Four Seasons Hotel Minneapolis

Four Seasons brought Minneapolis its first genuine five-star hotel in June 2022, built from scratch inside the new RBC Gateway tower at the top of Nicollet Mall. Chef Gavin Kaysen anchors the food and beverage program, giving the property a local culinary identity alongside 222 rooms designed by Smallwood and a full wellness floor.

The place

The hotel occupies the lower floors of RBC Gateway, a 37-story tower built from the ground up at 245 Hennepin Avenue, at the top of the pedestrian Nicollet Mall and two blocks from the Mississippi River — the site once held the historic Nicollet Hotel, demolished decades earlier.

The concept

Four Seasons opened its first Minnesota property in June 2022 as the anchor tenant of RBC Gateway, a purpose-built mixed-use tower that also holds offices and private residences. It was marketed, accurately, as the city's first true five-star hotel, and the 222 rooms — all with floor-to-ceiling views over downtown or the river — were designed by Smallwood with a restrained, warm palette: wool carpets, brass accents, half-height wood panelling. The project's other headline hire was chef Gavin Kaysen, a two-time James Beard winner and a genuine local name in Minneapolis dining, brought in to run the food and beverage program rather than a house brand imported wholesale. That local anchor, paired with a full wellness floor (indoor and outdoor pools, spa), positions the hotel less as a generic luxury import and more as a considered bet on downtown Minneapolis by both Four Seasons and its Minnesota-based developer, United Properties.

Dining & wellness

Chef Gavin Kaysen runs two Mediterranean-leaning concepts inside the hotel: Mara, an all-day restaurant and bar, and Socca, a street-front café. The spa occupies a dedicated wellness floor with an indoor pool and an outdoor pool on the hotel's rooftop terrace, plus spa rituals developed in-house around Minnesota's natural setting.