Canada101

I am currently staying at the Sheraton Seoul Palace Gangnam and wanted to offer the following observations.

Check-in
After approaching the front desk in the lobby, the friendly front desk associate welcomed me to the property and directed me to the Sheraton Lounge on the 12th floor where check-in would be completed. After asking me if I needed assistance with my luggage, she pointed me towards the bank of elevators. I can't imagine a friendlier or warmer welcome.

On the 12th floor, the front desk associate had obviously given the Sheraton Lounge team a heads up that I was about to arrive as my keys and registration information were waiting for me and welcomed me by name. After another warm welcome, I was briefed on the lounge services as well as the other amenities offered to Club level guests. I was upgraded to the Club level so stayed on the 12th floor.

The associates (all three present) again offered to assist with the luggage and I simply declined as I did not require a hand. All in all, the associates I met could not have been friendlier and provided me with the type of recognition as a Platinum Ambassador guests on par with my best experiences over the years so this appears to be quite an improvement from previous experiences. In fact, every associate I have encountered on this stay has been incredibly friendly.

Room

As mentioned earlier, I was upgraded to a Club level room which consisted of a queen bed and a single with a separate sitting area. The view was nothing particularly memorable but having visited Seoul before, I can't really say I remember many of the views from hotels on previous visits. The room featured very high ceilings, was very spacious and comfortable. The room appeared to be recently refreshed if not renovated with two flatscreen TVs, a work desk and plenty of electrical outlets and charging ports. It was most definitely a lovely upgrade. I haven't been successful in uploading photos of the room but will continue to try to do so.

Platinum amenity

At check-in, I was offered a choice of the points or a local amenity which was a USB memory stick. I was also invited to make use of the lounge where breakfast, daytime drinks and snacks and evening cocktails.

The evening cocktails included a very extensive buffet which could have easily substituted for dinner off-property. Among the items on offer were cheeses and cold cuts in addition to 4 hot buffet items which were a mix of Asian (dimsum) and Western choices, several types of kimchi, a soup, a Korean-style porridge and a noodle station featuring prepared to order ramyun and udon. Quite the spread.

Location

The Sheraton Seoul Palace Gangnam is very conveniently located across the street from the Express Bus Terminal where dozens of dining and shopping options can be found.

The large Shinshegae Department Store is also attached to the Express Bus Terminal. Three subway lines serve the terminal (lines 3, 7 & 9) allowing for convenient and easy access to the extensive Seoul subway network.

I just timed the walk from the front door of the property to the entrance to the Express Bus Terminal and it was under 4 and a half minutes including the wait for the signals at the crosswalks. I admit that I am a fast walker but it was by no means a run.

As mentioned by a previous poster, the KAL Limousine Bus stops right in front of the property and tickets are available from the front desk making the limousine bus a convenient option from Incheon Airport.

There is also a JW Marriott attached to the Express Bus Terminal which, I think, underscores the location as not being in the middle of nowhere. While not in the heart of the tourist sites of downtown Seoul, this area has shopping and dining options which make it convenient and access to Seoul's massive subway network is easy.

Summary

Overall, I was extremely impressed with the Sheraton Seoul Palace Gangnam and while I understand that the location isn't particularly convenient for the tourist hot spots in downtown Seoul, the area around the property is hardly isolated. The staff are exceedingly friendly and helpful and I would rank this property as one of the more impressive ones from a SPG status recognition perspective.

helvetic

Good to hear they've improved the service levels. I stayed at the end of November (Plat75 then, Plat100 now) and my experience was disastrous, with no upgrade to speak, no offer to check in at the club, a terrible room, very unfriendly service…

I also had an awful experience with the KAL Limousine bus, which took 2h and 30min to get to ICN. The driver was still doing dropoffs and spent the first hour of the drive going in circles around Gangnam stopping at every hotel. Thank god my flight was delayed an hour or I would've missed it… never again.

Canada101

Absolutely. The earlier posts gave me pause but I'm glad I ended up proceeding with the Sheraton Seoul Palace Gangnam as it's been an excellent stay so far.

jaejaez

My only worry with this property is how small the standard room looks on photos (the one with the bed sitting diagonally into the room) if I am unable to secure a meaningful upgrade.

Hopefully there's enough non-standard rooms available for plat upgrades. I don't really care for a suite but would not be happy in their standard base rooms... they do look awful (or maybe they're not as awful in real life?)

helvetic

They are awful, I can confirm.

