Four Seasons Baltimore | inner harbor luxury

view from Executive Suite # 801, shortly before dawn, (c) 2014 by David Ourisman

A contemporary hotel located right in the heart of Baltimore's inner harbor area, I found the Four Seasons Baltimore to be a comfortable and attractive city hotel. The styling is casual and elegant, creating an "at home" feeling in the guest rooms and suites. The effect is pleasant and extremely well done, and I very much enjoyed my stay. The hotel has 256 rooms, of which 45 are suites. I had the opportunity to see a Partial Water View Terrace Room (502 sq ft), and we stayed in a FS Executive Suite with Water View (953 sq ft).

Regular guest rooms are in the range of 502 - 530 sq foot (inclusive of bathroom and closet area). Entering the door of your room, there is a closet and luggage storage area straight ahead, large enough to use as a dressing area. The bathroom is to one side of the entrance, equipped with a single vanity, TV in the mirror, WC, step-in shower (with both rain shower and wall mounted shower heads), and deep soaking tub. The bedroom is to the other side of the entry. The Partial Water View Terrace room we saw had a King bed, desk space (thoughtfully equipped with four power sockets at desktop level), and sitting area. The bedroom of the Terrace room had pleasant dimensions, more square than rectangular, which helped create the hotel's residential feel.

Thoughts on which room category to choose:

1. The views from Full Water View rooms are stunning, so if you enjoy a great view, it's definitely worthwhile to upsell into these categories. Because the hotel is frequently 100% occupied, you can't count on an upgrade into the best views.
2. Unless you intend to make significant use of an outdoor terrace (which occupies some of the room's total square footage), I recommend booking a "regular" guest room in order to enjoy a larger bedroom and sitting area.

We stayed in a FS Executive Suite with Water View (#801), and it was a WOW suite. Wrapping around the northwest corner of the building, the LR faced directly north toward the heart of the Inner Harbor and Camden Yards. The BR occupied the corner, with views both to the south and west. Moreover, the hallway leading to the bathroom and dressing room area had west facing floor-to-ceiling windows; the panorama included a good view of the iconic "Dominoes Sugars" sign to the south (see the photo above). The Executive Suite's bathroom was larger than that of guest rooms but still provided only a single vanity.

Other facilities: The hotel has a fully equipped Fitness center on the fourth floor (open 24/7), offering harbor views while you exercise. An outdoor Infinity pool, open only in the warmer months, offers lounge chairs and resort service reminiscent of Four Seasons beach resorts (roving attendants with Evian mist and occasional cold snacks). The hotel's full service Spa offers complimentary sauna, steam room, and jacuzzi for guests. FSPP guests can make good use of the $100 spa credit, part of the amenity package.

Book FS Baltimore with Four Seasons Preferred Partner travel consultant to receive the complimentary FSPP amenities:

• Daily full American breakfast for two people per bedroom, served through In-Room Dining or in the hotel restaurant (including buffets)

• Spa credit of USD100 once during stay (not applicable to products)

• Upgrade of one category, based on availability at time of check-in (excluding signature suites and villas)

• Now standard at all properties: Complimentary Basic Internet (up to 2 devices) in all guest rooms, Complimentary Premium Internet (up to 4 devices) in all Suites.

copyright (c) 2014 by David Ourisman LLC. As affiliates of Brownell Travel, we can provide our clients with Virtuoso amenities and amenities from other Brownell preferred hotel partners including Four Seasons, Ritz-Carlton, and more. All rights reserved. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.