JW Marriott Dongdaemun Design Square, Seoul [Master Thread]
 

I recently finished up a stay here on the weekend and wanted to let fellow Seoul travelers know there's another Marriott in town.

Review and pictures to come!

I am curious about the gym at this hotel, along with the executive lounge. I lift weights so I want to know if they have barbells for squatting and bench press. I know the gym is not as big as the larger JW Marriott located south of the Han River.

I just added the property to the exec lounge sticky over the weekend when I was updating some int'l properties, but the info in the sticky was based on the hotel's website. If you could provide info re: the exec lounge I'd greatly appreciate it.

Cheers.

I'll post some pictures later of the gym area when I go home.

http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/...psbad01a61.jpg

I think the pool is very posh, chic for a hotel indoor pool but I wonder about how it will look in 10 years.

http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/...psdf4dedbf.jpg

http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/...ps976c4894.jpg

The weight room and gym looks pretty well equipped to me but what do I know. Here you go gentlemen.

The Executive lounge at the JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square is definitely one of the finest in the city. Well equipped drinks, hot food and desserts. Ingredients are top-notch and a lot of effort and money has been put into the food. Spacious with different seating arrangements for groups or singles. You could definitely eat all your meals there and never go into BLT or Taviolo (the hotel's restaurants).

The downsides:

They really cater to the staycation baby crowd and it can get packed with kids running around. They even have nice kids high chairs. Be warned: it's not really a quiet lounge on the weekends.


http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/...ps36c99ef7.jpg

http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/...ps081b4c8c.jpg

http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/...psad24e674.jpg

http://i1287.photobucket.com/albums/...ps96c7649c.jpg

Thanks for the pics - do you have any of the rooms?

Cheers.

Here's one on my blog. I can post some more later when I get on my laptop.

http://koreandriver.blogspot.kr/2014...-marriott.html

http://koreandriver.blogspot.kr/2014...er-brunch.html

these are my thoughts on the Sunday easter brunch at the Tivolo all-day dining buffet at the JW Marriott Dongdaemun.

What particularly stood out and I didn't mention in my blog was the nonchalant attitude of Tivolo Head Chef Carson. I personally went to him to enquire about the special menu items but he didn't seem to care. He just told me they would be coming out and left it like that. The right thing would have been to apologize, divert some to our table or at least look diligent in trying to please a guest. It seemed that he and Chef Oliver cared more about using the DSLR camera to take photos than about the guests. They didn't even come over and ask how is everything when the restaurant was half full.

What's the best way for someone arriving at ICN to get to the hotel and what would be the likely cost?

Most likely the Airport Limousine bus. It costs KRW 10,000. I know the #6002 bus stops at the Dongdaemun market and I believe the next stop is the Dongdaemun station, Both are very near the new JW. Ask at the limo bus counter as you leave customs.

Or Seoul station airport express train and a taxi. The limo bus is just easiest as it is pretty much terminal to door.

I searched, and didn't find anything.

Does anyone know of a comparison on FT between the two JW Marriott properties in Seoul, from location, service, amenities, transport, standpoints, etc.?

This is the only one I've found, and I'd have thought there would be more info. here. Thanks!

free drinks?

I've stayed at both of the JW Marriott Hotels in Seoul.

I like both hotels. I think the biggest thing to consider when choosing between the two is which location is more convenient to where you need to be in Seoul.

The original one is on the South side of the river and the new one is in the East side of downtown across the street from the ancient East Gate (Dongdemun).

Both hotels are very comfortable and have excellent executive floor lounges.

Each hotel has good access to the subway.

The original JW is a very large hotel with extensive conference and events going on. It is also directly connected to a large mall with a huge department store and the Express Bus Terminal. The bus terminal is much better than a bus station in the US. There are quite a few restaurants in the mall and bus terminal. The restaurants vary from fast food to very expensive. Western and Korean food are available.

The new JW in Dongdemun is a smaller "boutique" hotel with about 170 rooms. The staff was fantastic and I will make this my "go to" hotel for future visits to Seoul. Most of my work is in the downtown area so location has always been the disadvantage to the original JW for my trips to Seoul. The executive floor also included breakfast in the restaurant on the second floor which was FANTASTIC!!!

Since the JW Dongdemun is a new hotel some of the taxi drivers are not familiar with it yet so be sure to get a card from the front desk with directions to the hotel in Hangul and English to improve your prospects to getting back successfully.

Each hotel may be easily reached from either airport by bus, taxi, subway, or hotel limo.