Side-by-side
Four Seasons Bosphorus vs Four Seasons Hotel New York
Four Seasons Bosphorus: Original palace rooms with soaring ceilings impress. Four Seasons Hotel New York: Doormen, bellmen and concierge get named and praised constantly.
Can't split them? Tell us the trip and we'll say which one we'd book — then book it at the same rate as direct, our perks attached.
Four Seasons
Fat ApprovedFour Seasons Bosphorus
A Four Seasons hotel set directly on Istanbul's Bosphorus waterway, with rooms and a restaurant overlooking the strait.
Four Seasons
Four Seasons Hotel New York
An I.M. Pei-designed limestone tower on East 57th Street, steps from Central Park, reopened in late 2024 after an extended closure.
Strengths & trade-offs
Four Seasons Bosphorus
Strengths
- Original 19th-century palace rooms with soaring ceilings and Bosphorus views
- Waterfront setting called out as among the best in the city
- Hammam and spa treatments singled out by name even mid-renovation
- Breakfast spread and fresh fish at Yali and Aqua draw repeat praise
- Staff like Mehmet and the bell/valet team create memorable personal moments
Trade-offs
- Pet policy and table-seating disputes point to inconsistent front-of-house handling under pressure
- Poolside and terrace smoking bothers multiple guests with no enforced non-smoking area
- Palace rooms lack balconies and can run dark depending on the room
- Breakfast buffet layout and service pace draw complaints despite strong food quality
Four Seasons Hotel New York
Strengths
- Staff repeatedly singled out by name across unconnected stays
- I.M. Pei lobby remains one of the most striking hotel interiors in the city
- Large rooms by Manhattan standards, many with Central Park or skyline views
- Concierge team gets guests into fully booked restaurants
- Unmatched Midtown location steps from Central Park and Fifth Avenue
Trade-offs
- Guest rooms and bathrooms feel dated despite the recent reopening
- Room service and restaurant execution inconsistent
- Spa still limited pending a planned refresh
- Occasional front-desk and housekeeping missteps at this price point
Scoreboard
| Dimension | Four Seasons Bosphorus/ 20 | Four Seasons Hotel New York/ 20 |
|---|---|---|
| Tier | Fat Approved | — |
| Overall Fat Score | 16.5 | Not in collection |
| Service | 15.5 Named staff like Mehmet and Ebru Ayas draw real warmth, but a seating dispute, a pet-policy blowup, and a lied-to bar guest show it slips under pressure. | 16+0.5 Doormen, bellmen and concierge get named and praised constantly, though a few guests describe a rude phone call or restroom encounter that never got resolved. |
| Design | 18+4.5 Original palace rooms with soaring ceilings impress, though several guests call the rooms themselves dated next to the setting. | 13.5 Reports since the reopening keep calling the rooms beige and dated for the price, with one sink centered oddly in an otherwise long counter. |
| Location | 19+0.5 Right on the Bosphorus with water views from most rooms and terraces, repeatedly called the best-situated hotel guests have stayed at in the city. | 18.5 Steps from Central Park and Madison Avenue in Midtown, which almost nobody disputes even when they're complaining about everything else. |
| Dining | 16+1.5 Aqua and Yali get praised for the fish and the terrace, but breakfast logistics, smokers by the pool, and inconsistent kitchen quality outside peak service pull it down. | 14.5 The Garden and the TY Bar draw real praise, but room service has landed as a sad club sandwich and the Red Lounge as tiny portions for the price. |
| Wellness | 16.5+3.5 | 13 The spa and pool exist but barely come up next to the rooms and restaurants in what people actually write about. |
The Verdicts
Four Seasons Bosphorus
You're paying for one thing above all here: a room with a view of the Bosphorus that very few hotels on earth can match, inside a building with genuine palace bones. Guests describe 20-foot ceilings in the original palace rooms, roof suites that make the extra spend worth it, and a breakfast spread that regulars call one of the best they've had anywhere. The water-facing rooms are the reason to book this specific property over its Istanbul siblings, and the spa's hammam gets called out by name even when the indoor pool has been closed for maintenance.
Where it wobbles is consistency, and it's worth pricing in honestly. One family was blindsided by a new pet policy sprung on them at check-in after booking with dogs specifically cleared in advance; a business breakfast group got told mid-meal to vacate a table they'd already ordered at. Pool-side smoking bothers multiple guests enough to mention it unprompted, and the palace rooms, while grand, lack balconies and can run dark depending on which wing you land in. The service is genuinely warm from most staff but a few reviews describe a sharper, more corporate edge from specific managers when something goes wrong, which is the flip side of a hotel this large and this popular with weddings, anniversaries and business travelers.
