Shareholder
Mar 29, 12, 10:23 pm
Was in Seoul for a couple of days this week and due to the Nuclear Arms Conference all the "big name" hotels were booked solid so I couldn't stay at my usuals. BW is my back up chain for such situations, so I booked the new BW at ICN and one downtown, the Kukdo. Both are Premier properties, both in the $160 a night range (after the mandatory 10% and 11% service charge and tax).
As I was arriving late at ICN, and departing early a few days later, I did my first and last nights at the airport property. Upon arrival for the first night I waited about 10-minutes for the shuttle to arrive at post 13B. (It runs every half hour during most of the day, then every 20 minutes through the late afternoon/early evening, as well as from 8-9am in the morning.)
Initial Stay: Check in was straight forward and I was quickly on my way to a 7th floor room that had been pre-assigned. In the room was a plate of fruit with a card from the manager. Two bottles of water are also provided, along with the usual coffee/tea and kettle set up.
The room was a large twin bedded one and modern. However, I had quite a time with the central lighting control box which only seemed to turn on/off a couple of the lights. Also, as it was dark when I first arrived, the only light I had was in the entry. I had to make my way to the bedside table and figure out how the control box worked. Pressing various buttons did not yield much success but finally I got one bed side lamp to light up and some spots over the TV set! Definitely an D- for room lighting despite trying to be convenient. Another low mark for the shower, which really wasn't. But this is common in this part of the world where there's a tub and no walk in shower. The shower nozzle is the hand held type, though it does have an anchor bar which is supposed to slide up and anchor the nozzle for a normal height shower. In this case the holder kept slipping down so turned out to be pretty useless. On the plus side, a full range of mini-container toiletries.
Otherwise the room was fine. Clean and well maintained, but everything else I could use...except wifi internet access. Although there were a couple of signals none could be locked onto. Too late and too tired after 16 hours in the air, I didn't bother to seek a solution.
Buffet breakfast in the Patio (they seem to call all their restaurants here by this name) was 29,000SKw and although the hostess said I could order any type of egg dish as part of the offering, the young waitresses had no idea what an omelette was. I was able to connect to the lobby wifi during breakfast so caught up on emails, news and podcast downloads. Even though the rooms were supposed to have wifi, I could not get either my Air or iPod to connect up.
Next morning, it was easy enough to make my way from ICN to the Kukdo. I took the shuttle back to the terminal and headed to the new RR train into the city. Rather than the Express to Seoul Stn, I opted for the local paying 3600SKw to get to Hongik University stop where I transferred to the #2 Green line which took me to Eulijiro4-ga station and from exit 10 the hotel was a few storefronts down the street. In total about 1-1/2 hours. (I had to pay another 1400SKw for the subway portion of my fare, an add on before exiting the station. Don't forget to deposit the card for a 500SKw refund.) There are quite a few steps to ground level, though there is an elevator at one of the exits across the street (3 and 4 IIRC). There is also an airport limousine bus service to the hotel for about 30,000SKw.
Check-in here also went smoothly and my 12th floor room with a view to the north of the city was ready at 11am. Smaller but with a more modern decor, this room was fine for my needs. Wifi here was no issue and connected immediately (no charge). The robes, or hopi coats, are of a rather unfortunate design that they look like concentration camp internees' uniforms. Rather quirky original art on the walls, not the usual paintings or photos but small sculptures. Lighting in this room was much better and easy to control without any fancy technology. And while the bathroom had a full function Toto toilet, there was a squeeze unit over the bathtub containing shower gel, shampoo and conditioner. Only small bottles were of hand and body lotions. Breakfast buffet here was just 18,000SKw and offered just as much food as the more expensive one at the BW ICN. There is a small convenience shop next to the hotel and a few local eating spots down the side streets.
The neighbourhood is a retail/wholesale district that specializes in plumbing and lighting fixtures, wholesale furniture and the like (along with other construction related trades supplies and machinery), but it is a short walk to several more interesting areas of the city, including the Cheonggyecheon Stream which is just two blocks north. The subway also makes it convenient to get to the more touristy parts of the city since it is on the circle line which will get you to most other lines on both sides of the river. As a Diamond I received a voucher for a free drink in the restaurant (no fruit tray). The lobby (up an escalator from the main level entry) was filled with young women most of the time as I was passing through a couple of times, tourists who appear to have come for shopping visits.
