrooms, in particular, are always enormous, even in the base rooms. Their cheapest rooms are still of an excellent size, standard, and quality. In fact, they are usually identical to the rooms with a larger price tag and are often only differentiated from each other by the view.
As an example, at the Four Seasons at Wailea in Maui, the cheapest rooms are the rooms with Mountain views (which face towards the car park). These rooms are the same size and quality as the Garden View Rooms where your lanai is looking over the garden, which is again identical to the next up, with is the Partial Ocean followed by the Ocean View rooms. You are paying for the view in this situation as even the cheapest room is a great room and of similar or the same size. Of course, in the cheapest room, you are just facing the wrong way and won’t hear the crashing of the waves as you fall asleep. Still, I am very sure you will have a similarly great holiday, whichever room you choose, and if you book via our luxury travel concierge we can bump you up a room level for free (as well as offering a bunch of other free benefits!).
This level of quality guarantees you an enjoyable stay at any Four Seasons hotel around the world, whatever room you book. Communal areas are also always immaculate, and the staff are always welcoming and often address you by your name (although I still don’t know how they manage to do this, bearing in mind the size of some Four Seasons hotels!).
How About Other Luxury Chains?
Many luxury hotel addicts prefer Aman hotels “Aman Junkies” or to choose hotels that are part of Leading Hotels Of The World overbooking Four Seasons hotels. In my opinion, having stayed at all three many, many times, all three hotel chains have their merits.
Aman Hotels vs. Four Seasons?
Aman hotels tend to be one of the most special brands of hotels and tend to offer smaller boutique hotels rather than 100+ room palaces. But do remember this tends to be reflected in the price. Aman hotels tending to be the most expensive of these three chains. Aman hotels usually have more of an individual personality than Four Seasons hotels as they are more directly immersed in the local surroundings. If you stay at the Aman Canal Grande in Venice, there is no doubt that you are staying in a palace in Venice. It oozes character, BUT it is missing a crucial facility that a Four Seasons hotel would insist on. It doesn’t have a pool! If this were a Four Seasons hotel, it probably would, but then again, it probably wouldn’t ooze quite such extreme character.
Leading Hotels of the World vs. Four Seasons?
Leading Hotels of the World also guarantee a certain level of luxury with local staff and tonnes of character. When we stay at the Hotel Hermitage, our favorite hotel in Monaco, there is no doubt that you are on the Cote D’Azur in the center of Monte Carlo. It just feels French. The rooms within the hotel differ in size, some with views, some without. All are great, but they don’t have the consistency of a Four Seasons hotel. You will be less sure about what you are going to get. Unlike a Four Seasons hotel, this hotel captures the personality of the French Riviera, but your experience will be a surprise as the hotel is so individual.
How Does The Price Compare?
The price of Leading Hotels of the World hotels and resorts varies massively, particularly when comparing times of the season as you can pick up so really cheap rates at these hotels out of season. In contrast, the price of Four Seasons hotels tends to be much more consistent, with rooms rarely discounted. Instead, Four Seasons hotels usually offer three-for-the-price-of-two or four-for-three packages in the low season.
Up the coastline, another favorite of ours that is part of Leading Hotels Of The World is the Royal Riviera, another gem in the lhw portfolio with bags of personality. This is within 5 minutes drive of the Four Seasons Cap Ferrat, and the difference is clear. At the Royal Riviera, you feel like you are in France, with French staff, individual rooms, each very different, some with funny shaped bathrooms, some with views, some without, all with Bvlgari amenities, which I love.
But how do you work out which room to book? How do you know whether the restaurant is good? How do you know if the bar is any good and worth spending the evening?
You see, because it is not a Four Seasons hotel, you cannot be sure of what you will experience before you arrive. It may be better than a Four Seasons hotel, it may be worse, but you can’t be sure either way.
By contrast, the Four Seasons Grand Hotel Du Cap Ferrat is immaculate and perfect in every way. The rooms are large and seem brand new, the views are magnificent, the pool is magnificent. The gardens are almost unbelievably perfect, not a leaf out of place.
