Four Seasons Hotel Seoul

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…

This is our second visit to the Seoul 4S and we just adore it. The service is friendly and attentive without being overbearing. We always felt our needs were met in a timely manner. We are a family of three and the King family room is comfortable with plenty of space. We enjoy the hotel buffet breakfast and the wait staff is lovely! Eunsol, especially, makes our visits so special. She remembered us from our previous stay and greeted us with a smile every morning! She’s our favorite Seoul 4S staff member! We visited the Korean spa this visit and quite honestly, feel like new humans. This isn’t advertised much but WOW it’s an absolute MUST! The facilities were fantastic and I didn’t feel I was not valued by staff in favor of members like other reviewers. The location can’t be beat for getting around Seoul. We’ll be back!!

After visiting the Tokyo four seasons this was a disappointment. First the Conceirge doesn’t respond. 4 emails and 30 hours later and I’m left without reservations. The hotel has no presence about it. The lobby is equivalent of a nice marriot. The staff is kind but no upgrades even when your promised one. The rooms were outdated with had chipped furniture. The location is not ideal and I’d rather stay in Gangnam. The Korean spa was beautiful and thus the three stars but overall not a four seasons level hotel!

I was actually quite excited to stay at the Four Seasons Hotel Seoul. From pictures, and insight from stays that others have had, it seemed like it was going to be a no brainer, relaxing, and luxurious stay. Having stayed at the Otemachi Four Seasons in Tokyo just the night before, I had extremely high expectations they would at the very least, match their level of hospitality. What I experienced was instead great regret in my choice, especially as a first stay. The room I was in was very outdated in design, to the point it looked similar to the Lotte Hotel Executive Tower rooms, but those are far better in design and definitely not as outdated. I was told I was upgraded at check-in but honestly it looked like the deluxe king I was originally booked for, which was the first disappointment walking into my room. Check-in experience was otherwise lackluster and robotic, compared to the personable and hospitable experience at Otemachi, and while I was shown to my room in Otemachi, I was pointed to the elevators at the FS Seoul. Not a make or break..but definitely telling in levels of hospitality experience. Back to the room--other than being led to feel like I got an upgrade but didn't actually. They also forgot the welcome amenity, and said they didn't come in due to the DND sign, but when I asked about it again after requesting it be left in the rom while I was gone, they then went off ringing my room, while I had my DND on, and after I told them I was already in bed and would prefer they come back in the morning. They literally messaged and was like but we are already outside, if you just open the door we can give it to you--I'm literally in sleepwear and told them more than once I was not in a state to open the door just to retrieve this "welcome amenity." I ended up forgoing it as it seemed like such a bother to them to get it when I requested it, vs when it was convenient for them. I found the bed to be much smaller than any king I have ever stayed in--smaller than the King at Otemachi, and other luxury hotels in Seoul--it felt more like a queen sized bed at most. In the bathroom, the sink area had rust around all of the faucet and handles. Not something I would think the hotel would want guests to see during their stay? I have stayed at the Lotte Executive Tower and Park Hyatt Seoul and neither have had these issues either. Other notable differences were impossible spa bookings, and a lackluster concierge, that felt like they did not try at all. Even at the smallest requests, FS Otemachi went beyond what I asked for, even thinking ahead of myself at times, and close to instantaneous as if I had a personal concierge. They followed up without me asking, but the FS Seoul either seems like they take way too long to respond (hours at times even for a simple request or question), or they copy and pasted the same answers from a book, rather than give personalized responses. Again, other hotels made my experience much better proactively, and enjoyably, and this just felt like I had to beg for a luxurious experience. You could also tell there were definitely certain guests that got more attention based solely on their spend or looks, rather than equal respect and hospitality across guests. The best thing about this hotel is probably their gym, which is impeccable with any equipment imaginable, though there seemed to be an excess of personal trainers, so timing is important when going. My worth experience was with the spa. Due to internal miscommunications, they mixed up my requested service, with the only recourse basically being come back in a few hours and we can squeeze you back in. Even after bending for them and having to have changed my entire day to complete my half complete service, the service at the end was regrettable as I left worse than if I never started the service. At that point, it was the last impression I had of the hotel and I assure you that it would be much more worth it to get an experience at other luxury hotels in Seoul, and especially one that is actually worth what you're spending. A first impression that definitely has left me not wanting to ever come back.