Book it for a first Bosphorus stay, for the roof suites if you can get one, and for a honeymoon where the hammam and the sea-view terrace do a lot of the work. Skip it if you're chasing flawless execution over atmosphere. The setting and the food at Yali and Aqua are worth the price on their own, even when a smoker two tables over or a testy front-desk moment reminds you it's still a very busy hotel, not a private retreat.
Four Seasons Hotel New York
The I.M. Pei tower and that 52-storey lobby still stop people mid-step, and on Central Park South that alone buys a lot of goodwill. Guests write in about a bellman named Eddie who made a birthday stay feel personal, and a bartender named Olga who quietly remade an over-salted appetizer and remembered a returning guest years later. The staff is what people come back talking about, and it's the strongest, most consistent thing this hotel has going for it: the concierge team in particular gets singled out for landing reservations at restaurants that were supposedly full.
The rooms are the catch. This reopened in late 2024 after years closed, and plenty of longtime Four Seasons guests expected a full overhaul that didn't arrive: furniture, fixtures and even the artificial flowers read closer to a 1990s hotel than a 2020s Four Seasons, and more than one regular has called it a step down from the brand's other flagships. The bathrooms and finishes are the specific complaint that won't go away, and it sits alongside occasional housekeeping slips (hair left in a bathroom, a room service club sandwich one guest compared unfavorably to a child's cooking) and a front desk that isn't always as gracious as the doormen. The spa is also still limited while a refresh is pending, so don't book this one for wellness.
Book it for the location, the lobby, and a team that still performs like it's the 1990s in the best sense: walking distance to the park, Fifth Avenue, and Midtown's best tables, with people who go out of their way for you. Anyone chasing the newest rooms in this category has other options in the city (the Carlyle comes up often in comparison), but anyone who wants the classic New York hotel experience, run by people who still care, should book a higher floor, ask for a Central Park view, and not worry about the decor.
Still torn between Four Seasons Bosphorus and Four Seasons Hotel New York?
We're Sofie and Nicolas, the two of us behind Fat Voyage — and we've stayed in hotels like these ourselves. Tell us what the trip is and we'll tell you which one we'd book, and why. We're not a booking service, but a few times a year we plan one properly for someone; if that's what you're after, say so.
You'll be dealing with the two of us the whole way through, which is why we only take on a handful of trips at a time — if we're full, we'll say so. We reply by email, usually within one working day. The hotel pays us, not you: your rate is the same as booking direct, and the perks come on top.
Common questions
Which should I book — Four Seasons Bosphorus or Four Seasons Hotel New York?
Four Seasons Bosphorus: Original palace rooms with soaring ceilings impress. Four Seasons Hotel New York: Doormen, bellmen and concierge get named and praised constantly.
What's the difference between Four Seasons Bosphorus and Four Seasons Hotel New York?
Both are Urban, Heritage, Architecture and Romantic. Four Seasons Bosphorus adds Wellness and Culinary. Four Seasons Bosphorus is ahead on the rooms. Four Seasons Hotel New York is ahead on how you're looked after.
Which is better for design, Four Seasons Bosphorus or Four Seasons Hotel New York?
Four Seasons Bosphorus leads on this. Four Seasons Bosphorus: Original palace rooms with soaring ceilings impress, though several guests call the rooms themselves dated next to the setting. Four Seasons Hotel New York: Reports since the reopening keep calling the rooms beige and dated for the price, with one sink centered oddly in an otherwise long counter.
Which is better for dining, Four Seasons Bosphorus or Four Seasons Hotel New York?
Four Seasons Bosphorus leads on this. Four Seasons Bosphorus: Aqua and Yali get praised for the fish and the terrace, but breakfast logistics, smokers by the pool, and inconsistent kitchen quality outside peak service pull it down. Four Seasons Hotel New York: The Garden and the TY Bar draw real praise, but room service has landed as a sad club sandwich and the Red Lounge as tiny portions for the price.
Where are Four Seasons Bosphorus and Four Seasons Hotel New York?
Four Seasons Bosphorus is in Istanbul, Turkey; Four Seasons Hotel New York is in New York, USA.
How does Fat Voyage compare Four Seasons Bosphorus and Four Seasons Hotel New York?
Fat Voyage scores every hotel out of 20 across five dimensions — service, design, location, dining and wellness — from independent signals: the most active luxury travel communities, major editorial publications, and verified guest reviews, weighted by source credibility, depth and recency. Nothing is paid for, and no hotel can buy a place.