Synonymous with luxury the world over, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts have long been a go to destination for high end travelers. Despite being a Canadian company, the Four Seasons has never had more than three hotels and one resort in its home country. That shows the exclusivity of the brand as it operates 129 properties across 44 countries with a select group of them being in Canada.
That number dropped in 2020 when the Four Seasons in downtown closed its doors. Given the year, it would be easy to assume the closure was pandemic related. In truth, hotel shut down before pandemic restrictions kicked in. Property owner Cadillac Fairview chose not to renew the hotel chain's lease after being in the location for more than 40 years. Since then, the 370 room, 25 storey building has sat vacant and idle, an empty part of the Vancouver skyline.
Cadillac Fairview recently announced plans to tear the building down. There are long term plans to replace it with a new multi-use building that does include a hospitality component of some kind. At this point, very few details have been announced and no formal plan has been presented to the city. A previous plan to renovate the building in 2022 ended up being withdrawn, leading to the current plan.
As it stands right now, the Four Seasons presence in Canada only includes a hotel in Toronto, another hotel in Montreal, and a resort in Vancouver adjacent Whistler, BC. The closure of the Four Seasons Vancouver alongside the impending destruction of its former home does leave a hole in Vancouver's luxury accommodations portfolio. That being said, there are still several luxury hotels across a city with no shortage of tourists visiting year round.