Four Seasons Singapore Holds Its Ground Against Next-Gen Rivals
Above, a new room type, Premier Suite, to match the rising popularity of multi-generation stays. Offers three rooms, each with its own entrance. Right, Peter Draminsky, general manager and regional vice president
06 Nov 2026
By Raini Hamdi
While a wave of lifestyle brands from The Edition and Artyzen to The Standard and NoMad sashay into Singapore’s prime Orchard belt, 32-year-old Four Seasons Hotel Singapore is quietly showing the competition how to age like fine wine.
Walk into the lobby and you won’t find avant-garde lighting installations or TikTok-bait architecture. The hardware is classic, traditional, and unapologetically unchanging, like the dynamic fresh orchids display that has always defined its entrance hall. Yet despite being surrounded by new rivals, the hotel still is a formidable force in Singapore’s luxury landscape.
The secret isn’t in the hardware, which remains fine following a rooms renovation in 2018 and continuous refurbishment of other areas. The Capex is also evident in new or upgraded facilities designed to match changing guest needs. For example, a new three-bedroom Premier Suite room type, each room with its own entrance, for families and friends holidaying together. Becoming the only hotel in Singapore to offer a pickleball court with the non-slip Krystal Pro surface. Offering a medically-licensed longevity clinic, located next to an ultra-luxurious 24-hour fitness center spanning 629sqm.
The secret is in a deeply entrenched service engine that new competitors simply cannot replicate overnight.
Sincerity lives on
During my recent stay, the service felt ‘sincere’, a simple word that describes how staff interactions were once spontaneous and warm, whereas service today is often standardized, corporate-scripted, or replaced by QR codes.
It begins at the driveway, where the arrival team greets returning guests with genuine familiarity, offering a welcome that cuts right through Singapore’s recent grey, hazy stretch.
At the breakfast restaurant, memory is everything. Staff across generations, from long-serving veterans like Raymond (30 years with the hotel) to younger team members like Leo (who looks barely 30 himself), remember your exact preferences. Even in a packed dining room, my intricate multi-part order – double cappuccino, warm almond milk, lemon shot, and hot water, all served simultaneously – is recalled and served without friction. The subtle touch that seals it? Heading upstairs to my room after my final coffee to find the room already impeccably made. Consistently throughout the duration of my eight-night stay.
Peter Draminsky, the hotel’s general manager and regional vice president overseeing Four Seasons hotels in Langkawi, Malaysia and Nam Hai, Vietnam, counts on his team to shape the guest experience simply by “noticing” the guest. “There are so many memorable moments you can create within a day if you simply pay attention to the guest because you really care [for him or her],” he said. “Say you notice that a guest likes spicy food, and you say, ‘I brought this chili crab omelette with a bit more kick because I know you like it spicy.’ That stays with someone.”
Two decades with Four Seasons have sharpened Draminsky’s approach to making this mindset second nature across the team. At daily afternoon briefings, he requires managers to share fresh examples of these guest interactions. “It needs to be enforced,” he insisted. “If you just tell people, ‘don’t forget to create a memorable moment,’ it’s not going to happen.”
Memory, of course, relies on stability. In an industry hit hard by labor shortages, Four Seasons Hotel Singapore boasts an average staff tenure of nearly eight years.
The secret isn’t compensation. “We don’t pay the highest salary in town, though we sit in the top tier,” Draminsky said, refusing to engage in a never-ending wage war. “People stay because their values align with our purpose – the Golden Rule of treating others as you’d like to be treated. In fact, I tell new hires on day one: if you don’t genuinely care and just want to serve omelettes and clock out, you’re going to feel out of place here.”
To make staff feel valued, the hotel invests in them through culture and career pathing. Initiatives include supporting Singapore’s 2.5-year work/study diploma program that allows staff to earn a nationally-recognized qualification while working with the hotel; on-the-job learning, conducting 80% of training in the workplace through hands-on practice, coaching and mentorship; and professional growth, offering certifications and development across Engineering, Spa & Club, Culinary, and F&B Service to build lasting careers with Four Seasons.
Draminsky views artificial intelligence not as a threat to human headcount but as the silent ultimate enabler, i.e., a tool designed to handle administrative weight so employees can focus on genuine connection.
The chain is progressing with its largest digital transformation, focused on unifying back-of-house technology. Historically, operations were fragmented across legacy software that didn’t communicate, explained Draminsky. To check a room number, a dining preference, or an open balance meant navigating three different systems. With integrated AI, that intelligence is available at a glance. Technology should remove operational friction for the team, not get in the way of serving people, he said.
One sign that the hotel is competing well against the shiny, modern newcomers is that while it continues to enjoy strong loyalty from returning guests, it is also attracting a growing number of younger luxury travelers. According to Draminsky, year-to-date through September, Millennials and Gen Z accounted for more than 66% of its new-to-brand guests, up from 63 per cent in the same period last year.
“This reflects the enduring relevance of Four Seasons across generations,” he said. “As guest preferences evolve, we remain committed to staying true to our heritage of exceptional service while offering thoughtful experiences across dining, wellness and design that resonate with today’s travelers.”
The dining scene at Four Seasons Hotel Singapore is anchored by two legendary all-time favourite restaurants. Jiang-Nan Chun serves Cantonese fine dining, while One-Ninety combines Asian and Western cuisine in a brasserie setting. Balancing heritage and contemporary dining is the introduction of NOBU Restaurant Singapore.
“Ultimately, our focus is on creating meaningful connections and memorable stays that reflect each guest’s individual preferences, regardless of generation,” Draminsky summed up.