ericwinter

The gym and the spa at this property make it a top choice. if you don't want to workout, just check out the sauna facilities - free for diamond.

Guy Betsy

This is one of the few hotels which Hyatt owns outright and not contracted to manage the property.

Well, for convenience, you can try the Hilton down the hill. It has gone through a major refurbishment and the interior looks a lot better than the exterior. The F&B too are better than the Hyatt and the best part of this hotel, is that it's close to the subway.

RTWSTARALLIANCE

I was really looking forward to this Hotel. Reviews were good and photos on Hyatt.com website were nice. Well I can tell you out of personal experience that my room(s) have been nothing like the ones on the website. No where close.

No greeting of any guests arriving on KAL bus from ICN. Downstairs check-in escorted to elevator and told to go to 15th floor. At 15th floor only one person checking in. Line of four people. Wait and find it is a Trainee. Given room on 14th floor facing Hotel entrance. This is a Club room and I am on FFNs. Immediately when entering room can hear car noise and horns from front of Hotel driveway. As for room change to river view. Told that will be 15k won extra per night. I not my Diamond status and tell them to call me back. Upon getting called back told they are now happy to provide river view but not until tomorrow. I asked about the room they were just willing to sell me. Oh. Call back now offering room. Even number rooms face river. Much better view. Lounge was ok. The internet service from the room is 25k won or about $22. Very high. I did have a problem and a very competent gentleman fixed my system to use internet.

I bought a phone card from the front desk. Mistake. Should have had 10500 cr and when I went to use on 9990. Disappointed. The room is small and the furniture dated. Room stains on ottoman and carpet definitely. Bed is a mini queen. Bathroom has tile and is very small. Reminds me of a cheapy ANA room in Tokyo. Disappointed with the Hotel. I was going to switch to Westin or Hilton and then realized I need to use 3 FFNs at a time because I arrive on a Tuesday. Believe this is correct. FYI and IMHO

Pickles

Suggestion: Take a chill pill, go for a leisurely swim in the indoor or outdoor pool. After that, head over to the Olympus for a workout followed by the fat man's triathlon (10 minute Sauna/10 minute Jacuzzi/10 minute steam room, alternating with the cold dip pool on the far right side). I think you will feel much better after that, and you'll be ready to battle traffic to wherever your business in Seoul takes you, unless you are lucky enough to either have business in Itaewon or Mt. Namsan.

RTWSTARALLIANCE

A pill. I wish it was that simple. My internet connection is bad again from the room but fine from Business Center. This leads me to only believe something between the room line and server. There have been a few other things not mentioned (but I have a note pad). All and all I can not ignore. I is driving me crazy. crazy face

RichardInSF

When it turned out they had no suites available, I gave up a soon-to-expire "suite upgrade" coupon for an larger end room on the club floor (there are two of those at each end of the building). Without a coupon, the upgrade charge is only $20-25 a night.

I'd suggest you pay it if one of those rooms is available -- they are at least 1.5 times the size of the tiny standard rooms that make up the vast majority of this hotel and certainly made a huge difference to me.

divaof travel

I've been to this hotel about 20 times, and they are very stingy with upgrades. The rooms are disappointing compared to other Asia properties.

But I agree that some time in the spa is well spent - IMO this is the best part of the hotel. The nightclub is usually fun, too.

korea71

Sorry to hear about your bad experience Mike. Did you get a chance to try their lunch buffet on the first floor? Unfortunately, even that has gone a bit downhill but you might still enjoy it. The view is pretty good from the restaurant. Must have been a long ride from the airport.

korea71

JJ Mahoney's?

RTWSTARALLIANCE

Hello all. Thanks. Well for some reason my internet connection is now up and running in my "room". I was working on getting my connection again earlier after having paid the 25k won. So that put me into the Business Center at around 5:30 AM. Getting dressed and going down to the Center is not my idea of business friendly. I did take my laptop down and it was fine in the Center. So it means the connection from the room is not reliable. I think that is fair to state.

Now for my notes. The staff is very good and attentive. As for upgrades they can be cheap but that will not get me to return. If I had realized this was so bad I would not have booked here. I should have kept my FFNs for the PH NRT or CDG. My mistake.

The rooms have direct outlets for your appliances. No need for converters. No Diamond amenity offered or given. My previous room had a couple pieces of fruit which it every Club guest receives. The clock was set to the incorrect time. Other persons hair was present in the bathroom. I was offered a tour brouchure which seemed expensive. SanDiego1k and Korea71 have links to reasonable tours which maybe they can post the links. I was interested in a hop on and off tour. It was only after asking a couple of times was a brouchure produced. Available very close to the Hotel at about $10 per day. The bus down to the subway leaves at the top of every hour for a certain amount of time. Not 24 hours.

From ICN you can take the Korean Airlines bus #2 I believe to the Hotel. It also stops at the Hilton. The rate is 12k won. Just go to the signs and pay the person who loads the bags. The bus is very nice with 2 by 1 seating. Like a US domestic F seat. Very good value. No. Excellent. As you exit on the landside there is also a ATM. Worked great. As for the calling card I will stop by a more "local" shop for a better value. Do not buy the one sold at the Hyatt front desk. Another mistake of mine.

I have been told that the Hyatt has a good control of communications going in and out of this property. Hence crazy internet rates and phone charges from all phones. So be careful.

I have two more nights which is looks like I will be trying to stick out. Hoping for better luck in Tokyo at the new Grand Hyatt. I am disappointed with this Hotel. I do have my Hyatt Diamond Spa discount coupon. The rates are ok. So if I use that thing for at least a one hour aromatherapy treatment I will feel a lot better. I am also reminded at this moment of noise. The Hotel room gets lots of noise from people slamming doors and next door and above. That bathroom. The doors must be from Japan because they are exactly like the ones at the ANA Tokyo. That is it for now. I am off to breakfest in the Lounge with a walk over to the cheapy bus stop for my economy tour. Regards from Seoul.

Pickles

I have stayed here many times. I agree the rooms are disappointing, although some of them have been refurbished, and are much nicer, although no bigger. You can tell by the airconditioner unit. If it is a "modern" white one, you have a "new" room, if it something out of your Uncle Vinnie's rec room in the basement, circa 1975, you have one of the "old" rooms.

Having said that, I have found the service to be excellent, in a country not particularly known for its service (at least compared to, say, Japan, Hong Kong, or Thailand). The RC breakfast is fine, and the common room is nice.

The alarm clocks are a mess, they never work. Use the phone driven wakeup call system, never fails.

I like this hotel. I have always been treated very well. Now, no comparison to the GHT or the PHT. Those two are in a different league...

RichardInSF

When I was there, that buffet cost something like $46! Sure didn't seem like a good value to me. In fact, all the restaurants in the hotel were incredibly pricey, since apparently they are high status locally.

Pickles

Yes, forgot to mention. The restaurants at the hotel are outrageously expensive. Good but expensive. They are very popular with the locals.

Asian_Traveller

What about the location of the hotel? Is it conducive for shoppong, sightseeing etc? I will be there next month and hope somenoe can give some tips.

Pickles

If you are into buying low-rent crap (and believe me, some otherwise fine people are into that, I can think of my mother as an example) you are just up the hill from the cesspit that is Itaewon. Actually, worth visiting for the entertainment value.

Seoul is an amorphous blob of a city, and really no hotel is near the "action" because there is really no "action" to speak of. Personally, I like Insa-dong, which is not too far by Seoul standards.

Seoul has its charms, but they have to grow on you, and it will take more than a single visit to appreciate the place. If you want a "quick hit", try Hong Kong.