Exclusive: John Stauss Talks Four Seasons, London and Luxury
September 7, 2010 By: Jena Tesse Fox
There’s plenty of hotel buzz all over London as new properties rise and classic properties are reborn like butterflies. One of those reopenings is the Four Seasons Park Lane, which closed two years ago for a complete overhaul. Late this year, the 40-year-old hotel will reopen as a completely new property, with only the exterior facade remaining as a reminder of its history.
“The hotel in London on Park Lane was the third that [Isadore] Sharp--the founder--ever did,” says John Stauss, the hotel’s general manager and regional vice president. “The first two are gone. The hotel in London is the longest-serving Four Seasons in the world...It was the hotel that gave Mr. Sharp direction in terms of being only luxury. In many ways, it’s been the flagship for 40 years, and was the template.”
Stauss knows what he’s talking about: He has been with the hotel for 17 years, and with Four Seasons for 30. As hotel design, technology and guest services evolved, the Four Seasons team knew that they needed to renovate the hotel. In 2004, Stauss was asked to come up with a plan to transform the hotel into what Four Seasns would build if they were creating something new on the location. The plans were in place by September of 2007, and one year later the hotel closed for its two-year gut renovation
“They tore up the building,” Stauss remembers. “There’s nothing left inside. They built a new Four Seasons, and when guests check in and walk through, they will not know it was the old hotel, because its completely different in configuration, in design, in layout.” In essence, he adds, the flagship hotel has become the brand’s newest build.
“It’s the most exciting project I will ever work on,” Stauss continues. “I’ve been here for 17 years, and it’s unusual for anyone to operate hotel, then close it, and then reopen it.” Usually, in a new build, he adds, the management team is brought in 18 months before the opening, but long after design and construction are underway. “It’s a unique opportunity to be with project from concept to opening.”
The objective in the redesign was threefold: “First, we wanted it to be uniquely Four Seasons,” Stauss says. “We’re not not trying to be similar to our competitors. We wanted to be us. …Second, Four Seasons does its best around the world to have a sense of place in buildings...At Park Lane, one of our objectives was to establish sense of place by bringing in the park. The new hotel has greenery rather than cut flowers. We have a garden landscaped like Hyde Park. And the 10th floor has a spa where the windows are floor-to-ceiling glass.” The third thing: “We asked the interior designer to include a fireplace in lobby [so it would be] warm for winter,” Stauss remembers. “The result is that we have 32 fireplaces. The suites all have them, and the spa, bar, restaurant and lounge each has a fireplace.”
Technology was also a major factor in the renovation, not just in terms of what a guest sees and uses, but in the way the building behaves. “It’s a new-build hotel with a new infrastructure,” Stauss says. “The rooms know when you go out of the room, and if you leave lights on, it turns them off. The TV turns off; the AC adjusts to save energy…And when you come back, we have proximity readers. The room knows you’re back, and it sets lights back way they were, and you don’t even know [they were off]. It’s a huge energy savings. It’s what we should be doing.” The guestrooms also have multinational plugs for all appliances, and if a guest leaves the room while a phone or camera is charging, the room knows not to turn off electricity to that plug. All rooms have doorbells, but if you have ‘do-not-disturb on, it won’t ring. “It’s a level of technology that doesn’t exist in London today,” Stauss says. “The luxury traveler has high expectations in terms of rooms being equipped to a reasonable level...They look to brands like Four Seasons to meet those expectations.”
As he prepares for the hotel’s long-awaited return late this year, Stauss pauses to appreciate the variety of hospitality options in the capital city, and Four Seasons’ place in it. London’s five-star hotel collection is extremely diverse, Stauss believes, more so than in other cities. “Some cities have fabulous hotels that are homogeneous. London’s cover the spectrum, from small, boutique properties to all sizes and types. It’s an impressive collection.”
|
|
|
