Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas

All good/ People, Room and Byredo brand in the toilet. Location near my office. Near the restaurant and shopping mall. Public transportation also.

Family of 3 from Boston MA, stayed 3 nites. We are Hyatt Globalist and stayed in various Hyatt hotels, including Park Hyatt ( across the street). We wanted to try Intercontinental this trip. The location is absolutely convenient being physically connected to Coex and Hyundai Mall. The Park Hyatt even one street over is not, so you have to walk in the open to get to Coex. The room we got was a larger size at the end of 12 floor. Two beds. Despite all the people and activities, the room was super quiet. Intercontinental seems to cater to business travelers. One sign is at the breakfast meals there is little to few kids. Of our party of 3, only two gets free breakfast. We purchased the third. Another comparison with Park Hyatt is the main hotel entry driveway is large. So taxis and cars can freely come and stop. This makes a difference when several guests and outside waiting to cars to queue up. Second sign of business travelers catering: swimming pool is height restricted to 150cm. Which rules out most young children. On the flip side , it becomes quiet and clean. The easy access to coex and shops at the basement level is the crown jewel of this hotel.

This is a really good hotel. World class lounge on the 34th floor. Everything was great. Almost..... I ordered room service coffee at 4am. 2 pots, and a generous amount of cream and sugar. Up comes room service and...no coffee. He comes into my room and points at the in room coffee maker. I then write down my request and give it to him and away he goes. 5 minutes later up comes a new waiter with cream, sugar and...1 pot of coffee. He states that the 1 pot contains 2 pots of coffee. It doesn't. I send him away with instructions to bring up another pot of coffee. And on the 3rd try I get my request. Yay! But wow. Talk about lost in translation. My request must have had them really scratching their heads. Like who on earth would want 2 pots of coffee!

We are staying at this hotel right now for a 7-night family vacation and unfortunately, I would not recommend this hotel to anyone traveling with children or expecting high-touch service. This is one of the most underwhelming experiences we’ve had at a so-called “luxury” hotel. Major red flag for families: What shocked us most was the strict and frankly discriminatory pool policy—no one under 5 ft is allowed in the pool, regardless of age or behavior. We travel often and specifically book hotels with pools so our 10-year-old son can relax between activities. He’s well-behaved and responsible, and we’ve never encountered a policy like this anywhere in the world. Had we known, we would never have booked this hotel. It defeats the purpose of a family vacation when a major amenity is off-limits to your child. And this also seems pretty discriminatory against short people. Additionally, we booked the room for 2 adults and 1 child. At check-in, there was no cot or extra bed prepared, and we were told it would be USD $60 per night for a rollaway. This was especially surprising because we had booked a junior suite, and we assumed that a larger room category would come with either a pullout bed or that a cot would automatically be provided, especially since the reservation clearly listed three guests. While I understand there may be a cost for an extra bed, the lack of communication and planning was frustrating. Any hotel that sees a booking for three guests (one of whom is a child) should reasonably assume a separate bed is needed and address it during booking, or at least notify you in advance. Service and atmosphere: This hotel feels more like a convention center or Vegas-style property than a refined luxury hotel. It’s large, busy, and impersonal. The staff are polite but not warm or attentive, and you don’t feel taken care of in the way you’d expect from a high-end international property. In fact, many of the staff we interacted with were a bit curt and unaccommodating. I felt like they were doing the bare minimum rather than providing any thoughtful service. To add to that, when we checked in, there was no bellhop available to help with our luggage. The front desk agent couldn’t find anyone so we offered to take it up ourselves, like we were at some budget motel. That was not the experience I expected at a five-star hotel, and it really set the tone for the rest of our stay. Breakfast & facilities: The breakfast spread is expansive and well-curated, with both Western and Korean options, but again, the crowds make it a chore. Long waits, noisy dining room, and a sense of chaos. Definitely not a relaxing way to start the day. Room & design flaws: The room itself is modern and spacious. We appreciated the separation between the sleeping and living areas, and the desk setup was convenient for catching up on work. However, the raised floor lip between the bathroom and closet area is a design hazard. We stubbed toes or twisted ankles repeatedly. There’s no reason for a transition that dangerous in a hotel. Also worth noting: there are two tiny drawers in the closet, which was already filled with an iron and shoe polish. For a 7-day stay, this is incredibly inconvenient. We are living out of suitcases on the floor, which feels disorganized and chaotic. Honestly, it feels uncivilized, not something you’d expect at this price point. A proper luxury hotel should anticipate longer stays and provide adequate storage. Bottom line: If you’re looking for a calm, refined, and service-oriented hotel, this isn’t it. It’s impersonal, not family-friendly, and nickel-and-dimes you in ways that are unworthy of its price point and branding. We won’t be staying here again.

It was a grand hotel and wonderful experience. Comfortable room, bed & hot shower. Aircond was cooling. It has very warm hotel staffs that always ready to serve. Breakfast was amazing with delicious Korean food and fusion style too. Calling an uber was easy. If you wanted to travel with subway metro, it was also nearby which can easily guided with Naver map. Overall it was a pleasant stay for me.