Grand Ambassador Seoul

Stayed four rather rainy nights at the Ambassador after almost two decades of not visiting the country. The property sits in a relatively quiet neighborhood with no nearby (adjacent) malls. In fact, the nearest convenience store (it’s a CU) is maybe 100 or so meters away through the “back door” heading to the multi-story car park. Just turn right and head downhill. The nearest subway is around a five minute walk (also downhill) on the main entrance side. We arrived around noon and with check-in only at 2 pm, we grabbed lunch in the hotel as we didn’t see anything nearby. There’s also a bar just across the main road called “Bar Soon”. A bunch of us had a very enjoyable night cap as the hotel lounge was already closed when we got back the first night. We had a deluxe room on the 14th floor. Good sized and with very decent wifi. There’s the usual fridge, kettle and coffee machine. Those used to instant coffee should bring your own. The bathroom had a bathtub and shower area. The shower head is placed quite high though and not really adjustable. The heated toilet seat is an engineering marvel that not only has a bidet function but also warm air for drying purposes. Due to environmental reasons, toiletries are no longer provided though there’s the usual liquid soap and shampoo and body lotion etc. For a donation, one can still get shavers and toothbrushes at the reception area. We had a very comfortable bed with easy controls by the bedside. We really like that the room is brightly lit enough when all the lights are on instead of dim rooms in some hotels. The curtains are also controlled by the bedside console. There are multi-power socket and USB slots for international travelers and thus no need for adapters. There’s even a wireless charger on one side. All-in-all, a pleasant hotel with everything one needs and staffed by very well trained and courteous employees. However, those coming to shop might want to find somewhere a little more conveniently located? If needing to call for a ride, we preferred the K-ride app rather than Uber. Just seems a little easier to use and less confusing when selecting pick-up points. Do note there are two properties with the words “Pullman”, “Seoul”, “Ambassador”. Very easy to pick the wrong property as found out by several of our friends.

My partner and I stayed here for a week, and I’ll be honest — I really wanted to love this place. I had high hopes, and I don’t think everything was bad by any means. The staff were kind, the hotel has clearly gone through a remodel, and there were moments where I could see why it positions itself as a five-star property. But overall, I came away underwhelmed, and I want to share a balanced view for anyone considering staying here. The Positives: • The staff were genuinely kind and pleasant. When I raised concerns about our first room, they quickly moved us to a cleaner one the next day, which I really appreciated. • The hotel has had a remodel, and the rooms themselves look fairly stylish once you’re settled in. • Facilities overall seemed reasonably well maintained. The Negatives: • Cleanliness: The first room we checked into just wasn’t acceptable for a five-star hotel. The couch and lampshades had stains, there was a brown mark on the curtains, and even toilet paper stuffed into a ceiling light fixture. Not the kind of welcome I expected. • Air Conditioning: This was a major issue for us. Even though the thermostat let us set the temp down to 18°C, the room rarely went below 22°C all week (occasionally 21.5°C at best). Sleeping in a warm room night after night was uncomfortable, and my partner especially had trouble getting rest. • Service: While staff were kind, the service level wasn’t consistently five-star. Elevators were slow, requests to the front desk sometimes came back only half-completed, and deliveries to the room often took longer than expected. No one helped with our bags on arrival either — not a dealbreaker, but something I’d expect at this tier. • Ambiance: Even post-remodel, the hotel still feels old. The ceilings are low, the lighting is dark, and the overall vibe leans heavy and dated. Personally, we prefer bright, modern hotels with clean lines and open spaces — so this just wasn’t our style. • Location: The listing says Myeongdong, but it’s really on the outskirts in a quieter university area. It’s not terrible, but it felt pretty dead at times and lacked the energy of central Myeongdong or areas like Gangnam. Depending on what you’re looking for, this might be fine, but for us it wasn’t ideal. Overall: I don’t want this to sound like I hated the stay — I didn’t. There were positives, and I appreciated the staff who tried to help. But for the price and the five-star label, the combination of cleanliness issues, AC problems, inconsistent service, and the dated feel just didn’t add up for me. It wasn’t a terrible experience, but it also wasn’t the kind of polished, seamless stay I’d expect from a true five-star property.

Staffs are great. Facilities are clean. Location is not bad. Great for relaxation. I will definitely recommend this hotel.

The hotel itself is nice, but the staff are so indifferent that it spoilt my stay. I booked a room as a Accor Platinum member in one of the executive rooms, so after a long flight I checked in at the executive lounge level. The check in took 30 minutes - not because there was a queue, but because no one seemed to know what to do. Was I offered a glass of water from the lounge while I waited? No. The lounge was right there, but absolutely no offer of a refreshment. I wanted to pay for the hotel with my Accor points. The check in staff generated a code sent to my email to authorise this, but the code didn't work so he asked to see it. He took my phone off my hands (I assumed he wanted to read it more clearly) and without my permission, generated 5 more authorisation codes and scrolled through my emails and texts to access the codes. Lots of discussion with his manager, and it finally worked. There was a small £16 balance to pay and again, we had multiple attempts to charge my mastercard. I offered using a different card, he said no. I offered to use Apple Pay, and he said their system doesn't accept it - which was a lie because I paid with Apple Pay two days later (see below). Not a good start. On my last day, I went to the lounge for breakfast, and was halfway eating my breakfast when I was asked to follow a staff member to the desk. I was then told I hadn't fully paid for my stay. Because of the language barrier, I thought she said my initial charge hadn't gone through so tried calling my bank who said it did. It finally transpired that her colleague had charged me KRW1000 (USD0.70) short and she wanted payment. I really lost my rag then - through the hotel's own fault, they interrupted my breakfast to go to the reception to pay a measly KRW1000!!! This is not the treatement I expect from the hotel for a platinum guest staying in their executive room. Just seems like the staff are given a set of rules and they don't care as long as they enforce it. I went to check out the gym to see what equipment they have, and a member of staff kicked me out saying that I needed gym clothes and shoes to use the gym. It should have been clear to anyone that I had no intention of using the gym (I just got off the plane and was dressed in long trousers and a shirt) but he treated me like a naughty school boy who tried to sneak into the girl's toilet.

This hotel is hopeless from start to finish. The check in experience was horrific. Complaints go unanswered. The staff are not friendly and are unhelpful. The rooms are excellent however. I do not believe staff should necessarily be criticised for a lack of English when I haven’t learned Korean but this is a 5 star international hotel and you cannot make ourselves understood. For example the staff pretend to not understood the word “latte” when their word is the same and all the coffee machines have it on! The air conditioning is pathetic. It stops when you leave the room and then takes ages to cool the room down. Forget it if you want it cooler than 22 degrees. It’s dreadful.