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The top-to-bottom renovation injected a new sense of style into the Four Seasons Houston, one of the oldest properties in the hotelier’s portfolio and a perennial favorite of Houston VIP travelers.
The renovation was in 2010. It started in 2019 and has passed the pandemic, meaning travelers can only now see the full effect of the rework.
It started with hospitality. The Four Seasons guest room and set design is under the direction of Lauren Rotet of Houston-based Rotet Studio.
He describes the design as a “soothing color palette” with deep-blue fabrics and chairs, settees upholstered in saddle leather, contemporary art and white walls.
A renovated suite at the Four Seasons Hotel Houston. Photo Credit: TW Photo by Rebecca Tobin.
The top presidential and penthouse suites have been completely reconfigured. The new furnishings in the rooms and shops were designed by Houston-based Eric Brand.
Upstairs, the lobby is cool and elegant, with lots of art, marble and wood-decorated walls and plenty of comfortable chairs and sofas with crisp, modern edges, all dominating the hotel’s grand staircase to the meeting rooms. The whole place smells faintly of the new Crigler’s Perfume Boutique.
With the Four Seasons’ downtown location, proximity to the George R. Brown Convention Center, and its own abundance of meeting space, it’s no surprise that it’s designed primarily as a business hotel. But the new look feels decent enough to attract a local crowd, and from the looks of it, it was succeeding during my two-night stay in June.
The Four Seasons calls the lobby “The Living Room of Houston.” The comfortable sofas and chairs at Bayou & Bottles Bar invite visitors to kick back.
The bartender’s welcome bourbon-and-Dr. Pepper Old Fashioned and welcome salsa and chips served on a Texas flag cutting board on a Friday night show the hotel’s big Southern heart.
Bayou and bottle bartenders know their way around a formidable array of bourbon, rye and whiskey. Lockers are available for normal people to store bottles of papyrus and Japanese whiskey. A DJ spun records for a Friday night crowd, and women hit the stage for Instagram-ready pictures.
Bandista, the hotel’s new speaker, wants a reservation. Photo Credit: TW Photo by Rebecca Tobin.
Around the corner are the new Topgolf Swing Suites, private rooms where small groups can gather; Floor-to-ceiling screens can be used to play virtual golf courses or watch football games (about Texas).
Bandista, the hotel’s small talker, wants a reservation. A bar representative will meet guests in the lobby at the right time to escort them to a secret entrance. I recommend sitting at the bar to see the bartenders in action.
A lobby staircase leads to the large conference center, but also to Richard Sandoval’s new restaurant, Toro Toro, where Tomahawk Chop, served tableside, can be shared with three for a cool $200. My guests and I were a little shy about the price tag, so they ordered us around the menu. A celebration of South American and Texan flavors, from ceviche to a perfect medium-rare steak easily transitioned to mac ‘n’ cheese. Adjacent to the meeting space, ample space has been designed to accommodate both casual diners and post-session networkers who can gather around the bar.
To order the extra sides, I sweated it out in the exercise room in the upgraded air-conditioned gym. The hotel has a good sized swimming pool. It was too hot even for Houston, but on the weekend a DJ entertained a group of friends (a wedding party, maybe?) while they drank in the pool.
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