We're traveling as a family to Seoul next spring (2015) and planning to spend the majority of the stay at an AirBnB place north of the river. I have some IHG points burning a hole in my pocket and we're considering a stay at the IC Grand Parnas for a night, maybe two, in part because of the Samsung-dong airport terminal next to the hotel. I've never stayed in the hotel, so I know practically nothing about it, apart from the fact I worked in the neighborhood about 20 years ago and have popped in occasionally for a coffee, etc.

We have two kids, 9 and 12, and were leaning toward booking adjoining rooms. I emailed the hotel and they said it would be no problem to guarantee adjoining non-smoking rooms, but if we could make a go of it with one room, we probably would.

Any tips/advice that you could offer-- particularly if you've stayed at this property recently-- would be appreciated. We're sitting on the fence because who wouldn't want to stay at a nice hotel like this, but it's also a minor hassle to pack everyone up and taxi down there. However I'll be returning before the wife and kids, and they will be crashing with relatives south of the river, so it isn't that big of a hassle.

It looks like the Coex Mall renovation is supposed to be done by 12/2014, so presumably the construction-related annoyances will be gone by the time we're ready to go there.

I don't know much about the hotel or area yet, but I'll be there from October 3 to 6 and can do extremely basic on site research if you have specific questions.

Since this thread is active, anyone have advice on things to do during my short visit? I've only been to Seoul once before and stayed at the Ritz, but I did get over to the Coex mall once. I'll be traveling with an expat in her late 20s who has never been to South Korea before and want to make it an exciting and memorable weekend.

For us, it's looking like a go, meaning I'll book the room(s) within a week or two.

Regarding your weekend plans, what does exiting and memorable mean?

I have not been to Seoul for about eight years, but I lived there for a time in the late 1980's/early 1990s. Obviously the city has changed a bit in the intervening years, and what I might prefer is probably different than what you might prefer.

That said, when I am in Seoul, I typically like to return, if only briefly, to old haunts. I like to walk in the heart of the city, so I usually make a point of visiting the Namdaemun Market and the Jungbu Market (this video captures it). You could easily spend half a day walking through the markets and between the markets, even going as far north as the Cheonggyecheon (a stream that cuts through the heart of the downtown area). There are numerous places to eat along the way.

The subway that passes by the IC Grand Parnas can take you north of the river to Euljiro, Myeongdong, and the above-mentioned markets.

Your expat friend likes Korean food?

A friend of our family just returned from a trip to Korea and told us about the Seoul City Tour Buses, which go about on various routes on a fixed schedule. You buy a day pass, which allows you to hop on and off to see/do things which are of interest to you. We may try this with the kids.

As for me, I'll have just about a week in Seoul, and I am hoping to rent a road bike one morning and do some miles along the Han River bike paths, in addition to checking out some old familiar places.

So... impressions regarding the hotel? How did your weekend go?

Hi Zippy.
I travel to Korea 3-4 times a year for business and lately the Grand IC Parnas (GICP) has become my recent favorite. I've been blessed to be able to stay at most 4-5 star hotels for my biz trips and stayed a few top hotels in Seoul and so far it's my top choice.

Positives:
- Room quality
- Service
- Close to subway station
- Adjacent to Co-ex Mall (Now open)
- Adjacent to Hyundai Department Store
- Easy to get to/from with Taxi (All drivers know the hotel)

Negatives:
- High cost of incidentals (internet, parking, etc..)
- High cost of food ($40+ USD breakfast buffet, $85 USD lunch buffet, $18 coffee, $12 soft drink)
- Traffic on the main road

Tips:
- Eat Out: There are plenty of restaurants at the Co-ex mall and Hyundai department store and nearby restaurants so you really should avoid eating at the hotel.
- Don't let the kids mess with the cell phone and portable wifi (in every room provided by hotel) in hotel room. Incoming calls on the cell phone is free but there is a charge for outgoing calls. You will also get charged if you even unplug the portable wifi.
- Be weary of any special events. Many outdoor concerts/events are held just across the street from the hotel. Traffic will be a nightmare...

I usually pay around $250 per night there so I definitely recommend it if your family can stay with your points!

Enjoy!

A Seoul native here.

IC Parnas is in great location, right next to COEX. Just popped into it over the holidays to visit their brand new Parnas arcade downstairs - quite nice with many great eateries if you opt for non-hotel food and don't want to walk over to COEX (hotel food is super expensive in Seoul). Aesthetically, everything at the hotel was brand new, very sleek. The bell desk and valet staff were extremely friendly despite the holiday crowd.

Can't say much about the room since I have never stayed, but the location is nice and there is much to do around it. Besides, cab is so cheap in Seoul so it should be easy to get around from samsung-dong. Have fun!

I learned this the hard way. I visited the hotel some years ago, just to check out the cigar store there. Got a wild hair and figured to have an espresso. I was jet-lagged pretty good, so I ordered a triple espresso, which turned out to be the most expensive coffee I've ever had, even to this very day. $13/shot = $39 triple espresso. I was speechless as I paid the bill.

