Four Seasons Casa Medina Hotel Now Open In Bogotá’s Zona-G

The first of two Four Seasons Hotels has opened in Bogotá Q4 2015. After a multimillion dollar remodel that started in December of 2014, the historic Casa Medina in Bogotá’s Zona-G near the Financial District reopened as Four Seasons Casa Medina. Owned by the Gilinski Group, the hotel has 62 unique rooms and suites. The Gilinski Group is a Colombian conglomerate owning several businesses, including Colombian bank GNB Sudameris.

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The Casa Medina was built by Medellín native, architect Santiago Medina Mejia in 1946, and had been a hotel since 1988. The current redesign was led by architect Milena Vargas, with original features, such as the wooden staircase preserved.

Four Seasons Casa Medina General Manager Luis Argote

“It’s an incredible day for Bogota as we welcome guests back to Casa Medina,” says General Manager Luis Argote, who leads a team of 140 staff, including many employees returning from Casa Medina.  “Colombia is attracting a new generation of cultural explorers, and now Four Seasons sets a new standard in luxury hospitality with the first of two hotels in Bogota.”

Executive Chef Pablo Peñalosa

The hotel Four Seasons also introduces a new restaurant: Castanyoles Raciones y Tapas, an open concept restaurant and tapas bar designed by Saul Sasson. The restaurant offers outdoor patio seating as well as a glass atrium for those wishing to escape Bogotá’s chilly nights.

Executive Chef Pablo Peñalosa, who arrived in Bogota from his hometown of Mexico City by way of Michelin-starred El Celler de Can Roca and Martin Berasategui in Spain, edits the menu of Spanish specialties, and Four Seasons veteran Chef de Cuisine Lucas Curcio offers dishes learned from his Spanish grandmother.  “The gastronomic culture in Bogota is very good right now,” says Peñalosa. “There is a growing interest in authentic cuisines, so I believe the time is right for a truly Spanish dining experience.”

Castanyoles Raciones y Tapas:

Cuisine:

• Spanish

Service:

• Monday to Saturday – 7:00 am to 11:00 pm
• Sunday – 7:00 am to 6:00 pm

Seating:

• Bar  – 8 at the bar; 23 in lounge seating
• Restaurant – 18 at tables; 10 at the communal table; 24 in the courtyard
• La Bodega – 4 at the counter; 30 in lounge and table seating, 24 on the streetside patio
• Private dining options also available

Arroces (risotto and rice dishes), bocatas (sandwiches on oven-baked breads), ensaladas (salads), and carnes y mariscos (meat and seafood), plus a chalkboard listing of shareable tapas feature locally-sourced ingredients. The bar features sangrias and gin-and-tonics that are currently popular in Spain and Portugal. For postres, churros and tortes highlight the menu.

Sommelier Johanna Suarez makes wine recommendations from a cellar filled with Spanish wines, as well as select bottles from Chile, Argentina and Uruguay. A living green wall contributes to the indoor/outdoor feel of the space beneath the retractable glass atrium.  In addition to individual tables, a broad communal dining table encourages hotel guests to mingle and interact.

In the restaurant’s El Virrey room, a unique collection of handmade dinner plates by local artist Camila Gomez is arrayed above banquette seating opposite a wine display wall.

Event spaces include the Casa Medina Room for up to 120 guests in a dining configuration or 175 for a wedding reception or business function. The renovated El Nogal and La Merced rooms offer additional flexible meeting options. Return guests will recognize the Los Rosales room, formerly Casa Medina’s restaurant, with a restored wooden floor, original paneling, gracious stone columns and a winding staircase heading up to an iron-railed loft. It can accommodate groups from 25 for a meeting to 50 for a party.

Hotel address: Calle 69ª #6-24

Phone: +57 1-325-7918

Colombia’s second Four Seasons hotel currently under renovation, Four Seasons Hotel Bogota, is located walking distance from the Four Seasons Hotel Casa Medina Bogota, further north in Zona-T, one of the city’s primary nightlife and shopping districts. It is slated to open Q1, 2016.

All photos courtesy of Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts