Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts is preparing to enter Palau with a new luxury resort set to open either in 2027 or 2028, with the brand already making its presence known in the destination’s waters.
The Hotel Properties Limited (HPL) project will be managed by Four Seasons, which the firm already partners with on a number of properties in the Maldives and other destinations. The new resort is currently under development with preliminary work already underway, Four Seasons Explorer Palau and Four Seasons Resorts Maldives Assistant Director of PR and Communications Johann Khairi told LATTE.
“Work has already started,” he said. “We’re looking at opening around 2027 or 2028.”
Meanwhile, 11-cabin luxury expedition vessel Four Seasons Explorer, which used to sail Maldivian waters, is now acting as both a mobile operations lab and a floating dive resort to prepare for the full-scale launch in Palau. The same approach was used successfully ahead of their Maldives expansion, according to Khairi.
Subscribe to LATTE’s free eNewsletter to keep up to date with everything in the luxury travel industry.
“Since 2023, we decided to move our experiment to Palau,” he explained. “Our owners have this habit – before they go into a destination, they do a test and run to see whether the destination has potential.
“We are now using the Explorer to test bed everything, make sure it’s operationally ready – whether the country has the capacity to manage international travellers. We are currently the only international brand in Palau.”
Launched in October 2024, Four Seasons Explorer has offered a luxury experience, with dive itineraries around the archipelago. “You can stay for one night, or you can stay for 10 nights,” Khairi said. “It’s more like a floating resort… every single stop allows you to dive up to four times a day.”
Guests are treated to dives at WWII wrecks, coral walls, caves, and vibrant reef systems – many still untouched. “The waters are so pristine, the corals are still alive,” he added. “In other destinations, the corals are all bleached.”
Beyond diving, the Four Seasons Explorer team is also focused on integrating with the local community and preserving Palau’s delicate ecosystem. “The destination and the government want to retain its pristine nature… they are following the Bhutan way of tourism,” he said. “It’s been great working with the Palauan government to figure out how to bring in the right kind of traveller.”
