St Petersburg neo-classical palace to provide setting for Four Seasons hotel

The Russian development firm, Tristar Investment Holdings, has engaged Beverly Hills-based Cheryl Rowley Design (CRD) as the interior designers on a $125-million re-creation of an imperial historic monument into the Four Seasons, St. Petersburg. Originally constructed as the palace of Princess Lobanov-Rostovsky, the venerable building was designed in 1817 by Czarist architect Auguste Ricard Monferrand, best known for the adjacent St. Isaac’s Cathedral.

With its elegant neo-classical architectural detailing, the magnificent edifice harkens back to the time when the Russian aristocracy lived on a grand scale. Now, the new Four Seasons will contemporize that vivid history. Two of the three existing open-air courtyards will be enclosed to create expansive ground floor public areas, a large ballroom and a spacious spa and fitness facility. While the glass and steel structures will be clearly modern in design, the geometry will reflect the “winter garden” enclosures popular at the time the palace was built.

In addition state-of-the- art meeting and conference spaces, several destination restaurants and 183 guestrooms and suites will be created. CRD’s design intent is to preserve the original design language of the building in its major public areas, immersing guests in the beauty of the original royal residence.

“It is, frankly, thrilling to be working in the spectacular city of St. Petersburg,” says CRD principal Cheryl Rowley, “but to be starting with the 19th-century palace of a Russian princess . . . well, that takes your breath away.”

Currently in design development, the project is scheduled for completion in 2010.