Four Seasons Hotel Seoul

It's hard for me to write a review on a Four Seasons hotel as my stay is always filled with a high level of customer service, a lovely room, and a comfortable bed with posh surroundings. This hotel was no different! Maybe the lobby isn't as lovely as other hotels, and the entrance way is quite crowded, but we loved our stay. Each night when we returned to our room there was a special touch left by housekeeping. One time there was bookmark left on my book. Another time they had taken my charging cord and wrapped it in a coil and securely tied it. I appreciate the little things that make the Four Seasons a notch above the rest.

I am fond of Four Seasons hotels and pick the brand out of preference. However, my affection is waning after various uninspiring stays - unfortunately Seoul was another. Start with the positives. 3 things that I love about the brand are fully present: - excellent staff - very comfortable bed - the best gyms/pools for training (25m pool and massive well equipped gym) The location is also excellent for a general visit to Seoul - a spread out city. However, some things are off: - there is no wow factor. The entrance portico is very small and dominated by the ramp of their car park. You fell like you're being dropped off in a multi story carpark, not at a luxury hotel - the lobby doesn't have a sense of space or particularly attractive design. It's all 'chopped up'. - the rooms are extremely bland with no interesting colours/textures/features/sense of place. My room was also badly wired for lighting. The switches operated reading lights on the wrong sides of the bed. Really annoying when you're alone and need to get out of bed, stumble in the dark, to turn off the light. How can that not have been fixed in a 10 year old hotel? - perhaps the worst issue is the F&B outlets. They belong in a Marriott - not a 4S. The hotel actually has 'International Show Stopper Buffet - Prime Rib' stenciled in foot high letters on the street level windows. Ugh! The first floor bar was overlit with weird theming - and zero customers at 7.30pm on a work night. - breakfast is pretty grim. The restaurant is in the basement without windows, and has (I don't say this unfairly) an office cafeteria ambience. It is 100% buffet. The maximum 'a la carte' is an omelette station. Hyatt/Sheraton standard. Absolutely not appropriate for a large Asian Four Seasons. Just the international staples of shakshuka, eggs benedict, avocado toast, fresh juices etc etc are completely absent. Finally, I have an errant $150 entry on my credit card which wasn't on my. bill. So I now have to sort that out. I also had $100 credit on my room rate which miraculously lost 10% in the hotel's translation to Won. So there's some sharpish practice here too. I wouldn't choose to return.

호캉스로 방문한 장소인데 역시 유명한 5성급 호텔은 다르다는 생각을 했던 것 같아요. 제 돈으로 간 것이 아니어서 가격 생각을 조금 덜 했지만 가격을 듣고 이 가격이라면 이정도 서비스는 줘야 하겠다는 생각도 했어요.. ㅋㅋㅋ 금전적으로 여유가 있으시다면 최고의 호캉스 장소가 될 것 같아요! 평소에는 가기 어려워도 호캉스를 하려고 특별한 날 방문한다면 가치가 있을 것 같아요!

What a lovely 3 night stay we had. The room was beautifully appointed. Great view. All sorts of bells and whistles. Turn down service. Clean, impeccable rooms. Service is extremely professional and attentive. Lobby area, onsite restaurants and various ding venues are superb.

Modern and cosy rooms with good city views. Easy walking distance to Gyeongbukgong and subway. The executive lounge was never crowded and the evening canapés were fantastic. Friendly and helpful lounge staff (especially Ria). Breakfast buffet at Market Kitchen was good (fantastic barista) . Do not miss the in-house Michelin starred Akira Back.