THE PLAZA Seoul, Autograph Collection

I’ve always thought a concierge’s main role is to assist guests and help them feel at home. However, this morning when I asked for help arranging a courier, I was surprised to be told there would be a concierge fee and that amount to 75% of the courier cost. When I suggested I might handle it myself, I was met with a dry, “But you don’t speak Korean.” I found this response quite unwelcoming. arranging a courier is no more complex than booking a restaurant, a service most hotels provide without extra charge. In an age when essentials like WiFi are free, it’s surprising to see such high fees for basic assistance. If a charge is necessary, it should be communicated with more hospitality and less judgment. Hospitality should make guests feel supported, not penalized for needing help or not speaking the local language.

The customer service in this hotel is phenomenal. The club lounge is one of the best I’ve been in and to a staff member. Everyone is friendly, helpful, and tries to meet your expectations. The hotel is also beautiful clean most everyone speaks English.

Great location, view from room is wonderful. Easy access to underground mall and public transportation. Would have liked an easier place for lunch/bar. The lounge is good, but a more bar-like environment would be nice. Laundry is expensive. Room service is reasonable and quick.

Great location for walking to the Night Market, and the nearby streets with local restaurants. We were able to catch reasonably priced cabs to take us all over Seoul, and they brought us swiftly back to the Plaza with no problems. (We took Airport Limousine #6701 in from the airport.It drops you right in front of the hotel, for only $13 a person.) There are plenty of coffee shops nearby - and it's easy to snag breakfast and coffee within a few blocks. (So many coffee shops..) We are Marriott members and were able to access the lounge for breakfast and afternoon snacks, and evening drinks. The selection at breakfast was fine, plenty of variety and a Nespresso machine. We were disappointed that there were no beers or wine available in the late afternoon, but it is what it is. We did not use the hotel restaurants - there were too many options outside the hotel! (The Pearl, Dublin Brewery, the Night Market, Korean Barbeque, etc.) Anyway, our adult daughter was in the regular double room, and we had a one-bedroom suite. The suite was great - lots of room, king-size bed, electronic controls for drapes, lights, air-cond, etc. The bathroom was large and clean and had both a shower and a tub - a very nice room. The double room however was just over-the-top funky; a bed plopped in the middle of the room facing the windows, huge Pixar-style lamps, large mirrors on opposing walls.. not very soothing or relaxing. More like - "Hey! Isn't this cool?" Yeah, sorta. Anyway, the hotel is quite nice, the location is convenient, the beds are comfortable, and the staff is polite. The servers in the lounge are extremely helpful and the cleaning service is quick and efficient. If you stay here, it may be worth it to pay extra $ for a suite, but.. we didn't spend much time in our room. Seoul is a marvelous, huge, fun City and we enjoyed our stay very much.

The Plaza Seoul made my stay in Seoul a wonderful experience. The quality of their service was one of the best I've ever experienced and it started the minute I walked into the hotel. I was greeted right away and they knew who I was as I had told them my expected check-in time. As a Marriott Bonvoy platinum member, I was escorted up to the 5th floor to their concierge lounge instead of checking in at the standard lobby front desk counter. This was nice as I got to sit and relax while going through the check-in process while the staff member who initially greeted us took our luggage to our room. I had booked the standard room but didn't get upgraded to a suite as a platinum member. And I was fine with that. I did get a room a high floor with a great view of city hall. Some have stated the rooms are small but I found it acceptable. I think maybe the large size of the bed does make the room feel smaller but it wasn't an issue for us. There's a lot of automation built into the hotel, some which I didn't care for. For example, the room requires you insert your room key in the wall slot to turn on the lights. That's fine but that also activated the window curtains to retract open. And then when you leave and take out the card, the curtains automatically closed. Wasn't a big fan of this as I would've preferred to have the curtains remain open the entire time but maybe there's some energy saving benefit with the curtains drawn during the day. There's also a curtain that covers the glass wall of the shower. When you try retracting that one, it engages a motor that automatically retracts it the rest of the way. A neat feature but not necessary. Even the toilet was automated as it flushed 6 seconds after you finished. I did like how all the curtains and temperature control could be handled via the phone console next to the bed but it would have been nice to have electrical outlets and/or USB ports on both sides of the bed instead of just one side. As a platinum member, I got lounge access and the quality there was the best. This wasn't some sad breakfast layout as we get in the US. The breakfast option included both Korean food and western food along with an omelette station and fresh fruit. We stopped by the lounge in the afternoon to grab a drink to refresh a few times and also returned in the evening for their after hours hor d'oeuvres which was really more of a dinner offering. That included alcohol. Food quality was excellent and the service top notch. Housekeeping was great too. For the evening turndown service they'd leave a little notecard stating what the weather was going to be the following day along with a couple Kopiko coffee candies. Check out process was simple and there's an airport limousine bus stop right in front of the hotel which adds to the hotel's appeal. The hotel is also connected to subway lines 1 and 2 underground so when you're out exploring Seoul and using public transit, you can exit the subway and go from the station to the hotel without needing to go above ground. There's also 2 different underground markets connected to the hotel. While Myeongdong where this hotel is located is considered very touristy, the location was super convenient and made for a great starting point to exploring Seoul. I would definitely stay here again.