I travel a lot. I travel for work and I travel for play. It is my favorite thing to do. I stay in a lot of hotels and that being said, I am a huge fan of the Four Seasons hotels chain. I have a personal goal to stay/visit at all of them (and there are a lot). So far have been lucky enough to stay in New York, San Francisco, Hawaii, Maui, Lana'i, Honolulu, Santa Barbara, Seattle, Prague, Budapest, Tokyo, Kyoto and Florida. So I have some work to do! I just don't have enough vacation time or money. My favorite FS resort so far is a tie between the Florida resort in Orlando at Disney and the Hualala'i resort on the big island Hawaii which is a beautiful relaxing resort right on the Pacific ocean with sunset views to die for. However, I was married at the Florida resort in a small elopement in 2015 so it holds a special place in my heart and it is a stunning oasis near Disney with a golf course and 4 amazing swimming pools. My recent two-week stay in Hawaii where I stayed only at Four Seasons resorts and visited all 4 of them was amazing. Consistently great service and luxury all around. Also, since it was a birthday trip for me solo, at each stop I had a nice note from the hotel manager and my travel agent and a birthday treat waiting in my room. I flew privately on their plane from Hawaii's big island to the resort at Lana'i and the staff were excellent, greeting us at the airport by name and driving us in a shuttle to the opulent oceanside oasis in Lana'i where I later had snorkel cruises and sunset cruise with dolphins. FS is expensive, VERY expensive. But the service at these hotels cannot be beat. If you forget something, they will bring it you, if you need something they will go and get it. Everything is "my pleasure" and everyone is empowered to make your stay a little bit better on their own. Service is key and I have never had service like this in my life anywhere else. Employees will endeavor to remember you by name and will remember you at the restaurants and if you have any issues, they will not hesitate to do everything they can to make it better. In Santa Barbara they gave me a little flashlight to keep to walk on the beach in the dark and made suggestions for hikes on my birthday. In Tokyo they met me at the train station and walked me to the nearby hotel. In Seattle they sent vases to my room for the flowers I bought at Pike's place. It goes on and on. Always it's the little things. If the FS is on your bucket list - don't hesitate. It's worth the splurge as most of the locations are prime. In Prague we stayed in renovated ancient adjoined mansions just steps from the Charles bridge with water views of Prague Castle at breakfast that took my breath away. In Budapest it's another beautiful old building lovingly renovated into a hotel keeping all the old-world charm and details. But be careful - if you do stay with them they will spoil you so rotten you won't want to stay anywhere else and soon you'll be broke!
