FOUR SEASONS Hotels and Resorts has announced plans to add a further seven upmarket properties to its cities and resorts portfolio over the next three years.
According to chairman and chief executive officer Isadore Sharp, the rate of expansion will be the group’s greatest in its 40-year history.
Included in the plans is a 254-room hotel at the base of Blackcomb Mountain near Whistler, British Columbia, Canada. Construction is expected to start in spring next year and projected opening is for December 2002.
Resorts in the Bahamas at Great Exuma, Guanacaste in Costa Rica, the Cote d’Azur in France and San Miguel in Puerto Rico are also being developed over the next three years. Alexandria in Egypt and Beirut are being targeted for city hotels and will feature expanded business and meeting facilities along with a health club and pool.
Eight previously announced openings are all on schedule, including hotels in Budapest, Cairo, Caracas, Dublin, Prague, San Francisco, Shanghai and Sharm El Sheikh which will all be open by 2003. Four Seasons reported a 24% increase in net income in 1999 to $59.5m. Revenue rose 12% to $191m. The hotel chain currently manages 47 properties in 19 countries, primarily under the Four Seasons and Regent brand names.