I've heard there's been a lot of staff turnover at FS Seoul. Not sure if this is a good or bad thing.

Stayed here as a service recovery stay before heading off to Amanjiwo.

The new FS Seoul Korean breakfast
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Glad to report the Korean breakfast was a 100x better. I had it via room service but you can also have it at Boccalino with the light buffet items. The japchae was better than PH Seoul's and finally up to what I expected from a FS. Maybe the best japchae I ever had in my life considering the ingredients put into it. The noodle texture was firm but not too salty or oily. The Korean side dishes were superb as well.

The old one
http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/...psl71qs0ca.jpg

The old breakfast suffered from poor taste and presentation. The only thing it going for it was the presence of seaweed.

The only thing I couldn't believe from the new FS Seoul Korean breakfast was that the room service server told me they ran out of seaweed for the rice? How does a hotel in Seoul not have any seaweed on hand?

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A southern Korean specialty in Onyang bulgogi. You can tell they're really trying now when they bring out this beast.
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Management told me I had the Korean breakfast when they were 1 week young and then again at 8 weeks young. That they needed time to get it right. I still standby my opinion that it should have been prototyped, group tested and done right from the start.

It looks like they are trying very hard and that the results so far are impressive.

The management team and F&B team may themselves not have had the luxury of sufficient time to get everything right due to pressure from owners to open early. Virtually every hotel has opening kinks, so at this point I think it is a very good sign that the hotel looks promising overall, and that things are moving in the right direction.

I know they had to impress me. I just hope they'll continue doing their best for everyone else in the future. Please chime in Flyertalkers:).

The Western breakfast food was even better.

Aventine, I was waiting for this. How is the hotel doing in terms of service levels in general? Enjoy Amanjiwo!!

Comme ci, comme ça.
I'll give the good news first:

- they excel at special requests eg. prepared a delicious Korean traditional birthday dish (mi yeok guk). Hit the spot when we came in hungry from Seoul's hellish traffic.
- left a great Korean amenity and favorite champagne
- cakes galore in the room and restaurant. both were delish!
- doted on us at Boccalino, tried to fix my dried out pork dish (came that way but was just full by that point)

The bad
- Housekeeping takes a long time to come with items. The hotel is huge but still 20 mins is a long time.
- English room service listening on the phone needs to improve. They did the opposite of what I asked.
- the front desk women speak too casually sometimes. I don't expect a "yes, followed by sir" but I'm not her friend either.

Palace-view Executive suite review

This is FS Seoul's top non-specialty suite and hits the magical million Korean won (base price + taxes) price tag.

http://www.fourseasons.com/content/d...LACEVIEW_1.gif

Views and windows all around from all corners of the suite.

http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/...ps8eycdvnw.jpg

You can see Gyeongbuk Palace, the Blue House, Bukhan mountain, Gwanghwamun gate, the US embassy, King Sejong's statue and Sejong Avenue all from the suite. This suite was on the 28th floor.

http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/...psv8qsdtev.jpg

The classic FS welcome amenities set up in the living area with a Korean twist. A delicious bottle of omija berry tea, some Korean traditional snacks and Western confectionaries.

http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/...psssbfynt8.jpg

The bed is identical to every other room's. Some differentiation would have been nice but that doesn't seem to be the MO for FS Seoul.
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I really like the green carpet in this suite MUCH, MUCH better than the normal purple carpet in the rooms.

http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/...psmyhy3pqf.jpg

One of the rare standalone bathtubs in the hotel. Only this suite and the corner Premier rooms have them unless you go into the specialty suite level. The rest of the rooms have them built in with no views.

Verdict: With the Korean won weak against the dollar. This suite is relative bargain for the views and space in Seoul's newest luxury hotel. I would have liked a proper work desk but standardization seems to be the way Mr. Fu designed this hotel.

I have to say, the suite looks nice. Thanks for posting:)

FS Seoul does look very nice^ I'm looking forward to staying there the next time I visit Seoul.

These are all quite handy for the business traveller and come included with the suite. A tremendous value in my opinion.

If anybody is headed here this morning from ICN. Take the KTX or AREX train then a taxi or get the hotel car. Snow storm has reduced the highways and arterial roads to a crawl. Bus 6002 is the one direct from ICN and costs 10,000 won. Found at berth 12 upon exiting arrivals.

http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/...psnntjctal.png

Wouldn't recommend the Airport Limousine bus 6002 unless FS is picking you up in their hotel car. It's about a block and a half away from the hotel and was a giant pain to drag multiple bags through slushy blowing snow this morning. The map shows the bus stop relative to FS Seoul.

Updates from FS Seoul
 

Another anti-government rally is happening again near the hotel.

http://mengnews.joins.com/view.aspx?aId=3012416

http://mimgnews2.naver.net/image/ori...05/1772007.jpg

I would avoid City Hall, Jogyesa and Jonggak completely. Our Corner Premier room facing West didn't have any problems but rooms towards City Hall might.

Best lounge in Seoul by a country mile
 

Definitely the best Executive lounge here in Seoul and I've been to them all...

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Very fine alcohol and spirits collection but limited cocktail making abilities (only martinis and gin and tonics).

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This Hanwoo beef tataki was worth the price of admission alone. Delectable, seasoned Korean beef that just melted in your mouth.
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The views are wall to wall spectacular too.

It's worth booking a Club room or Executive suite for this lounge alone. It's more than mere morsels and very quality ingredients. You could definitely eat a satisfying meal here and I highly recommend it if it's snowing, blistering cold or you don't have a lot of time in the city. Remains to be seen if the quality of ingredients and fare stays this way in a year or two.

The service still has room for improvement, namely, the switchboard operator and room service. They say they'll do things right away but sometimes don't.

I called room service to remove breakfast dishes around lunchtime and came back to them at 7pm in the evening. Same goes for when I asked for housekeeping to bring back the persimmons that they took away. Never arrived back.