Exclusive: A first look inside the new Four Seasons Abu Dhabi

The main lobby area of the Four Seasons hotel in Abu Dhabi. Delores Johnson / The National

Less than 24 hours before opening and some 12 years after the project began, the new Four Seasons Hotel Abu Dhabi at Al Maryah Island is almost ready for guests.

Situated behind Abu Dhabi Global Market Square and The Galleria, the slick, 34-storey block, owned by Mubadala, has a colourfully textured exterior, with long, vertical “baguettes” hanging over the windows to protect the building from the sun. Inside, the lobby features a catwalk-style walkway with skylights and a wave-like ridge pattern on the walls, carved from white Carrara marble. Al Meylas lounge features a coffee and ice cream bar (saffron and cardamom flavours are local touches).

The day before opening, teams of workmen fill the lobby and backroom areas, hammering the final finish into what has been a mammoth effort to create a Four Seasons branded hotel from scratch. There’s still the smell of chemicals, the roar of a marble cutter and the fervent sound of vacuuming.

“Normally we work with buildings that are at least 30 years old,” says Sam Ioannidis, the Greek general manager.

See more: Four Seasons Abu Dhabi set to finally open

Just 60 of the 200 guest rooms and suites are available for booking, and many of the 440 staff are still in the process of being hired. The 2,000 square-metre spa is due to open in two weeks while two of the restaurants won’t open until September.

“This is because we are thinking long term and not short term; we need to get the confidence and service level of the team up, to stabilise the service over the next few months,” says Ioannidis.

Of all the world’s luxury hotel groups, the Four Seasons hotel is defined by its uniform levels of service, and it’s probably the most exacting. Staff are trained to anticipate each guest’s personal needs, whether their goal is relaxing on holiday or staying efficient for business.

“Service”, for the company, breaks down to a different quality to be emphasised every day of the week: smile, eye contact, recognition, voice, care, exceed.

Yet Ioannidis, who has had a say on details such as staff uniform design (Chanel and Ferragamo), marble types (there are 42), artwork (there are 2,000 pieces, mostly by local artists) and what laptops staff should use, is obviously a safe pair of hands, having worked in seven Four Seasons properties over the past 24 years, most recently at the Four Seasons Hotel Baku, Azerbaijan.

Ioannidis says it’s important that staff here form and represent an “attachment to the local community” and a defined sense of place, helped by “small nuances” such as scents and tailored menus.

Ioannidis says he expects many of his guests to be travelling on business, medical tourists who are using the Cleveland Clinic, and their families, or leisure guests who have stayed at other Four Seasons hotels in the region. The Abu Dhabi Four Seasons is the UAE’s third, following the Four Seasons Jumeirah Beach and DIFC properties in Dubai. With a Kuwait Four Seasons hotel opening later this year, the Canadian management company will have 12 properties in the Middle East.

“The international brand brings in a certain clientele”, Ioannidis says, adding that he expects about 30 per cent of guests to be “GCC staycationers”.

Though surrounded by water, like its neighbour the Rosewood, the Four Seasons doesn’t have a beach. There’s a third floor outdoor swimming pool with a good view of the Abu Dhabi skyline, and for those guests who require it, an arrangement to access the Saadiyat Beach Club. Guest rooms, which start at 39 square metres in size, have a homely style, with comfy sofas, Four Seasons beds with a choice of soft, medium or firm mattress topper, 55-inch plasma TVs, a tea-and-coffee making area and iPads with a choice of 1,000 newspapers. Bathrooms are spa-style, with Apaiser marble stone bathware and Ferragamo toiletries.

On the particular day I visit, the morning meeting’s circular includes a directive to “create a sense of recognition by using the guest’s name, if known, in a natural and discreet manner”. Special requirements of any arriving guests are also listed, as are “glitches”, or things the guest has complained about.

While floors 4-13 are for guest rooms, at the top of the building, from floors 20-33, are 71 private residences for sale, and 53 available on long leases. The going rate for the apartments for sale is Dh4,000 per square foot.

Of the six food and beverage outlets, four are currently open: Crust, an all-day dining restaurant, Eclipse Terrace Lounge, beside the pool, Al Meylas, the lobby lounge, and Zsa Zsa bar, with an attached outdoor smoking area. Butcher & Still, a steakhouse, and Cafe Milano, an Italian restaurant, will open in September.

Rates at the Four Seasons Abu Dhabi (www.fourseasons.com/abudhabi) currently start at Dh1,032 per night including taxes.