How a Luxury Hotel on Billionaires’ Row Became a Dorm for Hospital Workers
The Four Seasons reinvented itself in a matter of days.
Just a few weeks ago, it was typical for personal assistants to make reservations for thousand-dollar rooms at the Four Seasons Hotel New York for their high-profile bosses.
But in late March, a worried mother calling on behalf of her physician assistant son to get a free room became the norm. The iconic Billionaires' Row hotel had just announced that it would house medical professionals battling the coronavirus.
"My mom, I think she must have been one of the first to reach out," said the 31-year-old, whose hospital asked him to remain anonymous. He had been living on Long Island and commuting for two hours each way to his job in Manhattan. Now he is a 20-minute walk to the hospital.
"I've never stayed in a hotel room this nice in my life," he said. "In the middle of my shift, when things are getting chaotic and I'm eight hours in, it's so nice to fall back on the idea that I have a place to go that is fairly close by and beautiful." He's scheduled to stay at the Four Seasons for 25 days..
