Grand Hyatt Incheon

Index to Genius1 Trip Reports

Airport hotels are generally not known for their glamour, but Grand Hyatt Incheon – the largest Hyatt property outside of North America – is certainly a contender to buck that trend. Opened in 2014, this property is a conversion from the 2003-built Hyatt Regency Incheon and is particularly well located for ICN Terminal 1, a 7-minute bus ride away. Such is the size of the airport, Terminal 2 is a little further at 20 minutes. Separate buses serve each terminal at 30-minute frequencies, which is at the more irregular end of the airport bus spectrum. I arrived into T1 and to the appointed bus stop with a good 25 minutes to wait until the next bus, which felt like several hours after the 17+ hour trip from London via Doha.

The hotel has two primary buildings – the original East Tower, which features rooms of an older design possibly somewhat original to the Hyatt Regency days, and the newer West Tower. The shuttle busses from the airport terminals all arrive at the West Tower, which for those unsure of which tower they booked can cause a moment of confusion. Each tower has its own lobby and reception, with the West Tower’s lobby being of particularly striking design. The creation of architects Gensler, the West Tower is wave-shaped and designed to resemble the nearby Yellow Sea.







Check-in was as efficient as you would expect from a 5-star hotel in South Korea, and I was soon on my way up to the seventh floor and my Airport View room.







At 409sqft, this was a spacious and very well-appointed home for 2 nights. The king size bed was complemented by a lounge chair with ottoman and a desk, and a practical but stylish bench for suitcases adjacent to the TV console. Almost floor-to-ceiling windows offered views over the airport as promised, with aircraft movements on Runways 34L and 34R most visible.













The trend for non-matching bedside tables had been taken perhaps a little too far in my room’s interior design, as the right-hand table was definitely nothing more than a place to pop a cup of coffee. That being said, there were double power sockets on both sides of the bed, and I’ll always take appropriately provisioned power over table space if I have to choose. Air conditioning controls directly adjacent to the bed (above the lighting and curtain controls) was an unusually placed but very welcome and practical feature.

The wood-panelled hall was home to the wardrobe and a stocked minibar, the latter featuring a slightly stingy single bottle of complimentary water. I appreciated the teapot but was surprised that there was no coffee machine. A robe and slippers could be found in the wardrobe (another robe was in the bathroom), along with my very own fire extinguisher. South Korea’s safety regulations extended further to a personal escape ladder next to the desk – reassuring but also slightly perplexing, as the soundproofed glass would’ve taken some breaking.









A spacious bathroom was located off the hall, with an all singing, all dancing toilet and a wet room featuring a bath and shower, together with a handy stool. Amenities in reusable bottles were by Balmain, as is standard at Grand Hyatt properties – and these extended to single use items often only available on request these days, hidden away in a drawer below the countertop.

















I was pretty hungry on arrival and ordered a club sandwich from the 24-hour in-room dining menu, which was very decent.



Other dining options at the hotel include all-day Restaurant 8 in the East Tower – the main venue for breakfast, the adjacent Deli for all-day takeaway, VY Bar and Karaoke (the main bar in the East Tower), Swell lounge (the main bar in the West Tower), and Pool House (the West Tower’s rooftop bar, open seasonally). Grand Café at lobby level in the West Tower is accessible only to Grand Club guests, and is the venue for breakfast and evening canapés, with afternoon tea being served in the 12th floor Grand Club lounge.

I took breakfast on both mornings of my stay in Restaurant 8, located at somewhat of a lengthy distance for those staying in the West Tower. The restaurant was consistently busy but offered a variety of different seating areas on various levels and very extensive and varied buffets. The ‘8’ in the name is derived from the 8 different areas of the restaurant, all of which offer different types of cuisine.

There are multiple meeting rooms in both towers and a ballroom in each. Club Olympus is the hotel’s fitness and spa facility accessed from the West Tower and featuring a gym, 20m lap pool, children’s pool, jacuzzi and sauna. The children’s pool is only open at weekends during peak season, and reservations are required for the adult pool in peak times. There’s also a 25m pool and jacuzzi in the East Tower. I didn’t have time to try out any of these facilities, although the East Tower pool (visible on the fairly long walk from my room to breakfast) didn’t look particularly inspiring. There’s also an outdoor garden with children’s play area between the two towers.

Grand Hyatt Incheon is an excellent airport hotel, even if the property doesn’t feel particularly cohesive between the two different tower designs. West Tower is certainly the place to stay.