In my case, my room was defective and had some device causing an incredible amount of noise. I had to take a video and argue with management showing video as evidence for them to give me a suite. The suite turned out quite nice… but the experience left a bad taste. (They originally refused to give me the unoccupied suite because it was not a standard suite…)

Canada101

Wow. I truly hope that things have turned for the better as I can't imagine having to go through such an awful experience. Checking out later today and I have to say that the stay has been flawless so hopefully it is an indication that the early, less than positive experiences were an aberration.

BRITINJAPAN3

Unfortunately I think you have been lucky, they obvioulsy do have a few nice rooms and the staff can be pleasant if you go on a good day. I will need a lot more convincing before I try them again

Canada101

I don't want to belabor the point about customer service but I just wanted to add one final anecdote about my experience at the Sheraton Seoul Palace Gangnam. As I was checking out and waiting for the KAL Limousine Bus for Incheon Airport, I stood outside at the bus stop at around 1:43PM as the posted departure time was 1:45PM. While I was waiting, a Sheraton associate came running out to let me know that they just received a call from the KAL Limousine bus that the bus was running about 15 minutes late and for me to return to the lobby to get out of the cold. He quickly grabbed my bag and carried it to the bell desk and asked me to remain seated as he would monitor the bus' arrival.

Sure enough, 15 minutes later, the bus was pulling up and the same associate escorted me to the bus and insisted on carrying my bag. He was accompanied, this time, by a Concierge who wanted to take my computer backpack (which I refused) but both escorted me and apologized for the bus' delay given the heavy traffic caused by the lunar New Year holiday (many schools apparently close earlier on the day before the lunar New Year's Eve to allow people to start making their way to their home towns to celebrate with their families).

I felt that this was worth mentioning as it was clear that the delay was not caused by the hotel but they still wanted to ensure that a guest was looked after until the very end. Since I checked-in/out at the Sheraton Club, I don't believe these associates would have even known that I was a Platinum or Ambassador guest so their efforts were directed simply at a guest who had just checked-out.

I shook both their hands and wanted to offer a tip but both were a little horrified as I reached for my wallet and took 2-3 steps back while bowing. As the bus driver was quite impatient given the delay in the schedule, I didn't insist and simply boarded.

As the bus pulled away, both associates bowed and waved goodbye.

Again -- I do hope that things have turned around from what others have experienced. For myself, I can only say that I will most definitely be back at the Sheraton Seoul Palace Gangnam on my next visit to Seoul.

helvetic

Keep in mind that tipping in east Asia (especially Japan but also Korea) is not necessary and in fact is considered quite rude.

Antonio8069

I agree and like many others I am surprised by # negative comments. The SPG lounge, in particular, is excellent. My last stay was in November and I am definitely returning.

For those who do not follow SPG Hot Escapes, they have posted some excellent last minute rates at>

http://www.spghotescapes.com/en/prop...d-Availability

jaejaez

Had two recent stays.

Service Level = Good to great.
Lounge = Great but gets way too crowded.
Rooms = Waaaaaaaay too small if allocated a standard room.
Location = Decent but not ideal (better than Sheraton D Cube though)

they do seem to be improving steadily. It also helps that the GM of the property is Brian Pak, the ex GM of the Westin Chosun Seoul.

BRITINJAPAN3

As always in Seoul location depends on where you need to be, for me mainly needing to be around City hall, location is ideal

jaejaez

The Seoul City Hall is about 200 meters behind the Westin Chosun Seoul. It is a 20+ subway ride away from the Sheraton Palace Gangnam.

BRITINJAPAN3

Its also 20 mins by train from D cube, but normally I go by car, its a lot longer from the palace. Chosun is best location for me but just cant justify the rates

IluvSQ

Just completing my first stay here. A few observations:

No upgrade given, other than to a club floor room. Room is oddly done - there is a 2
step stairway up to the bed on a hard wood floor. The mattress is sitting directly on
the floor rather than on a standard spring base. What they supposedly called a king bed
is actually a queen.

Bathroom is small, and water pressure in the shower is weak.

The lounge offerings are great. Evening happy hour is a full dinner, while breakfast in
the lounge is fairly standard for an Asian lounge. My only complaint is that on my
first morning here, I arrived for breakfast at 10:06 AM ( slept in after 29 hours of travel!)
and was refused entry even though some food items were still out ( staff were in the
process of removing food). I was allowed to get a coffee!

I am not very impressed with the property, although the location is slightly better for
me than the D-Cube. I would make this my third choice in Seoul, after the Chosun
and D-Cube, and would only return here if the rate was substantially lower than the
other two - at least 50-60,000 Won less.