Luxury hotel brand Four Seasons is returning to Berlin, taking over the Hotel de Rome as its new presence in the German city.
The group will be taking over the landmark that has until now been most recently operating as part of the Rocco Forte luxury hotel group. After a 20 year run operating the property, Forte will be looking for an alternative presence in the city. Owner Gruppo Statuto will continue to operate the asset as Hotel de Rome during 2026, before undertaking a comprehensive refurbishment ahead of a relaunch in late 2027.
A city landmark will be refreshed
The makeover of the property will retain the traditional look and feel of its famous facade. Internally, there will be more substantial changes, delivering a state of the art luxury hotel with around 140 guest rooms, a significant spa and wellness area, three restaurants and bars plus a rooftop terrace.
In a city with many significant historical landmarks, the Hotel de Rome stands its ground. Built in the late 1800s as the headquarters for the Dresdner Bank, it was reborn as a hotel in 2006.
“We are proud to mark our return to Germany, reestablishing Four Seasons as the leading luxury hospitality offering in the market,” said Four Seasons president and chief executive officer, Alejandro Reynal. “Berlin is an important European destination to add to our global portfolio, and we look forward to collaborating once again with Gruppo Statuto, with whom we have an exceptional track record of introducing Four Seasons legendary service and experiences to some of the region’s most dynamic destinations.”
The company has already appointed Christian Poda to be the new hotel’s general manager. A 26 year veteran at Four Seasons, he has most recently been regional vice president and general manager of Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong, also responsible for hotels in Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Suzhou. Born and brought up in Berlin, this new role will be a return home.
Four Seasons previously appeared in Berlin with a hotel there from 1996 to 2004. At that point, the Berlin hotel market was performing poorly, hit by a number of issues including substantial new openings. The brand lost its property, which went on to become the Regent Berlin as part of the Radisson SAS group – though this property no longer trades under the name.
A luxury hotel partner
For Gruppo Statuto, the shift to brand the Berlin property with Four Seasons builds on an existing relationship. The company already owns Four Seasons hotels in Milan and Taormina, and is preparing Hotel Danieli in Venice for opening as a Four Seasons property in 2026. Gruppo Statuto also owns luxury hotels under the Mandarin Oriental, Six Senses and Rosewood brands.
For Four Seasons, the Berlin property fits into an opening pipeline that includes Mykonos in Greece, Hanoi in Vietnam, Jeju City in South Korea and Xi’an in China. The brand is also contributing substantially to the development of tourism in Saudi Arabia, with half a dozen projects in various stages of development across the Kingdom.
