FTraveler

I've searched but couldn't find anything on this property, other than it does have a RC. Any personal experiences with this property, especially treatment of Diamonds and upgrades? I've read there is an airport limousine bus. Is there a complimentary shuttle to town? Have booked a stay in September. Any info is appreciated. Thanks.

thezipper

Nice property...was there a few years back. It's a ways from the airport on the north side of the island. Takes about 1/2 hr to 45 min by taxi. Found out later that there is a bus (which we took back to the airport for about 1/4 the price) Has a restaurant and casino. More of a family hotel, so not much to do in the evening. Town is a ways away... Beach is shared by several hotels in the area, about a 5-10 min walk down stairs as the hotel is on the top of a cliff area. Nice black and white sand beach, water is pretty clear. I enjoyed the place, actually was the first Hyatt I stayed at. Any questions, drop a note.

FTraveler

Thanks, Muerz and the Zipper, for your responses. Muerz, I read the review site but wasn't sure about the best transportation options to/from the airport and diamond treatment, e.g. upgrades, RC access. Zipper, yes it is a family vacation from the hustle and bustle of Seoul. Am looking forward to a relaxing weekend. Thanks again!

hsyoo

The best and the cheapest way to get there is taking a limousine bus from Jeju International Airport. Note that the Korean government changed "Cheju" to "Jeju". The bus costs around KRW 5,000 which is about USD 4. Hyatt Recency Cheju is now completely renovated, and the RC is very beautiful. The hotel would be pretty much full during the months of Aug. and Sept. due to the summer holiday season. Also, try to avoid "full moon" festival period (Sept. 25 - 29).

If your are visiting there for vacationeering, you don't really need to go to downtown, which is located in the other side of the island. The hotel is in "Joongmoon Tourist Complex", and there are a number of things that you can enjoy. Recommend you to visit Halla Mountain and Woo-do and experience breathtaking sunrise at Sungsan. Just ask hotel concierge or RC concierge for arrangment.

FTraveler

hsyoo, kamsamida. Is the moon festival called "Chusok" or is that another holiday period? I've heard it is best to avoid travel by car, plane, and train during Chusok because of the massive exodus of people from Seoul to visit ancestral graves in the countryside.

Will take your advice - the limousine bus. Have friends flying in from Osaka to join us. Will advise them. Coming from Hawaii, this is the first time I will be visiting a seaside resort outside of my home state. This should be interesting.

Chongmal kamsamida.

Football Fan

Chusok is thanksgiving, if I am not completely mistaken.

Thanks for all the info in this thread, I would like to go visit this hotel someday.

Football Fan

So I am about to go there and have booked two rooms - one suite award paid with points and one paid room with a suite upgrade which I pay with points. At first, as the suite, they wanted to give me a mountainview club room.

Is this the appropriate upgrade? Or shouldn't I be getting a "real" suite instead of a club level upgrade? (I am just a Platinum member now, not a Diamond anymore)

Any new reviews on this property?

Many thanks.

Bondiboy

The HR Jeju is not the brightest star in the Hyatt collection and I would suggest that you lower your expectations before getting there.

The property is reminiscent of an early 1980 Hyatt: It has an octagonal design with a large atrium. The building has about 10 floors, half of which are Regency Club. About half of the rooms have an ocean view.

I attended a conference at the Shilla hotel, but I stayed at the Hyatt. In retrospect I am sorry that I did not stay at the Shilla as my experience at the Hyatt was far from memorable. I have no specific complaints (except the lack of a Diamond amenity) - but there were no great joys.

If you fly to Cheju, it is very easy to get to the hotel from the airport. The #600 bus leaves frequently from the arrival area and will drop you at the entrance to the hotel. The bus fare is about Won 4200

FTraveler

In Sept. '04, my family and I stayed a room at the cheapest rate - I think about $109U.S. As a Diamond, I was upgraded to an oceanview junior suite on the RC floor with RC access.

I found the accommodations to be wonderful - two balconies. Fresh fruit was set in the room every day. Nice continental breakfast and snacks in the RC. Restaurant food was good though a bit expensive.

hsyoo

I stayed both hotels two months ago. I think that HR Jeju is a lot better than Shilla, and cheaper. Try to book RC room. Great services. Also, HR Jeju is right next to Joongmoon Beach.
Shilla is too expensive, and always too many Samsung execs.

Football Fan

I am at the HR Cheju right now, and both the service and the hotel seem great to me (upgraded to a suite with points). One question to those who have been here - do you have any recommendations for reasonably priced restaurants not too far from the hotel (e.g., Korean Barbecue), if one wants to avoid visiting the hotel restaurants, which can be expected to be far more expensive (we have a rental car)? Thanks in advance.

vprp

I just checked out of this hotel yesterday.

Since you're in Jeju, I think seafood would be your best bet. Had some abalone while I was there. It all depends on what you can stomach, though as the place I ate abalone at was one of those pojangmacha's (tent restaurants). I'd save the barbecue meat for a place like Seoul or on the country side.

For actual restaurants, you may want to check out Jinju. Ask the front desk and they can probably give you directions. There's also a restaurant nearby the hotel (past Lotte Hotel). It's on the second floor of a two story building. Sorry I can't help you with the name but maybe the hotel staff knows about it, too. It's a large restaurant and in the basement, there's a "business club" with a small "hwae" restaurant on the first floor. They had kalbi, kalbi ssal, bulgogi on the menu as well as various seafood items. If you like seafood, you might want to try the galchi jjim (which is in season now) and the abalone stew was quite good.

crabbing

i stayed here for part of my honeymoon (for those who don't know, jeju-do is the big honeymoon spot for korea), albeit several years ago. all the hotels in the area are intensely romance-themed (my favorite was the duck ponds).

for the very best seafood, go to the beach and find a "sea-woman," who will serve you live octopus, urchins, and other treats. for everything else, like the waterfall, hallasan, and traditional village, it's very easy and affordable to book a taxi for a day.

silver springer

I stayed there in August in a regular room. I was not impressed at all by the hotel. The decor was old 1980s. Unlike other western hotels, no bottled water was complimentary;the water in the minibar was $6.
I walked down the stairs to the beach and it was a nice clean area.

joene

Stayed there for three nights in June. The Atrium white shape did remind me of the 80's as mentioned above. The lobby with a bar and pond with fish was funny, but not overly attractive. Checkin staff was friendly and helpfull, allthough they seemed to have trouble with my Dutch passport.

Was given the option of two rooms: Deluxe Korean style or King. Saw both and opted for the King, even though it was on a lower floor. Korean style room had a small bed, and of course no sofa or chair, but for pillows. It did have a big flat screen tv. Regular King had a nice bathroom, rest of room was nothing special.

Platinum food and beverage award was a bottle of wine and three Jeju oranges, which were delivered at request.

Nothing to do at night: Karaoke place seemed closed every night, casino is small and spartan. Not a lot of dinner options in the restaurant, so we used or rental car to go somewhere else.