My return to the airport BW was less pleasing this time, though I was finally able to connect to the wifi system in my room. The check-in was somewhat chaotic and the young woman didn't seem all that proficient in English when I kept asking for points not miles. In fact, I am not sure if either of my stays here will automatically get credited, so I am preparing for a mailing in of documentation when I get home. I got my room and key and headed up, this time, to the 9th floor. Unfortunately the key card did not work, so I had to make my way back down to reception for another. The second time I got into the room, and discovered it was a tiny queen bedded room with minimal facilities, quite unlike my earlier room. Certainly not an upgrade, but since I was going right to sleep decided not to make a case out of it and demand a larger upgraded room. The fruit plate arrived a few minutes after I arrived in the room, and I noticed the woman delivering it had a trolly with a number of different amenities. Would have preferred one of the bottles of wine...
The master control for lights and TV was even worse here than the other room and I never got it to work. I managed to override the system to get one room light to work. Found a bottle of water in the fridge. There were no side tables by the bed, so had to drag a small table from in front of a chair over so I had a place for the water and my Air (so I could watch some podcasts). The only English language channel on the TV was BBC World, which gets rather repetitious after two hours! (The Kukdo had BBC World and CNN.) This room had a stand up shower stall with overhead "rain" nozzle. Both hotels provide slippers, of course, dark brown somewhat plastic/rubber substance. However, there was no door to close so water easily dampened the floor. Both hotels provide slippers, of course, dark brown somewhat plastic/rubber substance. Check-outs were efficient, but at neither property was I given the normal folio account, just my credit card receipts.
Conclusions: For anyone connecting through ICN and just overnighting, the BW ICN is a reasonably good airport hotel. Lots of crews here from the Asian carriers, seems European and other carriers use the Hyatt. At one point the lobby was a sea of purple with all the TG FAs waiting for the shuttle. Not as luxe as the Hyatt across the way, but $100 cheaper. While there is nothing wrong with the Kukdo, I would not recommend it for a first time visitor to Seoul but it is fine if you're on a budget and know your way around the city. For major restaurants or grocery stores you will had to walk or subway over to Lotte City or in that direction along the water walk. Both are solid 3-stars with bearable frustrations.
As I was arriving late at ICN, and departing early a few days later, I did my first and last nights at the airport property. Upon arrival for the first night I waited about 10-minutes for the shuttle to arrive at post 13B. (It runs every half hour during most of the day, then every 20 minutes through the late afternoon/early evening, as well as from 8-9am in the morning.)
Initial Stay: Check in was straight forward and I was quickly on my way to a 7th floor room that had been pre-assigned. In the room was a plate of fruit with a card from the manager. Two bottles of water are also provided, along with the usual coffee/tea and kettle set up.
The room was a large twin bedded one and modern. However, I had quite a time with the central lighting control box which only seemed to turn on/off a couple of the lights. Also, as it was dark when I first arrived, the only light I had was in the entry. I had to make my way to the bedside table and figure out how the control box worked. Pressing various buttons did not yield much success but finally I got one bed side lamp to light up and some spots over the TV set! Definitely an D- for room lighting despite trying to be convenient. Another low mark for the shower, which really wasn't. But this is common in this part of the world where there's a tub and no walk in shower. The shower nozzle is the hand held type, though it does have an anchor bar which is supposed to slide up and anchor the nozzle for a normal height shower. In this case the holder kept slipping down so turned out to be pretty useless. On the plus side, a full range of mini-container toiletries.
Otherwise the room was fine. Clean and well maintained, but everything else I could use...except wifi internet access. Although there were a couple of signals none could be locked onto. Too late and too tired after 16 hours in the air, I didn't bother to seek a solution.
Buffet breakfast in the Patio (they seem to call all their restaurants here by this name) was 29,000SKw and although the hostess said I could order any type of egg dish as part of the offering, the young waitresses had no idea what an omelette was. I was able to connect to the lobby wifi during breakfast so caught up on emails, news and podcast downloads. Even though the rooms were supposed to have wifi, I could not get either my Air or iPod to connect up.
