From stuck up to sticks up.
We have long wondered why the super-deluxe Four Seasons Hotel on East 57th Street between Madison and Park Avenues always flew the Canadian flag next to the American one. That this display of camaraderie continues as Donald Trump villainizes our dear neighbor to the north — and the hotel is only two city blocks from Trump Tower — made us inquire further.
It turns out that Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts is a Canadian company, founded in Toronto in 1960. It is co-owned by Bill Gates and Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, and still headquartered in Toronto. The property on 57th Street is owned by Ty Warner, the Beanie Baby mogul (remember him?).
As Crain’s New York reported last Nov. 14 , “the eight rooms still available for Friday night ranged from a $2,300 room for two to an $80,000 suite.” The latter would be the 4,300-square-foot Ty Warner Penthouse — one of the world’s most expensive hotel rooms.
The place closed during COVID. Because Warner got into a dispute with the Four Seasons corporate management, it remained closed until last November.