5-Star Hotels in Seoul

This hotel's location was amazing. It was connected to the subway. Next to lotte world. Exceptional service. We stayed hotel twice and definitely coming back next time when we visit here. My 8 years old daughter loved the view from the 97th floor. Best shopping spot, aquarium, observation tower , kids Cafe, movie theater, tons of restaurants and cafes . All in one place. Truly amazing.

I had a wonderful stay at this hotel. The room was exceptionally spacious, clean, and comfortable, with a beautiful view that made the stay even more enjoyable. The staff provided excellent service throughout, always being friendly, attentive, and helpful. One of the highlights was the smart home system in the room, which made controlling the lights and other features very convenient. The in-room water dispenser was a great touch, allowing easy access to filtered drinking water without the need for bottled water. Having a washer and dryer in the room was also incredibly useful, especially for longer stays.

This was my sixth time returning to the Le Méridien Seoul Myeongdong. As a loyal guest, the service here consistently maintains exceptionally high standards, never once disappointing us. The hotel's location is superb, right in the heart of Myeongdong, within walking distance of two major department stores and subway lines 2 and 4. The airport bus goes directly to the hotel, making it incredibly convenient for travelers. My favorite heated pool facilities are still outstanding; the comfortable environment allows me to relax every single time. What surprised us most during this stay was the Club Lounge service. The quality of the food and beverages offered in the lounge was very high. The all-day selection of food and drinks was exquisite and delicious, especially the breakfast, which was truly excellent. The front desk staff were professional and enthusiastic. From pre-arrival email communication to all arrangements during our stay, everything was handled impeccably. The housekeeping team also did a very detailed job with cleaning. The room had ample water pressure and comfortable air conditioning, ensuring a high-quality sleep. Every time we return, we feel right at home. Whether it's the convenience, the facilities, or the staff's genuine and friendly hospitality, this hotel remains our only choice in Seoul. We will absolutely choose Le Méridien again on our next trip to Seoul!

The hotel employee was very thoughtful and provided us with free room upgrade and a slice of cake because of our wedding anniversary. That was very considerate and nice gesture. Also warm water in the pool was a big bonus. However, there are few things I would like to point out which are important for us as a family traveling with a kid: 1) children are not allowed to play screen golf. That was upsetting since we never had such issue at other hotels. Also you need to reserve time slot first, which doesn’t work for people who came to Seoul for tourism or leisure purposes. 2) children are only allowed to enter pool until 17:00. That’s extremely strange since many people check in after 15:00 and there would be no time to swim at all in that case. Also people mainly prefer to do shopping and sightseeing and relax at pool when they return in the evening. So this restriction is very strange for us. In that case hotel needs to either notify the guests during reservation or turn it into “adults only” hotel. 3) hotel has a very strict check in check out rules: 15:00 check in and 11:00 check out, not 30 min later/earlier; while standard international check in is 14:00 and check out 12:00. Usually hotels especially 5 stars hotels are very flexible and let guests check in 1-2h earlier if the guests already arrived and would allow them check out 30min-1h later without any issue. 4) Gym and pool close at 21:30. That’s very early compare to other hotels, where facilities usually work until 23:00 and sometimes even 24h. 5) Gym, sauna and pool are not exclusive to the hotel guests only. Anybody with paid membership can enter, which makes it crowded and inconvenient for hotel guests, especially on holidays and weekends. Also you need to take 2 different lifts and walk by the bridge to get there (basically it’s not the same building as hotel) I would say it’s not a 5 star hotel, but more like a premium residence, that is suitable for a long term stay without children.

Everything else was top-notch and, in many ways, exceeded our experiences at other Four Seasons properties. However, one aspect we found disappointing was the strict minimum spending requirement per guest. We were traveling with children, yet regardless of their age, we were required to meet a minimum spend of approximately $150 per person to be seated at both the terrace restaurant and the Japanese restaurant. Even at the Italian restaurant, we felt pressured to order both appetizers and main courses for the children. While the food and service were excellent, these policies made dining with a family feel less welcoming and detracted from an otherwise outstanding stay.

