Originally Posted by AJLondon
Bump!
So lots of votes for the Westin I see. I'm off to Seoul for the first time (3 night break) in a couple of months and was wondering where to stay. (Am SPG Plat and IC RA.) At the moment I am torn between the Westin (which seems to have got rave FT reviews!) and the Grand Intercontinental.
I would prefer to stay in the city centre, and be as close to the tourist sights and the shops as possible. (preferably walkable!). The Grand IC seems to have a huge 200 store mall connected to it's site. For the stay, I can use either SPG points, IC points or $$$. The rates for my dates are:
IC Grand: 250,000 won (approx US$250) or 30k PC points.
Westin: 260,000 won (approx US$260) or 10k SPG points per night.
Elite treatment at both hotels should be similar and both have award availability.
So any advice in making a choice would be greatly appreciated!
I have stayed at the IC Grand over 70 times and love it - especially the Junior Suites. Seoul is a huge city so you won't be able to be "central" as there are really 3 centers - Yuoido - Government center (National), Kangnam (where the IC Grand is otherwise referred to as COEX - exhibition center) and City Center (Westin is here) which is financial district. If you stay at Westin you can walk to the old Palace grounds which is very interesting - brand new Korea Historical Museum.
Yes, there is a huge mall underneath the IC but the same stores generally speaking that you find anywhere. You still have to take a taxi or train to
E Tae Won, Namdaemung shopping districts. Be prepared for nightmarish traffic jams, 1 hour commutes between these 3 districts. BC me if you want more information - I work in Seoul - glad to help.
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