Does it feel like you are in the South of France? No. Frankly, you could be in Hawaii. Four Seasons makes everything so perfect it could be argued that this level of Disneyfication can take some of the soul out of a place.
Why I Love A Four Seasons Hotel
Don’t get me, wrong dear reader, I love Four Seasons hotels, not least because they are so lovely to my own child. My little boy, who is growing at an amazing rate, is still welcomed with open arms across all Four Seasons hotels. I have never felt uncomfortable taking him out in the evening or fearful when I see other families at Four Seasons hotels as I have never seen a badly behaved child at a Four Seasons on all my travels – they must be worn out from having too much fun!
And when you are tired and in an unfamiliar part of the world that is far from home, a Four Seasons hotel will make you feel cossetted and safe. The staff will know where the nearest pharmacy or doctor is. They will have a supply of any toiletries that you forgot. They will cater for your child who refuses to eat egg because “there are black bits in it” (pepper), even if that means redelivering a different version of the same meal twice. They will even entertain your children at one of their many wonderful kids’ clubs, so it is a real vacation for you as well as the kids.
Where necessary, they will provide an adult-only pool so that you can keep your sanity. Four Seasons will satisfy the needs and tastes of any discerning traveler and is without a doubt one of the world’s best and most well-known luxury hotel brands. They will have thought of everything, and even though their environment may be slightly sanitized and have more of a Four Seasons personality than the personality of the local area, I am a major fan.
The Best Way To Get A Four Seasons Room Cheap
There are no super cheap Four Seasons hotels, although prices vary by location. Book your next Four Seasons stay via our luxury travel concierge, and we can get you free loyalty-style benefits, room upgrades, and perks at the same rates. We are not cheaper, we are the same price, but the free benefits we offer (outlined below) are massively valuable.
How do we do this? Four Seasons partners directly with a small number of high-end agencies, including our own luxury travel concierge, which means that we can share privileges at all Four Seasons hotels and resorts with clients who make bookings with us.
You can actually go to the Four Seasons website direct to decide on rooms, rates, and dates. Then book your room with us to get the following free benefits at every Four Seasons Hotel:
- Breakfast for two people per bedroom
- Food and beverage credit of $100 USD per stay
- Upgrade of one category, based on availability at time of check-in (this usually excludes suites)
- Early check-in / late check-out (subject to availability)
- Complimentary basic Internet in all guest rooms
- Complimentary welcome gift
The Four Seasons hotel benefits that we offer are prioritized because we are an exclusive Four Seasons agent. What does this mean? Put simply, a room booked by us will get priority upgrades over those who book using Virtuoso or Amex Finest Hotels & Resorts, so if there is only one room left which is the category above yours, we put you at the front of the line for this upgrade!
Four Seasons Promotional Offers
There are deals at Four Seasons hotels which you can take advantage of, such as second, third, or fourth night free depending on the season. These 3 for 2 and 4 for 3 vouchers can be an incredible deal if you have a specific Four Seasons hotel in mind and are flexible on when you want to visit. These offers can be found on the offers tab on the menu bar of the Four Seasons hotel homepage. Each hotel has its own specific offers page. The perks which you get by booking with our luxury travel concierge outlined above can also be combined with these Four Seasons deals.
Early booking discount rates, special promotional packages, rates with promo codes, friends and family rates, corporate rates, group rates, and other discounted rates usually also qualify for the perks which you get by booking with our luxury travel concierge, but it is always worth checking with our travel experts to be sure.
How About Aggregator Websites?
The lowest room rate at a Four Seasons hotel for your requested travel dates may be found on aggregator websites like Hotelscombined and Trivago. These aggregators verify hotel prices and deals at hundreds of other sites (e.g., Booking.com, Hotels.com, Otel.com, Hotelopia, Expedia, etc.….) and show where you can book the cheapest room rate. The problem with these rates and deals is that often valuable extras are not included. As an example, breakfasts are often excluded from these rates.
Breakfast at Four Seasons hotels costs in the region of $50 USD per person per day, although this does vary depending on the property. Arguably you can often grab breakfast at a diner or cafe nearby for closer to $10 USD per person, but this is a hassle, and, for me, breakfast is part of the joy of staying in a luxury hotel.
