Courtyard Seoul Times Square, South Korea [Master Thread]
 

http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/NEWKHSI...0909190043.asp

The first Courtyard by the Marriott brand in Korea will open at the center of Yeongdeungpo, western Seoul, on Monday.

The Courtyard by Marriott Seoul Times Square will be located in the middle of a shopping, entertainment and business site, standing 12 stories high.

Hotel officials said the building takes on contemporary design with intimate and modern luxurious style.

<snip>

This hotel is the 4th Marriott brand hotel in Seoul.

The other three are JW Marriott Seoul, Marriott Executive Apartment and Renaissance Seoul Hotel.

This article doesn't give a firm opening date, though this one gives the 21st Sept. as opening date.

Here's the hotels website in case anyone wants more info:

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/trave...-times-square/

Thanks for the heads-up! It will be nice to have another Marriott Hotels option in Seoul, and one that's close to a Korail station.

I'm anticipating a trip to Seoul next month... I'll post a report if I stay at this Courtyard.

In case you hadn't already noted the promo at the bottom of the Herald article, I'll highlight it again for all:

To celebrate its opening, Courtyard by Marriott Times Square offers a special room rate at 99,000 won for a deluxe room and 133,000 won for an executive deluxe room through Oct. 31. For more information or reservations, call (02) 2638-3000.

Enjoy Seoul. ^

It sounds like an international CY, one with an executive lounge.

very nice hotel, tho location not ideal
 

Stayed last weekend at a very good value introductory rate. Executive Lounge isnt open yet. Had these views:

Pros
Beautiful ambience - airy, light, nicely furnished
Charming and keen as mustard staff
Great breakfast - Western and Korean (if you're nervous about Korean restaurants you can sample many of the specialties at breakfast here, including barbequed beef and kimchi)
Entertainment area nearby (side street to left of Lotte approaching from hotel) - lively, good bars and restaurants and authenticaly Korean
Near subway - Yeoungdeungpo 2 mins; Yeoungdeungpo Market (for airports) 5-8 mins
In new up market mall so good for high end shopping
Very convenient for both airports - nearest geographically for cars, subway line from Gimpo (which has a fast link with ICN) comes through Yeoungdeung Market. 608 airport bus also stops nearby.

Cons
Location - some way from main tourist sites and business areas
Possibly noisy on road side, which is opposite fire station (didnt bother me but I was there at a holiday period)

Conclusion
Great hotel if the price is right and/or you want a more Korean experience by staying in a less touristed area

Seems like more pros than cons. Thanks for the update. ^

Yes, I really enjoyed it. However, the location is an issue when using the subway as you have to change at least once and/or do extended routes to get to some of the main sights. Unfortunately, it can be crowded and it is hot within the stations + they have many stairs so it gets a bit sweaty. However, many of the trains themselves are a/c.

forgot to mention the most striking feature of the rooms which is the transparent glass partition between bed area and toilet!! seen it before a few trendy designer hotels but not in a mainstream brand.

Anyone know what is the easiest way to get here from the ICN airport ?
Is there direct bus from the airport that drops you off at the Courtyard like JW Marriott ? Thanks.

I checked in to the Courtyard Marriott Seoul today. My first impressions are largely positive.

The hotel has thoroughly modern, high quality decor. Furnishings rival those of the JW Marriott across town, but with an airy, bright ambience (as carbonaddict noted previously) that is simple rather than showy.

My room on the executive floor is compact. I estimate it at about 250 sqft. It's smaller than I'm accustomed to among Asian Marriotts (outside of Japan), definitely smaller than I've had at the JW and Renaissance hotels here in Seoul. I'm staying by myself, so the size is tolerable. I can envision it feeling too small after a few days if my wife were here with me. If there were two beds and more than two people-- forget about it.

Back on the positive side, I was offered a genuinely interesting selection for my Platinum Amenity. I chose two bottles of beer and a plate with crackers, 3 flavors of cheese, and Korean beef jerky. What an excellent alternative to 250 MR points!

The location is interesting, in an active shopping district with an upscale mall attached and plenty of transit options nearby at Yeongdeungpo Station. Those wondering about the exact location may find this link useful:

http://www.timessquare.co.kr/en/front/sub_06.times

Since the whole Times Square development is so new, most taxi drivers have no idea where it is. You might need to ask for Yeongdeungpo ("Yeongdeungpo-yo ro gajuseyo" -- "Please take me to Yeongdeungpo Station") and navigate on foot using the map linked above. The hotel's 3 blocks from the station, around the corner from the Shinsegae Department Store.

