Well, PH's Korean set does look very nice!

Probably the best one in Seoul for ingredients, taste and all-around appearance until FS gets its act together perhaps. Usually, FS is the one putting out all-star breakfasts.

Usually FS GMs are on top of things, and clearly this was not the case here. Thank you for the many details in your report, very interesting indeed. Shame that you weren't be able to enjoy as much as you should have and that things went south very quickly. Hopefully they'll get it right, but judging by your report I will really wait another year at minimum before I stay. What about the staff members you encountered? You mentioned many came from Hilton/PH/..., did they bring in a task force from other FS to teach them how to do things, did new members of the team already have the FS touch?

I would say they were all poorly trained or they revert to their previous hotel instincts. The bellman who put the luggage in the walkway was probably a new hire. Same goes for the Boccalino hostess and waitress who cleared the plates like a Hoover vacuum. The guest relations woman was from GH and well she printed me an incomplete FSPP benefits sheet and omitted her own hotel's opening promos. I know it takes time for a team to gel but this was embarrassing for a FS.

What got me was the obtrusion that we encountered from the hostess at Boccalino telling us that the restaurant was busy and closed for the night. The spa only offering two body treatment choices when they have a massive menu (only stone therapy was supposed to be unavailable according to the GM). Very pertinent examples of staff lacking the FS touch and knowledge of the Golden Rule.

Excellent analysis, here's hoping that the GM will read this and implement some needed changes. It sounds as if they opened way too early.

They wanted to open right after Korean Thanksgiving and I think that was a mistake.

That's a shame, but it's certainly not the first FS that opened too early. After my experience at the FS London back when they re-opened I would never consider staying at an FS that didn't have at least 9 months of experience.

I guess the owners are just so anxious to get revenue coming in that they figure they can overcome some bad guest experiences.

You're probably right. The owners put a ton of money into FS Seoul and are a Korean hedge fund. They want to see Won coming back in.

After Amanoi, I've learned not to visit a soft-opening hotel. While, ideally, your stay would have been much better, I'm not surprised there are teething issues.

I'd be willing to bet within 9 - 12 months all will be well.

I didn't expect there to be so many though...
Normal Koreans folks loved it but not us from the Elegant Hotel forum here on FT.

The Boccalino chef, Loris Pistillo is former GH Erawan and Roppongi Club in Tokyo. I don't know if that's a good resume or not.

A good resume I would say. GH Erawan has excellent F&B, as does GHT for the most part (although China Room and French Kitchen are not good). Roppongi Hills Club is under GHT management.

I agree.

His food was so-so Friday night when it should probably be at its finest. Will reserve final judgment for another time.

In fairness to the chef, a lot of factors could have caused the food to be less than perfect, and he might also be a victim of the owner's poor decision to open prematurely. Similarly, management might not entirely be at fault for service lapses if they were not given enough time to properly train their employees before opening.

I have hated hotels on my first stay, but after excellent service recovery ended up a very loyal and satisfied guest. In this case your first stay was abysmal, but in such a case I would give them one more chance in about a year before completely writing off the hotel. It's important to give the hotel the opportunity to recover. Especially since the issues you experienced, while unforgivable for a Four Seasons, can be attributed to a premature opening and insufficient employee training.