Four Seasons Hotel Madrid Celebrates 5th Anniversary: Five Years of History, Service and Excellence
- EDITOR
- Sep 18
- 5 min read
Four Seasons Hotel Madrid will commemorate its 5th Anniversary on September 25, 2025, celebrating five years since it opened its doors in the heart of the city. The hotel has been helping to consolidate Madrid as a first-class destination within the European luxury tourism sector ever since, playing an active role in boosting the international profile of this capital.
Opening the hotel, a part of the larger Centro Canalejas Madrid complex, required investment in the millions and eight years of meticulous renovation work on seven historic buildings, including the iconic Palacio de la Equitativa. Despite the global uncertainty at the time, the hotel opened its doors in September 2020 to offer authentic luxury, outstanding service and a design that combines history and contemporaneity. Four Seasons Hotel Madrid has gone on to position itself as a major benchmark both nationwide and internationally thanks to the hard work, dedication and unwavering commitment of an extraordinary team that strives every day to offer excellence, a hallmark of this prestigious hotel chain.
“Five years ago, we opened our doors at one of the most uncertain times in recent history, in the middle of a global pandemic and based on our conviction that Madrid deserved a hotel like Four Seasons. We have since overcome challenges, grown alongside the city and helped position it as a first-class international destination. This anniversary celebrates that journey and reaffirms our commitment to excellence, innovation and our community,” says Alejandro Bernabé, General Manager and Regional Vice-President of Four Seasons Hotel Madrid.
Alejandro Bernabé’s hotel career has been filled of proud moments, but none quite measures up to the one that engages him now as GM of Four Seasons Hotel Madrid.
“This property essentially reconfigured Madrid, making luxury cool in the capital and drawing international travellers to what I believe has become one of the most vibrant cities in Europe,” he says, adding nimbly, “I can’t say enough about the fantastic job my predecessors and the company did in establishing the Hotel to reposition the area around it. Now, my goal is to take things to the next level by showing locals that our amenities and experiences are theirs to enjoy, too.”
For the first time in a while, Bernabé is working in a destination whose primary language is his own, enabling easy communication toward building trust with the team, partnerships with area businesses, and relationships with Madrileños.
“The primary message I want to get across is that we are just as inviting for wellness treatments or beers with friends as we are for weddings, events and overnight stays.”
Arriving in Madrid in late 2023, Bernabé found himself a familiar position of turning a page on a new chapter for a property that is operating at the top of its game. When he first joined Four Seasons under similar circumstances in Seoul, Korea, he was still learning about the brand. “Now,” he says, “I’m an ambassador, with our employees and guests looking to me to define what Four Seasons means as we move forward.”
So, how does he define it? “By the way the company cares about people and is always looking for new ways to personalize the guest experience and energize the destination.”
Meanwhile, he embraces the same “curious” management style that he has pursued throughout his career. He believes in asking questions, being seen, and “saying the right thing, the right way” to correct team members when necessary. “The important thing for a manager, I’ve found, is to keep your eyes on the big picture as well as the small picture.”
Bernabé is no stranger to Madrid. Hailing from Castellón on Spain’s east coast, he studied for a time at a historic university in the city and has vacationed here off and on over the years. He originally fell into hospitality “by mistake” after earning a degree in finance in the US and then realizing the field wasn’t his thing. He went on to earn a degree in hotel management in Switzerland, following a friend’s advice to pursue a hotel career so that he could remain abroad.
“My parents are doctors and they wanted me to be one, too. But hotels were my way of getting to know the world. I’ve always been very independent and fascinated with culture, so they supported my decision.”
As his career progressed with international hotel groups, Bernabé travelled from Russia to Indonesia, Kuwait to Malta, Switzerland to UAE and beyond. His last stop before joining Four Seasons was on the corporate side of operations, “but I much prefer to see guests coming and going and giving them a great time while they’re with us.”
Now on his second assignment for Four Seasons, Bernabé is pleased that the high expectations he had of company culture when he joined have proven “100% right.” He likes to be everywhere at the Hotel, visible and approachable, and he believes strongly that the talent he leads is what has made the property such a standout. “This was Four Seasons debut in Spain, so it attracted people from all over Europe and South America. We’re a real melting pot, and the team’s dedication to service is genuine. Continue reading ( Premium Members Only)
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