NETJETS US VOLUME 10 2019

essentials
THE SMART GUIDE
A timely roundup of the latest travel news and destinations,
wellness tips, and must-have accessories.
PHILLY’S NEW
LANDMARK
Rising high above the
City of Brotherly Love,
the Four Seasons
Philadelphia pairs worldclass
hospitality with
wondrous architecture.
The Four Seasons Hotel
Philadelphia has the highest lobby
in the U.S. and offers stunning vistas
from the 59th floor Jean-Georges
Vongerichten-helmed restaurant.
Overleaf: view from
a Skyline Corner Suite.
W
hen renowned Pritzker Prize-winning architect Norman
Foster got the opportunity to design Philadelphia’s tallest
building and the city’s finest hotel, he made the most
of the opportunity, showcasing dramatic views at every turn. Foster’s
insight—and what makes this project a dramatic success—was to take
an Asian hotel convention and crown the Comcast Technology Center
with the new Four Seasons Hotel Philadelphia. But he flipped the
sky-high Pacific Rim model (Tokyo’s Park Hyatt, and new Four Seasons
Otemachi all occupy the top floors of office towers) on its head,
putting the lobby on top.
The result is a grand entrance, starting with glass-walled elevators
that climb from street level to the 60th floor—often rising through the
clouds—in just 20 seconds before arriving into an equally soaring
space that serves as the heart of the property. Split between the
registration area and the aptly named JG SkyHigh, the hotel’s libation
epicenter-cum-sitting room, which Foster set in an atrium of 40-foothigh
floor-to-ceiling glass walls, topped with a mirrored ceiling,
there are stunning views in every direction. And light. The space is
anchored by a wide staircase, lined with waterfalls, that leads guests
down to the hotel’s fine-dining eatery, Jean-Georges Philadelphia,
also featuring panoramic vistas.
Both the eponymous restaurant and JG SkyHigh are the creations of
superstar chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten, but the new Four Seasons
CHRISTIAN HORAN
14 NetJets