This is a decent hotel, right next to Shinsegae Department Store, and directly outside Exit 7 of Hoehyeon Subway Station. There's a large ramp leading up to the lobby on the first floor, but you have to go to the seventh floor to check in. It seems like there's a police station building nearby with an escalator that takes you right to the lobby entrance. The hotel gave me a room on a higher floor, the 25th floor, which I believe is the top floor for guest rooms, but it was a corner room. The room layout was a bit odd; the room itself wasn't very big, with not much space beyond the bed, but the bathroom was exceptionally large, almost the same size as the room. There was a connecting door to the adjacent room, which was a suite. From the layout, this room seemed designed as a maid's room for the adjoining suite. When I complained about the corner room to the front desk, I was told that all rooms of this type are corner rooms, likely due to the design. Those who dislike corner rooms should consider this carefully. The mattress in the room was exceptionally high. Before arriving, I had requested a baby crib, but the hotel didn't reserve one for me that day and instead provided a rail. This rail was hard to describe – it made little difference from having nothing at all. There's a tablet by the bed that controls the mattress and air conditioning. You can directly order bath towels, water, ice, etc., and even send text requests to the front desk. The hotel appears to be a recommended hotel by LV. Upon check-in, I received an invitation to the LV exhibition, where you could get an LV canvas bag at the Shinsegae LV exhibition across the street. Overall, the hotel is quite good, with medium value for money.

This hotel is great if you're planning to visit Yeouido, but it's really, really far from everything else. Seoul traffic is a nightmare, so you'll waste a lot of time and money on taxis getting around. The hotel itself feels a bit dated compared to other Fairmonts I've stayed at in different cities – it's just very average. The design isn't particularly attractive either. What's more, five-star hotels usually have flexible cancellation policies, but they wouldn't even let me change my reservation to a different weekend, which is quite unusual for a hotel of this caliber.

I booked the Timber Room. The location was fantastic, especially being in the Gangbuk area. While the parking lot was spacious, the corners on the ramps going up and down were extremely narrow, requiring careful navigation. The 'mountain view' wasn't really visible from our room; I kept the curtains drawn because it felt like people right next door could easily see inside, which was a bit disappointing. The swimming pool was decent, and all the staff members were very friendly. Although I didn't try breakfast, it's known to be excellent, so I plan to have it on my next visit. The TV in the living room wasn't working for some reason. I was too lazy to try and fix it, so I just ate without it. It was a shame there was no table, and the sofa felt quite old, which was also a minor drawback. Despite these minor issues, there was absolutely no noise from upstairs, downstairs, or neighboring rooms. Opening the living room window let in lovely bird sounds, making it feel very nature-friendly.

On this trip to Seoul, I chose the Novotel, and it was a great decision! The location is fantastic, just a few minutes' walk from the subway station, making it super convenient to get to Sinsa and Apgujeong for shopping. The room was spotless and very comfortable. The gym and sauna were a nice bonus; after a long day of exploring, a good soak was incredibly relaxing. The breakfast had a wide variety of options, and I was very satisfied with it. Plus, they have robots that deliver items, which is a really cool and convenient touch. Overall, the experience was consistently excellent. Whether you're in Gangnam for leisure or business, staying here will make your trip very easy and comfortable. Just a heads-up: check-in is at 3 PM, so plan your arrival accordingly.

Not a bad hotel. The most convenient thing about it is the 24-hour CU (convenience store), whose staff are always friendly and polite. Now I have to mention the downsides, which, to be honest, I wasn’t prepared for at all. The first and main drawback is that I was supposed to get an Executive class room. However, instead, I stayed in a Deluxe class room. Let me clarify right away: I had previously stayed at the Swiss Grand Hotel under the Play&Stay package, which means I didn’t know what room category I would be given until the very end. To make things easier for me and avoid having to check out and check back in, they gave me one standard room for the entire stay. You can imagine my surprise when I found out that my new friend, who also checked in under Play&Stay for the same dates as me, was given an Executive class room – even though she checked in later. So basically, I could have been staying in better conditions. When I received my voucher from Trip.com and saw that it listed a room like my friend’s – nothing like what I actually got – I went to the front desk. The administrator just smiled and shrugged. All he said was, 'You agreed to stay in that room.' Yes, I agreed, but no one told me about any alternatives at check-in… And the situation was NOT resolved at all. That said, I can’t say the conditions in the Deluxe Room were bad (otherwise I wouldn’t have let it slide). It was quite cozy, spacious, and overall pleasant to stay in. That said, one day, the person in charge of housekeeping apparently decided I didn’t need to take a shower, so they removed the shower gel container for a whole day (luckily, I had brought travel-sized ones with me, even though I had hoped I wouldn’t need them). Other than that, everything was fine, and even that somewhat questionable attitude from the staff didn’t ruin my vacation.