Thanks for the detailed replies. I'm very much looking forward to staying there, hoping they will do adjoining rooms so that we can be comfortable and the kids can be comfortable.

I realize the hotels don't get much revenue for point stays, and I've learned not to expect too much from them when staying on points. Hope for the best, expect the worst...

I'll be staying there again end of February so I'll let you know if there are any significant changes you should be aware of.

I have a question for you if you don't mind. :-)
I've been wanting to try Airbnb in Seoul but haven't yet. Can you share your thoughts?

I travel alone for business so only the following are important to me:
- Wifi access
- Easy to find by Taxi drivers (Gangnam area)
- Nearby restaurants within walking distance

Thank you!

Very kind of you.

Sorry to say, but this will be our first ever experience with AirBnB. We found a place in the area we want which wasn't crazy expensive and was repeatedly favorably reviewed by other AirBnB users. That is precisely what we were searching for: i) area, ii) cost, iii) critical mass of favorable reviews.

I would have been open to a hotel chain, like Marriott, if I could have gotten a decent LNF rate plus a decent location. However, all the Marriott properties are located in areas which are distant from where we want to be, and LNF rates are not easy to get outside of the US.

Regarding AirBnB in Seoul, I generally favor the subway over taxis, so I only cab it when needed. Thus proximity to a subway station is, for me, another consideration.

As you would expect, the closer an AirBnB property is to "hotspots" like Gangnam, City Hall, etc., the more costly it tends to be.

Sorry, can't offer you more substantive advice.

It occurred to me that I can now answer my own questions, having stayed at the hotel.

First, we very much enjoyed our stay. The hotel was great; the staff were very helpful, and we were very appreciative.

We'd reserved two rooms, but they weren't able to provide adjoining rooms as we would have preferred, though they did upgrade one of the rooms to a junior suite on the north side of the building. Unfortunately, in order to get the double beds that my oldest son and I required, we ended up staying on a different floor, but since it was only for one night and we didn't expect to spend much time in the rooms, we were fine with that.

Some reviewers of this hotel have complained that it is dated, and needs to be upgraded. There is some truth in that; if I recall correctly, the number of electric outlets in the room made it difficult to plug in everything we needed to charge, and there were no available outlets close to the bed. Since I use my phone as an alarm, that was not appreciated.

It seems more than a few of the younger staff were educated at US universities, so several speak English quite well, far better than what I can do with my fading Korean, and everyone was helpful and kind to us. For example, I called the front desk to fix an Internet connectivity issue, and it happened that a manager was on my floor, so he came to my room directly and helped me with the problem.

The only complaint that I had was that the prices for food and beverages in the hotel are eye-watering, like a breakfast buffet for $34/person. As a result, we went outside of the hotel to the COEX mall or the neighborhood for everything. I think PacRim's post above is spot-on.

I'm sorry to report that the Grand Havana Cigar Divan is no longer in the hotel.


This was my room.


The view from my window.

Does anyone have contact information for the hotel? I am a Spire Elite member there on an award stay. I would be interested in a paid upgrade for a better room and club access. Not sure if they offer that.

I'm booked at this hotel in about ten days. I'll report back with my... report... I'm a Spire Elite member, which of course means mostly nothing, but I got a paid upgrade to a junior suite. I'm also being offered paid lounge access, and I am considering it. However, we will be traveling with our infant son. We of course would never bring him to the lounge if he were making noise, and if he started, we would leave right away, but officially there are no kids allowed under 12. Can anyone who stayed there report back on how strictly enforced this is? A a business traveler myself, I can appreciate the 'no kids' rule for sure... but it would be nice to be able to grab a quick snack in the morning or some drinks in the evening. Let me know your thoughts! Looks like a great hotel.

IIRC the lobby elevators connect directly to the COEX Mall, so regardless of your lounge access situation, you can pop into the mall for coffee, snacks, etc., with equal convenience. I can't imagine it would cost more than the lounge, and you would have a much wider selection. We never bothered to explore the lounge, but considering that breakfast at the buffet for one person costs significantly more, can the lounge really be worth what they charge?

There are two ICs... an IC Coex (i think that is the one you're mentioning) and an IC Parnas, this one. My understanding is that this one is connected to a mall as well, but I have also been told that there aren't breakfast options in the mall, that stuff won't open til around lunch time.

There are two Intercontinental Hotels within this very large city block-- one, the COEX, and the other, the Grand Parnas-- and I can assure you, I'm not confused. I stayed in the Grand Parnas, and took the family down to the COEX Mall through the lobby elevators for breakfast when we saw how costly the buffet breakfast was in the IC Grand Parnas (U$D 34/person, IIRC, probably more now).

The COEX Mall is a major underground thoroughfare for workers walking from the Samsung subway station to the COEX Tower and elsewhere, and we had no problem finding a place for a quick breakfast. Major restaurants in the mall do not open for breakfast, but there are other places. Better than the ICGP lounge breakfast? I have no idea.