The Four Seasons hosts their latest ‘Pop Down’ in Hong Kong

By Dominique Afacan | 1 April 2019 | Culture, Travel

Tempus snares a golden ticket to the biggest party in town

* Simone Zanoni of Four Seasons Hotel George V, Paris

There are pop-ups, there are parties and then, there are Pop Downs. We all know what the first two are – but a Pop Down? Not so much. Well, the Four Seasons is now onto the fourth in its series and they are gathering serious force, so it was high time for us to play catch up.

Back when it all began just two years ago, the luxury hotel group described a Pop Down as “a new global series that will bring brands to unexpected settings all over the world, transforming unusual spaces and creating one-of-a-kind events and experiences.”

The first one took place in Toronto during the International Film Festival, the next one kicked off on a rooftop in Philadelphia, the third on a custom superyacht in Miami. You get the drift. Pop Downs are a big deal – and the Hong Kong effort, which coincided with the finale of the city’s art season, was no different.

Diverting attention from every other party in town during Art Basel is no mean feat – but the team went the extra mile, transforming an empty retail space in the centre of town into a decadent den, filled with Four Seasons’ talent. And there’s no shortage of that talent; with 112 hotels now in operation across 48 countries – there was food, music, drink and design from every corner of the globe. >>

* The Four Seasons described a Pop Down as “a new global series that will bring brands to unexpected settings all over the world, transforming unusual spaces and creating one-of-a-kind events and experiences.”

Chef Yan Tak, the world’s first Chinese chef to get three Michelin stars, had left his base at Lung King Heen to roll out his prized pineapple pork buns, while Marshall Allan Roth from the Abu Dhabi hotel was impressing the VIP crowds with his Willy-Wonka inspired dish, a three-course meal in one bite. Elsewhere, there was Simone Zanoni from the Georges V in Paris, Chris Ford from the Beverly Wilshire and Keith Motsi from the Four Seasons Seoul – all doing what they do best – and then some. For the Four Seasons junkie, there really could be no better place to feed your habit.

By the time Grammy and Academy Award-winning DJ Mark Ronson emerged to play a surprise 90-minute set, the city’s event game had arguably already been won. He merely sent it into a new league.

This, we now know, is how the Pop Down operates. The Four Seasons brings the best of the best to one extraordinary location– and then puts a cherry (or two) on top. And with the next one happening in London this autumn – it’s time to start figuring out how to secure one of those elusive invitations.