RTWSTARALLIANCE

I had forgotten there was even a PH in Seoul. Have a one night stay at the Westin Chosun. Will do the downtown things from there. After that will use a FFN for the PH Seoul. Can someone please comment on directions from one hotel to the other? I believe in reading the threads there is a subway line near/below the PH. We will only have a rollboard each. Fly out on SQ. Thanks.

RichardInSF

The subway exit is right in front of the hotel, if you get the right exit from the complicated station. Sorry I forgot which line it is. It's diagnoally opposite from the shopping center/Intercontinental/City air terminal exit, but maybe someone else can be more precise.

stephem

I've spent most of the last couple weeks here and true to my previous posts continue to have great stays. The staff are very professional, but not at all stuffy. In fact, as they've gotten to know my wife and me they are showing themselves to be a very friendly and sincere group. When I was leaving on Wed morning I ran into the relatively new rooms director Julien in the elevator. He greeted me by name and mentioned that he recognized our name from two other Asia propoerties (BKK and SGN) where he spent time. He's a great asset to the property. I've also found that just a short cab (or nice walk if you're up for it) away is a great neighborhood for eats and drinks-- Apgujeong. If you get dropped in front of the Galleria Department store and then zig zag in the general direction of the hotel, you will find a great variety of choices. The more aimless wandering the better, I've rarely found the place we were actually looking for, but come away with a number of great meals.

tshep

Anyone with recent stays here? Seems to be designed in a similar style to the new PHs in Beijing and Shanghai, which I think is great.

sl00001

Stayed at the PH Seoul at the end of last year and I thought it was great!
Also stayed at PH in Feb in Shanghai. Service wise PH Seoul is much better. Interior a bit different, the PH Shanghai is very white, as the PH Seoul was more of a combination of GH style / PH style ....light brown, but very bright.
The bathroom was amazing with ceiling to floor window so if you don't care you can take a shower with all the blinds open. Noticed however (not sure, as I had a couple of drinks) on my way back to the hotel at nite I looked up from outside and could see someone taking a shower!! I thought the windows were blinded from one side

Anyway, I am a fan of PH on business trips.

PS Swimming pool/gym is small but very clean and nice as well

MikeFromTokyo

I stayed at PH Seoul in January. It is a very nice hotel, and I will be staying there again.

It does not compare to PH Tokyo of course, but it is up there with other nice PH properties I have stayed at. At the time I was there I stayed in a Park Deluxe room for the equivalent of USD $200/ night (that was Park Room rate- then Diamond upgrade to Deluxe). At that price I thought the hotel was a bargain.

I would suggest getting a high floor room on the "back" side of the hotel not facing the major intersection. The rooms facing the intersection have issues with noise/insufficient soundproofing of the windows (entire exterior wall is glass)

Also, as others have mentioned- it is possible to see into the rooms from outside the hotel, and more importantly from other hotel rooms on the same floor (because of the shape of the building). I discovered this lying in my bed when I looked across and could see into another room.

This is not a big problem in my opinion, I simply shut the electronic blackout or shade curtains if I want total privacy.

RichardInSF

There has been a Hyatt representative at the Incheon arrivals area sometimes when I landed there. I have asked them to call ahead to the PH that I was taking the bus to the City Air Terminal and every time, the PH driver was there waiting for me on arrival. It's worth trying if you see someone at the airport with a Hyatt banner!

sl00001

just a quick one, need your experts advice:

i have a paid trip to Seoul beginning oｆ　April (air + hotel).
Shall i stay in the PH or Gh, the GH has a clubfloor (so free breakfast and cocktails) . As I don:t want to spend to much money on this short trip and just relax.

I stayed in the PH before for business and it was great, but they dont have clubfloor.

What would you do?

RichardInSF

Depends on how much exercize you need when there. If you need a lot of exercize, running up and down the hill from the GH will certainly take care of the calories you ingest during your breakfast.

For me, the overall much higher quality of the PH as well as the much more convenient location would far outweigh the value of getting a free breakfast, but it sounds like you value the breakfast more than I do.

We each have our own priorities!

bp888

I stayed at the PH last month but have not stayed at GH so I can't really compare the two. What I can tell you is my impressions of the PH based on this one stay.

I used an upgrade certificate and the hotel put me in a nice XX05 corner suite. The hotel was kind enough to honor it given that it was an award stay and to extend the validity of the certificate to my entire stay even though the certificate was only good for four nights.

I won't go into describing the hotel itself because it has been covered here. Decor is modern and minimalist. Noise is indeed a problem if you're facing the busy intersection.

Location: It is good as far as access to the subway is concerned as there is a station right by the hotel. The general location of the hotel is in an ultra modern section of Seoul, convenient I guess if you have business transactions with companies that are located nearby but there are very few areas of interest for a tourist. You still need to take a subway or taxi. There are also few restaurants of good caliber within walking distance of the hotel.

Service: There were at least a dozen service lapses during my 6-day stay albeit minor ones. I guess I was expecting a little too much given what I've read about the concept behind Park Hyatt. This was my first stay at a Park Hyatt and I was disappointed at the level and consistency of service.

Breakfast: As an HGP Diamond, I was given free "buffet" breakfast at Cornerstone located on the second floor. I put quotes in buffet because most of the good stuff (smoked salmon, imported cold cuts, fresh fruit salad, etc.) were behind a counter and need an attendant to be served which gives me the impression that they were rationing them. Eggs were available to order but you wouldn't know if you didn't ask, took a long time to arrive and quality was inconsistent, e.g. 4-minute hard boiled egg came either too hard or too runny.

My biggest beef was that during my stay there was a pervading chemical odor throughout the hallways and rooms due to some renovation work going on on the fifth and sixth floor. I think the hotel should have warned me ahead of time about this special condition and again at check in. I moved to a higher floor after my first night but the stench was still evident.

I'm beginning to sound too whiny so I'll stop here.

trueflight7

I hate when that happens, I generally really like PHs tho.

Monsieur S.

Stayed in this property about 6 times now over the last 2,5 years or so.

First couple of times had the feeling that service was not always on par with PH quality, but they seemed to have improved over my last couple of stays.

Got a nice room upgrade (21st floor, great view).
Other Diamond benefits were mostly all taken care of (free wifi, free FULL breakfast including eggs), didn't really get a Diamond check in amenity (unless that was the fruit platter that was daily replenished, but got that on all my previous non Diamond stays as well, so..).

Only thing that keeps on annoying me are those damn elevators.

RTWSTARALLIANCE

I have been to Seoul a few times. I have a long layover at this time coming in from XIY and thinking between the PH and Westin. I was not overly impressed by the Westin but the location sounds much better. Can people comment about the area around the PH aka shopping and food? I will skip the tourist stuff with the weather in South Korea.

sy7

There is a huge shopping mall complex right across the street from the PH. You can use the underground subway walkway to get there, since crossing the street would be a pain. I think the PH is better for shopping than the Westin. The Westin is closer to the tourist sights (eg palaces and museums) but if you're interested mostly in shopping and food, the PH should work out well.

RTWSTARALLIANCE

Thanks. The PH is back into consideration.