Airport transit, I'm not sure about, as I didn't come here from the airport. Incheon Airport's website shows two bus routes that hit Yeongdeungpo Station, the 301 and the 6008:

http://www.airport.kr/airport/traffi...ist.iia?flag=E

I'll check on airport transit when I leave at the end of the week.

I'll also update this thread with my final impressions when week is out. I know it may be premature after just a few hours here, but I'm feeling really optimistic about this hotel already. So far, this Courtyard beats the pants off every FS Marriott in the USA I've stayed at.

Yes, there is a direct airport bus #6008 from ICN (8000 won, ~70 minutes) to Yeongdeungpo Station. Please make sure you get off at Yeongdeungpo Shinsegae stop (second to the last), NOT the final stop (Yeongdeungpo Station). For the return trip to ICN, please wait at the same drop off location at ShinSegae side as the bus does not come back with the same route. BTW, Airport bus 6008 also stops at Gimpo airport.

Before I stayed there last weekend, I could hardly find any information from the websites as the hotel was just open in Sept. Here is some additional info:

- Room and bed are quite good.
- As a gold member, I was upgraded to the executive level and offered free breakfast.
- The breakfast is just ok - a combination of Western and Asia style - better than what we see in FS US hotels but about sub-standard compared to the other Asia Marriott/Courtyard I stayed.
- Late check out, they offer up to 2pm, at least this is my case.
- Internet 1500 won per day.
- If you have not been there before, it can be a bit difficult to find. It is together with a shopping mall complex, rather than a stand alone build. But if you know the location (exact exit from the subway), it is actually quite fine.
- It is about 15 minute train ride from downtown Seoul.

I finished a week-long stay at the Seoul Courtyard. See my first impressions in post #10, above. My final impressions are:

* Beautiful new building with bright, open architecture and excellent quality materials.

* Standard rooms have luxury appointments and high-end baths. Room size is a bit small.

* Exec lounge has rooftop patio with great views. Lounge is closed on weekends, but free drinks and snacks are offered in the main restaurant.

* Breakfast buffet offers mixture of Korean and Western items.

* Western dinner items at the main restaurant were very good. Some menu items were much too expensive, though. Ex: approx 9000 Won for a bottle of Hite beer?!

* Staff are friendly and trained in their functions, though at 3 times I saw them start to fall apart when there were too many customers to help at the same time.

* Location is great for those with business in Yeouido, okay for downtown (closer than JW and Ren), fine for anything reachable by rail from Yeongdeungpo Station. Area is new right now, so be prepared to explain it to taxi drivers. Served by Limousine Bus #6008 to/from the airport.

* Currently a great deal for the price. I paid about $120/night all-in during a week when the Ren was around $200 and the JW was $250. I liked it better than the Ren and about as much as the JW -- though that's a bit like comparing apples and oranges.

I am seriously digging this hotel right now. I didn't have much expectations given the CY brand, but seeing as how it's only ~1 month old, I'm glad I ended up here. The rates were ~20% cheaper than JW or Ren.

If I didn't know any better, I'd think this was a true FS property like the JW or Ren, with concierge, room service, executive floors and lounge with a garden terrace overlooking Yeongdeungpo area. In fact the Marriott Executive Apts can be seen in the distance from the terrace.

Room is a reasonable size for a big-city property. Unlike the CY's back home, HSI is not free (15000 KRW daily). The only thing unusual about the room is the see-thru glass wall between the bathroom and bedroom (not for the modest).

The surrounding area definitely is not touristy, but it is attached to a huge shopping mall and department store that you walk through (or underneath) to get to the subway station (line 1), maybe 5min tops. Shopping mall closes @ 10pm, but some of the eating places open past this time due to the movie theater.

It is, however, closer to ICN than the other two FS properties. The front desk reserved an "International taxi" (65000 KRW flat rate I believe) for my early departure since the limousine buses don't run that early.

Will probably write more after my night's sleep and check-out.

Sounds like a nice addition to the Seoul hotel scene. However, it's not really a city that I'd go back to of my own free will ;)

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows CE; IEMobile 8.12; MSIEMobile 6.0) T-Mobile_Maple)

Even though a glass wall separates the bathroom from the bedroom, you can still pull down the blinds for privacy.