Westin Chosun
 

Your plea for someone to rescue the thread, forced me out of my shell from being a long-time lurker...

Although I haven't stayed at the 2 Hiltons, on several occasions have stayed at Chosun. Would echo the above comments re Chosun being the better location.

They seem to treat Platinum's very well. 2 nicely laid out Club lounges (1 non-smoking /1 partial smoking) Good spread of food both for breakfast and cocktails (5.30pm to 8pm) and maybe it's just luck but I have always been up-graded to either Jnr Suites or Suites upon request at check in - with cool looking FSTV, computer and free internet in room.

Must say, been very impressed by how far front desk have gone out of their way to find up-grades even when hotel is close to capacity - a real credit to the Starwood program. ^ ^ ^

Having said that, in comparison, the standard rooms, do look on the small size (and no FSTV - such is my superficial life ;) ), but you always have the lounges to kick back in.

If it's a standard room then request Garden view which is preferable to the noisy Lotte bus station - unless bus-spotting is your thing. :rolleyes:

Other things worth noting:

Korean Air Bus goes between the hotel and airport every 20 minutes or so for most of the day (11 US dollers - 60 mins approx).

Within the city Grey taxis (as opposed to black ones) and subways are both very cheap. Most of the time traffic is not as bad as people make out, but the subway is still probably the easiest way to get around.

Great info above. I would also strongly recommend the Westin - one of the nicest in that brand I have stayed at. Beautifully appointed rooms and good service, plus an excellent location.

Off topic but worth noting: I used this service and it was very good - recommended IMO. ^

Given the posts I am sure your decision has been made- Westin. I will add my two won. I stayed at the Grand Hyatt and should have stayed at the Westin. Seoul is a very busy city so I would take the advice given and seek the room with the least amount of noise. Enjoy.

Starwood hotels in Seoul Korea [Master Thread]
 

I'm heading to Seoul in March for 3 days to use up my free UA systemwide ticket (in Y :( ) and my free 3 SPG Weekend days. :)

There are 3 properties in the Seoul area, all Cat 4 so I can stay at any of them.

I'm there for fun, so I'd like to pick the one that has easy access to the subway, or is in the middle of things.

I'm Plat also, so would be interested in Upg experiences.

Any info on the plusses and/or minuses on any or all of them would be appreciated.

Thanks

Westin Chosen is located in the middle of the city, near Seoul City Hall. There are subway stations near by and it is better location for touring the city. Both Sheraton Walker Hill and W are located eastern part of Seoul.

I haven't stayed any of these properties but will be stay at Westin in May. There were a few posting on Westin, but none on Walker Hill Sheraton IIRC...

We had a one night stay at the Westin Chosun at the beginning of the year (brr...cold!), and it was one of the best hotel experiences we had. We were on an award stay, and was given probably a standard sized room. The room had a computer with high speed internet access, free, along with a cell phone that you can take with you while you're about town, to use. Charges billed to your room of course, but nevertheless, a useful thing to have!

When I tried to tip the bell boy, he said there is no tips needed at this hotel ^ :D Also, you can buy the KoreanAir bus tickets when you check out, and put it as a charge to your room.

Location is also very good, easy access to the subway, and within walking distance to Dongdaemun shopping area as well. Namdaemun is a subway ride and a short walk away as well.

I stayed at the Westin Chosun for one week a couple of times last year. I must say that this is an excellent hotel. I stayed in a standard room and it was really great. I would strongly recomend it. However I have never stayed at the any other Starwood hotel in Seoul. I know some colleagues that have stayed at Walker Hill and they weren't that satisfied. The W I don't know anything about.

You got Namdaemun (South Gate) and Dongdaemun (East Gate) mixed up; Namdaemun is within walking distance. Namdaemun used to be the clothing market but Dongdaemun may over took it (especially for youths).

Check this out, it lists near subway stations.

http://www.echosunhotel.com/General/...s/overview.asp

Chosun is a very nice hotel. For some rooms they have cell phones you can borrow for a fee and a wireless compaq.

Great choice! I've stayed at all Starwoods in Seoul (including the former 4 Points) and the Westin Chosun is definately in the heart of Seoul and is a great property.. Although I enjoyed the W, it is much too far from Seoul and has the feel of an overpriced "love motel"... Have had over 30 stays at the Chosun but left Korea a few months ago and miss it so much... have fun and do check out the executive lounges on the 9th and 17th floors. Amazing staff and service.

I stayed a couple days at Chosun last month. It's nice hotel and great location. But,

Their breakfast is superexpensive (Cafe Royale). About 6100 Won for two, ouch! (about $61). Yes, it's a buffet, but it's way overpriced!

Hi-speed internet is 22000 Won per day. Yike! I used AT&T dial-in, but surprised to get the bill for the call, 8400 Won for 73 minutes LOCAL call.

I was gold at that time, and was not allowed to use the lounge.

I'm really not impressed with the service that much. It's good, but not outstanding like I received in St. Regis in Shanghai.

BTW, make sure you visit MingYeongDong. It's a hip shopping area and it's alive at night.

I am staying at the W-Seoul right now and I must say it is an awesome hotel. I was upgraded to a "Media Room". Huge 42" Plasma TV, cool round bed, wonderful views. The only negative is that the location is far from the heart of Seoul.

J

I was very pleased I stayed there.

It was right in the middle of town, and a great spot as far as location for what I was doing (just beating around). I'm Platinum so I got a Business room (So sorry, no suites available) which had a PC, although I had my laptop. The Internet was free. I had access to the Executive Floor(s) which I think were 9 and 17 although I was on a different floor. The buffett was good enough to call it a meal and skip lunch (at least from my viewpoint), it wasn't a full buffett but had enough decent stuff that you could fill yourself up. At night they had a bunch of food that you could also eat (and free drinks) till 8pm. I ate that for dinner too, but I am not a food conniseur, I just eat because I'm hungry and with the drinks I was happy. :)

I'm not sure if Gold gets access to the Executive level, probably not, but you should try as it was an awful lot better than most Club/Executive levels I've seen although most of my comparisons are in the US, except for Asia (SIN, Westin BKK, and SGN).