Add the value of potential room upgrades, early check-in / late check-out, the gift, and food and beverage credit of $100 USD per stay that you get for free by booking with our luxury travel concierge and you can easily argue that you are getting $200 USD per night of value in benefits (if not more) over and above the aggregator website.
For me, marginally cheaper rates found on an aggregator website (and they are not always cheaper!) does not outweigh the free Four Seasons Virtuoso Partner benefits you get by booking with our luxury travel concierge.
Hotels.com
Hotels.com, which is part of Expedia, is an excellent hotel booking website because you collect credits towards free hotel nights via Hotels.com’s Rewards program. This means that when you book and stay 10 nights at eligible hotels, you’ll get 1 night free to redeem at another. Hotels.com works out the average value of all the 10 nights you’ve collected and gives it back to you as a free night.
You can often apply 10% discount coupons. Unfortunately, almost all of the world’s major hotel chains are excluded from the list of hotels for which you can use a discount coupon except for Four Seasons.
Hotels.com also has an excellent Best Rate Guarantee (BRG) program: If you find a cheaper price, Hotels.com will match that rate (and refund you the difference) after you submit an online claim. Remember, the Best Rate Guarantee also includes needs to include an identical cancellation policy (which can make it harder for your BRG claim to be approved).
When booking a stay at a Four Seasons hotel, you can book the room via Hotels.com instead of the official website so that you will get some of your money back in the end (by investing it towards free hotel nights). In addition, as mentioned above, Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts is the only major hotel brand that is most of the time eligible for discount coupons on Hotels.com, almost guaranteeing you a 10% discount on every Four Seasons booking. You will need to google these 10% discount coupons for any up-to-date promo codes. Many of the discounts are only valid if you click through from an email, so you must be subscribed to the Hotels.com newsletter or use the Hotels.com mobile app.
Remember, when you use a 10% discount coupon, your stay will not earn credits in the Rewards program, so it is swings and roundabouts on which offer is best to use, the free night credit on booking.com or the discount code.
Of course, you do not get free breakfast, free room upgrades, food and beverage credit of $100 USD per stay, early check-in / late check-out, or a free gift when booking via booking.com.
Is There A Four Seasons Loyalty Program?
There have been rumours wafting about regarding a consumer Four Seasons loyalty program for years. The truth is that none of these rumors have come to fruition. The only way to get loyalty style benefits is to book through a high-end travel agency like our own luxury travel concierge.
Is It Worth Booking Your Four Seasons room Via Your Credit Card?
When you own an American Express credit card, you can book almost any Four Seasons hotel via Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts. This appears to offer you the same benefits as when you would book a Four Seasons hotel through our own luxury travel concierge but it does not. Our benefits are prioritized over Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts.
Our agency is an official partner of Four Seasons hotels which means that the following benefits are prioritized in front of people who book Four Seasons via any other platform. If you book through us, you get prioritized on: Upgrade of one category, based on availability at time of check-in (this usually excludes suites) and your early check-in / late check-out, (subject to availability).
We put you at the front of the queue, and so if there is just one room upgrade left, you will get the better room if you have booked with us, before a guest who books via their Amex credit card.
Don’t book the room via the official Four Seasons website
As I outlined above, the worst thing you can do is book a stay at a Four Seasons hotel directly via the official hotel website. This is because Four Seasons doesn’t have a revenue-based loyalty program, so you will not earn credits with the company towards free hotel nights. You will not get any extra benefits either.
Four Seasons’ CEO Allen Smith explained the lack of a loyalty program as a decision based on customer feedback that showed that “Four Seasons guests are far less concerned about accumulating points to be redeemed for rewards as they are in a position where they’re recognized, and we understand their preferences and can serve them in that highly personalized way they’ve come to expect”.
Why doesn’t Four Seasons reward loyal consumers who book directly via the company’s official website? Who knows, but if you book with our agency, this doesn’t need to be a concern, as you get loyalty style benefits for free.
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