Next morning, it was easy enough to make my way from ICN to the Kukdo. I took the shuttle back to the terminal and headed to the new RR train into the city. Rather than the Express to Seoul Stn, I opted for the local paying 3600SKw to get to Hongik University stop where I transferred to the #2 Green line which took me to Eulijiro4-ga station and from exit 10 the hotel was a few storefronts down the street. In total about 1-1/2 hours. (I had to pay another 1400SKw for the subway portion of my fare, an add on before exiting the station. Don't forget to deposit the card for a 500SKw refund.) There are quite a few steps to ground level, though there is an elevator at one of the exits across the street (3 and 4 IIRC). There is also an airport limousine bus service to the hotel for about 30,000SKw.
Check-in here also went smoothly and my 12th floor room with a view to the north of the city was ready at 11am. Smaller but with a more modern decor, this room was fine for my needs. Wifi here was no issue and connected immediately (no charge). The robes, or hopi coats, are of a rather unfortunate design that they look like concentration camp internees' uniforms. Rather quirky original art on the walls, not the usual paintings or photos but small sculptures. Lighting in this room was much better and easy to control without any fancy technology. And while the bathroom had a full function Toto toilet, there was a squeeze unit over the bathtub containing shower gel, shampoo and conditioner. Only small bottles were of hand and body lotions. Breakfast buffet here was just 18,000SKw and offered just as much food as the more expensive one at the BW ICN. There is a small convenience shop next to the hotel and a few local eating spots down the side streets.
The neighbourhood is a retail/wholesale district that specializes in plumbing and lighting fixtures, wholesale furniture and the like (along with other construction related trades supplies and machinery), but it is a short walk to several more interesting areas of the city, including the Cheonggyecheon Stream which is just two blocks north. The subway also makes it convenient to get to the more touristy parts of the city since it is on the circle line which will get you to most other lines on both sides of the river. As a Diamond I received a voucher for a free drink in the restaurant (no fruit tray). The lobby (up an escalator from the main level entry) was filled with young women most of the time as I was passing through a couple of times, tourists who appear to have come for shopping visits.
My return to the airport BW was less pleasing this time, though I was finally able to connect to the wifi system in my room. The check-in was somewhat chaotic and the young woman didn't seem all that proficient in English when I kept asking for points not miles. In fact, I am not sure if either of my stays here will automatically get credited, so I am preparing for a mailing in of documentation when I get home. I got my room and key and headed up, this time, to the 9th floor. Unfortunately the key card did not work, so I had to make my way back down to reception for another. The second time I got into the room, and discovered it was a tiny queen bedded room with minimal facilities, quite unlike my earlier room. Certainly not an upgrade, but since I was going right to sleep decided not to make a case out of it and demand a larger upgraded room. The fruit plate arrived a few minutes after I arrived in the room, and I noticed the woman delivering it had a trolly with a number of different amenities. Would have preferred one of the bottles of wine...
The master control for lights and TV was even worse here than the other room and I never got it to work. I managed to override the system to get one room light to work. Found a bottle of water in the fridge. There were no side tables by the bed, so had to drag a small table from in front of a chair over so I had a place for the water and my Air (so I could watch some podcasts). The only English language channel on the TV was BBC World, which gets rather repetitious after two hours! (The Kukdo had BBC World and CNN.) This room had a stand up shower stall with overhead "rain" nozzle. Both hotels provide slippers, of course, dark brown somewhat plastic/rubber substance. However, there was no door to close so water easily dampened the floor. Both hotels provide slippers, of course, dark brown somewhat plastic/rubber substance. Check-outs were efficient, but at neither property was I given the normal folio account, just my credit card receipts.
Conclusions: For anyone connecting through ICN and just overnighting, the BW ICN is a reasonably good airport hotel. Lots of crews here from the Asian carriers, seems European and other carriers use the Hyatt. At one point the lobby was a sea of purple with all the TG FAs waiting for the shuttle. Not as luxe as the Hyatt across the way, but $100 cheaper. While there is nothing wrong with the Kukdo, I would not recommend it for a first time visitor to Seoul but it is fine if you're on a budget and know your way around the city. For major restaurants or grocery stores you will had to walk or subway over to Lotte City or in that direction along the water walk. Both are solid 3-stars with bearable frustrations.