ElevatorEnthusiast

Any properties that I'm missing or major stinkers in my list for my upcoming trip:

• PLAZA
• Westin Josun
• Le Meridien Myeongdong
• JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square
• Josun Palace
• JW (the other one)
• RYSE

mynameisdmoon

notes from my own research:

PLAZA has really funky rooms (some rooms look like love hotels).

Westin is old but is loved by many for the F&B and soft service. Friend loves burning his 35k certs there for the food.

LM: Stingy on upgrade, service still not in tune as it’s recently open. Brekkie and lounge seems to be well received.

JW DDM: Decent lounge and breakfast. Rooms seem somewhat dated and not the best furnished for a JW.

Josun Palace: No executive lounge in the traditional sense. If you don’t book Suite directly or get suite upgrade via SNA you do not have access to the Lounge 1914 for the wine and canapés. In the reception they have some services like cookies and coffee and tea, and some basic wines and canapés in your room. The breakfast at Constans must be chosen as an elite amenity, else you get comp breakfast at the reception which just consists of a bread basket and coffee. Hard product wise seems to be well accepted. Some growing pains with service and cleaning but seems to be resolved for most part.

JW Seoul: Executive lounge service has been greatly diminished since pre-covid. Only breakfast service and happy hour service. This was in 2021 and not sure if things have changed. Hard product doesn’t seem like everything has been refurbished, only certain rooms, and suites. And some complaints on service.

RYSE: Small rooms, no lounge. Rooms are well furnished however and washrooms seem well received. People seem to enjoy their time here overall. Good pricing too. Elite recognition seems to be decent with respect to upgrades.

iirc you did the mass Dubai hotel review right? Looking forward to your Seoul reviews if you’re also doing it to that scale!

ElevatorEnthusiast

Many thanks for these detailed notes - as expected, no perfection, but nothing terrible. And, yes, I'll plan on doing my stay reports with photos.

DELee

Yay for us!

David

cmhsieh54

I give fairly extensive reviews of all of these in my TA profile, aside from the LM Myeongdong, which I have not yet been to.

I find mynameisdmoon's comments to be valid.

I'd like to add the following:

• Plaza is not a good pick if you are stuck with a basic room in the middle of winter. The windows are VERY drafty, and in many of the bedrooms, the bed's headboard is propped up against the window. It's cold, trust me.
• Westin breakfast is a zoo, especially on Sunday mornings. 7:30am and it's already a zoo. 8:30am and there's a line.
• DDM is better for solo travelers than those staying in pairs. The bathrooms in the upgraded rooms also don't offer much privacy. I burned an SNA and got the "King Bed, Executive Lounge Access, Skyview Room". No full enclosure between the bathroom and the bedroom. Privacy as bad, or even worse, than a 4P or Courtyard.
• I had the first post here on FT in the main thread of Josun Palace. Hard product looks very chic and refined until you put your glasses on and see the fit/finish. Overpriced in general. Breakfast buffet is probably the bright spot, just in terms of ambience. Only a small number of breakfast buffet venues in Seoul are as Instagram-friendly as Constans; Signiel's Stay does come to mind though.
• JW Seoul is my overall favorite Marriott property here in Seoul, unless you are poor and/or are trying to be a tourist. If you're not trying to squeeze in a ton of sights, it's a relaxing place for a staycation (esp. for Plat and up).
• RYSE is a great hotel -- maybe even Marriott's best in Seoul -- for those who are looking to hang out with the university kids. A bit quirky/chic, but the basic "Director" suite upgrade is a bit of a letdown. The "Director" suite adds an extra 30 sq ft and a couch, over the basic room. Not a lot of space to move around.
• If you want a huge suite on the relative cheap, I can say that the suites at the 4P Sheraton Gangnam do not disappoint. Here was my review of that: https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUser...nam-Seoul.html . Another reason the 4P Sheraton Gangnam is appreciated is that the Airport Bus stops basically right in front of it.

SHLTP

I like the Aloft. Great location. I'm usually a PH/ STR typr but found the price and value super appealing

ElevatorEnthusiast

Thanks, folks! Lots of good notes!

eccentricfusion

The Aloft in Gangnam has an issue with street noise on the weekends. Plenty of loud cars zooming back and forth later at night for the rooms facing the street. Location is great with a lot of things nearby but that was my one complaint about that property. I haven't stayed in the one in Myeongdong yet.

IluvSQ

I really disliked the Plaza, I think I have a few notes in the hotel's master thread.

cmhsieh54

I don't like it either, even though I don't find the Westin all that much better.

It's really dark inside the Plaza, just not a very uplifting place... and the bedrooms are not very modern or user-friendly.

ElevatorEnthusiast

Very interesting - any other recommendations? I could move up RYSE and do my last night at the Sheraton Grand in Incheon? Though, part of me feels like the Plaza is so ugly on the outside that I just have to check it out.

As for the Westin, I love old Westins. The more traditional, the better. This is coming from someone who loves the outdated Westin Harbour Castle in Toronto.

sbr7d

I have stayed in all of the hotels you have on your list and really categorize them with high end properties and just fun properties. My wife and I LOVED the RYSE. I felt the rooms were spacious but we always stayed in Director Suites and were always upgraded. Customer service there is top notch and we felt it was in a great area with a ton to do. If you want some unique coffee roasters to check out let me know!

For the record, we actually have coffee roaster recs all around the city so hit me up if that is something you like!

IluvSQ

Then you'll love the Westin Chosun. I've stayed there from my first visit to Seoul in 1980 or so up through to recent (pre-covid)
times. It is still a great hotel.

SHLTP

Westin is an old style Westin. It was outdated 15 years ago! You'll love it then

Location is awesome

Polytonic

What do you mean by the university kids comment? I know nothing about Seoul. Is the hotel located near a major university?