NETJETS US VOLUME 10 2019

essentials
these carefully into
“ensembles” to evoke
visual commonality
between objects
visitors would not
otherwise associate.
barnesfoundation.org
did not stop with the globally known, Michelin-starred legend, adding a local
element via Philadelphia’s own beloved James Beard Award-winning chef
Greg Vernick’s modern take on the oyster bar, Vernick Fish. Both celebrated
chefs shared their signature creations with special guests in-flight from New
York during a pre-opening NetJets + Philly Pop Down preview of the hotel.
With what is now the highest hotel lobby in the nation, the split-level arrival
wows, but Foster’s showcase views do not let up as guests descend to the
219 rooms and suites located on the ten floors below, all with floor-to-ceiling
windows and automated blackout shades. Regular Four Seasons denizens
will recognize familiar touches, such as the signature opulent bathrooms with
oversized walk-in showers, but Philadelphia adds distinctive notes of its own,
from the elaborate minibars stocked with local, spirit-driven cocktail kits to the
upgraded Guerlain bath amenities, and most of all, through a partnership
with building owner Comcast, the fastest Wi-Fi of any Four Seasons on Earth,
plus the X1 Video Experience. This delivers 300-plus channels and a free
on-demand library of more than 50,000 shows and movies, for entertainment
unrivaled in the hospitality business.
If pampering is more your style, the hotel has a fabulous spa, an infinity
pool in yet another dramatic glass atrium on the 57th floor, and an oversized
state-of-the-art fitness center with a 30-foot-high multimedia wall that could
never get crowded. From the ground level front door to the lobby to the
spa–and everywhere in between–guests are wowed with a natural firework
display of greenery and colorful flowers, thanks to Jeff Leatham, perhaps
the world’s premier celebrity florist and longtime artistic director at the Four
Seasons Hotel George V in Paris. Leatham, who splits his time between Los
Angeles and the French capital, now adds Philadelphia to his business card
and will remain the full-time overseer of the hotel’s generous floral budget.
It has been four years since the original Four Seasons Philadelphia, a
few blocks away, closed in anticipation of its rebirth, and travelers will be
happy to know that the brand has immediately reclaimed its preeminent
position in the City of Brotherly Love. fourseasons.com
–Larry Olmsted
THREE THINGS
NOT TO MISS
IN THE CITY
BARNES
FOUNDATION
Between 1912 and
1951, Albert C.
Barnes amassed
one of the most
important—and
eclectic—art
collections in the
world. Masterworks
by Renoir, Matisse,
van Gogh, Cézanne,
and Picasso are
interspersed with
Native American
pottery, Pennsylvania
Dutch furniture,
ironwork, and
seemingly random
household items.
Barnes grouped
PIZZERIA BEDDIA
Joe Beddia is
Philadelphia’s pizza
whisperer, and just
when it seemed that
it could not get better
than being named
America’s best pies
by Bon Appétit, Time
magazine elevated his
namesake pizzeria to
one of the world’s top
19 restaurants—of any
kind. The pepperoni
is the signature of the
slightly charred, crispy
pies, but whatever
your taste, plan
ahead as reservations
can stretch months.
pizzeriabeddia.com
MORRIS ARBORETUM
In 1887, natureobsessed
Quaker
siblings John and Lydia
Morris transformed
their 92-acre Chestnut
Hill summer estate
into an elaborately
landscaped monument
to outdoor beauty.
Today the popular
urban oasis belongs
to the University of
Pennsylvania, is
the state’s official
arboretum, and
includes everything
from hidden tunnels to
the Holiday Garden
Railway, a quartermile-long
outdoor
model train track, to
the award-winning
“Out on a Limb”
exhibit, which takes
visitors 50 feet up
elevated walkways
for a canopy walk
through the treetops.
morrisarboretum.org
CHRISTIAN HORAN
16 NetJets Philadelphia International to Four Seasons: 10 miles