Four Seasons Hotel Seoul

Flawless in absolutely every sense. The hotel itself is a gorgeous design, impeccably clean, and very comfortable. The gym is the largest/best in a hotel l've ever seen, the pool is perfectly maintained, and sauna was just excellent. The room design is beautiful and I think perhaps the most comfortable hotel bed I've ever slept in. The blackout curtains do their job perfectly (had absolutely no idea what time of day it was when I awoke). For dining, the breakfast was among the most impressive of any hotel I've seen. Not only the sheer variety, but quality of every item was amazing. Maru, the cafe, has a wonderful wine list and the burger was delicious. Even it every single one of the remarks above wasn't true, it would still be a 11/10 stay due to the service. I feel confident that any single member of the staff could successfully run their own hotel based on the level of excellence I experienced. The coordination among staff to have bags seamlessly taken from room to storage to taxi saved valuable time, effort, and energy during a short trip. No request is met with "I'm not sure" or "this is the wrong department", but "yes of course" to the point that it feels the entire staff is working the same job: to ensure the guest has a perfect stay. They succeeded.

There may be other hotels with equally top-notch rooms, but where the Four Seasons really excels is the level of service provided to each esteemed guest. We stayed here for multiple nights and were very “needy” guests, yet were made to feel like no request was too annoying or too frequent. Everyone is incredibly professional, kind, and goes above and beyond. It’s a level of service that you just don’t see anywhere in the US, to be frank, and is exceptional even by Korean standards. The spa is excellent. The one area of improvement would be the breakfast buffet in the Market restaurant. While acceptably tasty, the variety of food on offer barely changes from day to day and becomes somewhat tedious. Of course, the service in the restaurant is worthy of the Four Seasons brand :) Another thing to bear in mind is that the location in Gwangwhamun, while convenient to many tourist sites, may also mean you could be snarled in traffic during protests. This did not outweigh the benefits of staying at the hotel, in our view.

If I could award this stay six stars, I would. While I typically wait until the conclusion of a trip to post reviews, the caliber of service here compelled me to share my experience immediately. I would like to specifically commend Jake for his exemplary service. Beyond delivering my luggage, he took the time to engage in a genuine, welcoming conversation that truly made me feel at home. He further went above and beyond by arranging a complimentary transfer to Myeongdong for my shopping. Jake is a phenomenal asset to your team and deserves high recognition. The front desk team has also been incredibly accommodating, granting me both an early check-in and a late 2:00 PM check-out to align with my flight schedule. Most impressively, the level of personalized attention is unlike anything I have encountered. Upon my arrival, the staff greeted me by name before I had even reached the desk—having noted it from my vehicle as I pulled up. This level of attentiveness and coordination is world-class. Bravo to the entire team; I am currently awaiting room service and have no doubt it will be as exceptional as the rest of my stay.

The city view executive suite we were allocated was well maintained and spacious. The breakfast spread in the Market Kitchen as well as canapés in the lounge were the highlights of our stay, although the quality of the coffee at breakfast was inconsistent. Several eating places as well as the subway within 5-10:minutes walk.

The hotel is great, but not quite exceptional. A lot of that has to do with the size of the hotel (almost 400 rooms), meaning it does not feel intimate or private and staff are not able to provide personalized service or remember names etc. The lobby was always crowded, and felt like a large average 5-star Marriott lobby. (Having visited the lobbies at Josun Palace and Signiel, they executed this much better). FS lobby was clean and stylish, but people lining up to the desk and waiting their turns etc. In my opinion the best hotels have tony and cozy lobbies, where you rarely see anyone and tye doormen learn your names quickly, this was not the case here. That being said, the staff and service was always excellent when we faced the staff in any situation. The location of the hotel in Seoul in more important than one might think. I often neglect the location when bookign hotels, as I assume the best hotel in the city is usually located in the best address. However, in Seoul it really depends on what are you looking for. For us, the location was not optimal, as we found ourselves taking a taxi to the other side of the river almost everytime we left the hotel. And in Seoul that is 40 minutes even with out rush hour, and 1 hour when there is traffic. FS location is good for a few attractions, but if fine dining or shopping is your thing, stay at Signiel (on top of the best luxury mall), or Josun Palace or Park Hyatt, those are all on the other side of the river. If the palaces are your thing, stay at the FS. The hotel is modern and stylish, it is not ultra-modern like Josun Palace or Signiel, but definitely not in a bad shape at all. It kinda gives a higher end American Four Seasons / Ritc Carlton vibe. The breakfast buffet in enormous, it has everything. Maybe 65% of it is Asian food, but it has everything westerns would want too, perhaps smoothies and berries were the only missing items. During the holiday season it was very crowded, and people had to wait in line for tables, but during work days it is more quiet. The staff there was very hard working and always had a smile on their face. The room was large (palace view suite). It included club lounge access, which is worth it. They have dining available from 3-8 pm, and definitely enough to skip restaurants in the afternoon / evenings if wanted. The staff there was the only ones, who were able to provide personalized service. I am very grateful for them, they did always a great job! It was a pleasure spending time and dinign there twice a day. For breakfast I would recommend the main restaurant, it is quite restricted here. The bed was excellent as always at FS. The free garmet pressing delivered 8 pieces of clothing in 6 hours, thats remarkable (during my sleep). They also provide stylish and quiet air purifiers in the room, which was great. I must also mention the excellent and rapid assistance they offer via the chat in their app, they managed all the questions and restaurant booking quickly and perfectly. 10/10 for that! The spa was quite disappointing. A nice relaxing, quiet and intimate spa area is always important for us in city-hotels. However, their spa felt more like a public swimming hall, or a 4-star hotel pool. It lacked any type of design, making it look cheap and commercial. It was as bright as it is outside, and the loungers were quite basic. The pool was also very crowded during holiday season. During work days in was less crowded. The large warm jacuzzi was nice, and if you close your eyes, you can enjoy it for sure, but do not expect a luxury spa experience. We booked a suite to have the Korean spa included to our rate, as I was told by the staff, only guests staying in suites could access it (later on site the staff told anyone can access it for 70 000 krw, which is a lot less than the standard difference in the rate for a suite at + 600 000 krw per night extra). The Korean sauna / spa was more quiet, but the weird thing was that they require you to be naked everywhere, in the pools and jacuzzis too, not just the sauna. That was quite surprising. We ended up only using the Korean sauna / spa once… The gym was literally the best hotel gym I have ever been to. It had everything, looked modern and stylish and all the equipment were new and high quality. It was better than most commercial gyms. They also have some restaurants on site, of which the Market Kitchen was excellent. They have a massive korean / international buffet every night. I would recommend trying it out. All in all, I can recommend the hotel, but I would personally stay at Signiel next time for the smaller size and better location for shopping and dining. However, that might not be the better option for everyone…