Side-by-side
Four Seasons Hotel New York Downtown vs Four Seasons Bora Bora
Four Seasons Hotel New York Downtown: The indoor pool and locker rooms get repeated praise, including steam rooms in the changing area. Four Seasons Bora Bora: Mount Otemanu views and the lagoon itself are the draw, with snorkeling straight off the reef and a sanctuary staffed by marine biologists.
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 Hotel New York Downtown
A Four Seasons in Lower Manhattan near the World Trade Center, with an indoor pool and CUT by Wolfgang Puck on site.
Four Seasons
Four Seasons Bora Bora
Overwater bungalows framed by Mount Otemanu, where the Pacific meets unparalleled luxury.
Strengths & trade-offs
Four Seasons Hotel New York Downtown
Strengths
- Large rooms and suites by New York standards, including recently renovated categories
- Indoor pool with steam rooms built into the locker rooms
- Calmer, quieter setting than Midtown with easy subway access
- Staff regularly credited with fast fixes and small personal touches for pets and celebrations
Trade-offs
- Lobby and public areas read as small and generic to several guests
- Room service and spa pricing run high, with some guests opting for treatments off property
- In-room coffee is a basic drip machine, with a paid add-on for a proper espresso setup
- Service consistency varies, with some doormen and front-desk staff described as indifferent
Four Seasons Bora Bora
Strengths
- Overwater bungalows are among the largest on the island, some with plunge pools and glass floor panels
- Direct lagoon access for snorkeling and kayaking, plus a marine-biologist-run lagoon sanctuary
- Mount Otemanu views from most of the property
- Individual staff members, from housekeepers to snorkel guides, get singled out for genuine care
Trade-offs
- Maintenance issues show up often: cracked wood, spiderwebs, mold, and worn bathrooms near restaurants
- Only two restaurants plus bar snacks, with high prices for simple dishes
- Front desk and app-based request service is inconsistent from one interaction to the next
- Golf carts and occasional corporate events cut into the quiet, honeymoon-style atmosphere
Scoreboard
| Dimension | Four Seasons Hotel New York Downtown/ 20 | Four Seasons Bora Bora/ 20 |
|---|---|---|
| Tier | Fat Approved | — |
| Overall Fat Score | 16.5 | Not in collection |
| Service | 17+3.5 | 13.5 Some guests get warm, attentive teams and named housekeepers who leave handwritten notes; others describe front desk staff who ignore them and app messages answered by a different person each time. |
| Design | 15Even Rooms and suites read as spacious and clean but the lobby and public areas get called small, dim and generic by more than one guest. | 15Even Overwater bungalows are genuinely huge with glass floors and plunge pools, but multiple recent stays report cracked wood, spiderwebs, mold, and grimy bathrooms near the restaurants. |
| Location | 16.5 Lower Manhattan near the World Trade Center and Tribeca, calmer than Midtown, with easy subway access but a longer taxi ride from some attractions. | 19+2.5 Mount Otemanu views and the lagoon itself are the draw, with snorkeling straight off the reef and a sanctuary staffed by marine biologists. |
| Dining | 15.5+1 CUT by Wolfgang Puck handles breakfast fine and the French toast gets singled out, but room service pricing and slow seating draw complaints. | 14.5 The Mediterranean restaurant and breakfast buffet get real praise, but only two restaurants total, steep prices for simple dishes, and slow service show up often. |
| Wellness | 17+1.5 The indoor pool and locker rooms get repeated praise, including steam rooms in the changing area, though spa treatment pricing pushed some guests off property. | 15.5 The spa gets singled out for its free saunas and relaxation pools and a secluded feel, though the changing rooms have been called out as under-kept. |
The Verdicts
Four Seasons Hotel New York Downtown
This is the Four Seasons for people who want Lower Manhattan over Midtown: near the World Trade Center, an easy walk to Tribeca and Wall Street, close enough to the subway that you skip cabs entirely. What you get for it is a genuinely large room by New York standards, a soaking tub guests keep bringing up unprompted by us asking, and an indoor pool with steam rooms built into the locker area that people plan afternoons around. Staff fixes things fast: one guest had a tub drain issue handled within minutes of calling down, another got an upgrade to an Oculus Suite and a doorman who drove them to Little Italy himself when their car service kept cancelling.
