Originally Posted by
jpdx
Assuming the OP has never been to Seoul, it's important to point out that it's a HUGE city, and there really isn't a clearly defined "downtown." If staying for business, my recommendation would be clear -- traffic is horrible, so stay close to where you need to be, even if that means disregarding your hotel chain preference. But for a tourist, I'm not sure D-Cube is a horrible choice, especially considering the difference in rates/points requirements. Yes, the Westin is north of the river in the 'old' downtown where most of the touristy stuff is, but really, if the OP is there for 5 nights, how much of their time will they be spending in Myeong-dong, Namdaemun, Itaewon, etc? Yes, a significant portion, but in 5 days there will likely also be an excursion to the 'new' southern downtown around COEX, Apgujeong, etc, along with maybe a bike ride along the Han river, a tour of the DMZ, etc. All this, to me, suggests that, for tourists, staying "downtown" is less of a must, and other factors like price are worth considering. That said, all things considered, assuming the OP doesn't have a strong chain affiliation, my recommendation would be for the GH.
Thanks to everybody for their feedback. JPDX, I've found your comments particularly helpful. You are right that if I were in town for business, pick the place closest to where I want to be.
But, as a tourist (and this will be our first time in Seoul) I won't be in any one spot all that much. The point is to get out and about
I'm glad you picked up on the budget/points issue -- most people will say "oh, tourist needs the most central location. Period." But I don't find that to always be true. Take Washington DC for example: SPG has hotels all over the central parts of the city, none of which I would consider to have the most perfect location. It also has hotels in Arlington and Chrystal City. If the price is right, Arlington and Chrystal City offer great value to a tourist. However, if somebody were to tell me they could get the Aloft IAD for $60/night (happens) or they wanted to save as many points as possible (I think it's still a Category 2) I'd tell them that whatever they saved on the hotel they'd spend on cabs, transit, and wasted time in general. And this was the level of response that I'm looking for here, so thanks for providing it for me. 24,000 is a lot of SPG points, and I won't part with that much extra without thinking long and hard.
Thanks for the recommendation on the GH. My only real question is whether it's worth trading 60k UA miles for 60k GP points. I really won't know that for awhile, because I don't know how long the UR printing press is going to last, and 1/2 of a J plane ticket to Asia is worth more than 4 nights in a western hotel. But if I'm flush, well...