Here’s our review of staying at the Conrad Seoul. I have provided a short summary and included some images. A detailed review with extensive photos is available on my website linked in my signature. 

Check In

think the check-in experience generally sets the tone for the rest of the stay. I must say the experience here was rather chaotic and forgettable at best. The lobby was storming with huge groups of overly excited professionals which we later learned were here for a conference. 

The check-in staff was pleasant and explained to us all the hotel amenities including where we could use our $100 credit. The staff also granted late check-out till 3pm which was great as our flight wasn’t till 11pm on the day of check-out. 

The bell boy tagged our luggage and later delivered to our room. 

Room

We checked into our premium river view room which was 48 sqm / 516 sq ft and the smallest size available. Although the hotel states that it is ‘the largest of its kind in Seoul’, I am not too sure about that. We did get a fantastic upgrade to a 20th floor room with superb views overlooking the Han River, the skyline of Seoul and N Seoul Tower. We were quite happy especially with the view at sunrise. 

The entrance of the room has a lovely closet with plenty of space to lay out all our belongings in the drawers provided. It also had an iron with an ironing board and standard sized locker.

Along the corridor to the left was the bathroom with his and her sinks, a rainfall shower and bath tub. 

As seems to be quite common across luxury hotels in Seoul, we had a proper Japanese toilet with heated seats. 

The bathroom was equipped with Byredo toiletries which I have sort of a neutral opinion of. They aren’t bad but not are they amazing. I did have a preference for the Aromatherapy Associates branding that Conrad previously used. 

The bedroom was rather spacious and the sofa allowed for lounging during the day. We didn’t make much use of either the desk or the TV. 

Location

Conrad is located in the IFC building within the financial district of Seoul. It is well connected to Seoul Metro as the Yeoudio station is within the IFC Mall. Both Gimpo and Incheon Airports can be reached via taxi, metro and the airport bus. A taxi to Incheon Airport T1 costed us about £50/$85 which is reasonable as it is approximately 55km drive that we ended up taking after Check-out.

Although the hotel is connected to the metro station, it is a rather long walk with luggage in tow… definitely not a luxury experience by any means. A local taxi or Kakao T is the way to go. By the time we got to the hotel from the metro station, I was drenched in sweat!

Dining

Breakfast was included in our room rate and served in Zest restaurant.

There was a wide variety of both continental and local dishes. Of course, as expected, none of the dishes were labelled and hence we couldn’t figure out which ones were vegetarian. 

We did note that it gets rather busy post 10am with a ‘spill-over’ section opened with much limited options. Hence its best to arrive early, as expected at a hotel of this size. 

We did also venture to 37 Grill and Bar for a few drinks to use our $100 credit. It was quiet, which we liked, and the service from the staff was nice. Hotel guests received a 25% on food and drinks. We only found this out at check-out. 

Overall

Conrad Seoul is a good option if staying south of the river, especially for shopping. However as first time tourists, we would recommend splitting your time equally between staying north of the river and south of the river. This hotel was good connections but of course it takes time. 

The room was spacious with fabulous views. The amenities are good. One drawback is the large crowds of business guests… but there’s not much one can do to avoid that.