The lobby is small and reads as generic to more than one visitor, and the room décor splits people: some call it elegantly understated, others call it bland for the rate. Room service runs expensive (two coffees and a bowl of berries came to $89 for one guest), and the in-room coffee situation is a real gap: the machine on offer is a basic drip unit, with a Nespresso setup available for $100 including pods. Breakfast at CUT can be slow at peak times, and a handful of stays report doormen or front desk staff going through the motions rather than anticipating anything.
None of that is enough to knock this off the short list for Downtown. Book it for the pool, the space in the room, and a part of the city that stays quiet after 9pm. Travelers who want Midtown energy or a splashier lobby should look elsewhere; travelers who want a calm, well-run base near the Trade Center and Tribeca will get exactly that.
Four Seasons Bora Bora
You are paying several thousand dollars a night for Mount Otemanu out your window and a lagoon you can swim, snorkel, and kayak without ever leaving the property, and on that front this place delivers: the overwater bungalows are some of the biggest in Bora Bora, several with glass floors and private plunge pools, and the marine biologist-led lagoon sanctuary gets called the best activity on the island by people who've done every excursion here.
What you're actually rolling the dice on is consistency. The building is showing its age in specific, repeated ways: cracked wood and missing slabs in rooms, spiderwebs that come back daily, grimy bathrooms near the restaurants, and an air-conditioning whine in some bungalows loud enough to hear at night. Service swings just as widely, from a housekeeper who left handwritten thank-you notes and wrapped up phone cords, to a front desk staffer who waved off a soaked, shivering guest to check in someone else. Food is good but thin: two restaurants plus bar snacks, and the app-based request system means you often explain your issue fresh to whoever picks up the message next. None of this is disqualifying, but at this price it should not be happening at all, and a family that had a splinter emergency with zero management follow-up is the sharpest version of that pattern.
Book it for the room and the water, not for a flawless five-star routine: nobody is topping this lagoon on this island, and the beach villas and bungalows are worth the splurge for the view alone. Skip it if you want honeymoon hush, since golf carts, corporate events, and a lively family crowd can crowd out the quiet; St. Regis next door reportedly edges it on food and polish, if that's what you're optimizing for. For the setting and the room itself, book the Otemanu-view bungalow and go in expecting nature to be the star, not the service.
Still torn between Four Seasons Hotel New York Downtown and Four Seasons Bora Bora?
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 Hotel New York Downtown or Four Seasons Bora Bora?
Four Seasons Hotel New York Downtown: The indoor pool and locker rooms get repeated praise, including steam rooms in the changing area. Four Seasons Bora Bora: Mount Otemanu views and the lagoon itself are the draw, with snorkeling straight off the reef and a sanctuary staffed by marine biologists.
What's the difference between Four Seasons Hotel New York Downtown and Four Seasons Bora Bora?
Both are Wellness. Four Seasons Hotel New York Downtown adds Urban, Design and Culinary; Four Seasons Bora Bora adds Beach, Island, Tropical, Romantic and Adventure. Four Seasons Hotel New York Downtown is ahead on how you're looked after. Four Seasons Bora Bora is ahead on where it puts you.
Which is better for location, Four Seasons Hotel New York Downtown or Four Seasons Bora Bora?
Four Seasons Bora Bora leads on this. Four Seasons Hotel New York Downtown: Lower Manhattan near the World Trade Center and Tribeca, calmer than Midtown, with easy subway access but a longer taxi ride from some attractions. Four Seasons Bora Bora: Mount Otemanu views and the lagoon itself are the draw, with snorkeling straight off the reef and a sanctuary staffed by marine biologists.
Which is better for wellness, Four Seasons Hotel New York Downtown or Four Seasons Bora Bora?
Four Seasons Hotel New York Downtown leads on this. Four Seasons Hotel New York Downtown: The indoor pool and locker rooms get repeated praise, including steam rooms in the changing area, though spa treatment pricing pushed some guests off property. Four Seasons Bora Bora: The spa gets singled out for its free saunas and relaxation pools and a secluded feel, though the changing rooms have been called out as under-kept.
Where are Four Seasons Hotel New York Downtown and Four Seasons Bora Bora?
Four Seasons Hotel New York Downtown is in New York, USA; Four Seasons Bora Bora is in Bora Bora, French Polynesia.
How does Fat Voyage compare Four Seasons Hotel New York Downtown and Four Seasons Bora Bora?
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.