Four Points by Sheraton Seoul, Guro — Hotel in Seoul

We hadn't planned to stay here, in fact we thought that we had booked the Four Points by Seoul Station but, through a combination of clicking quickly online and not paying attention, we ended up standing in the Reception of the Four Points by Seoul Station, trying to book in, when our booking had actually been made for Guro-gu -some 10 stops and a line change away on the metro!||||Our initial reaction was to ask if we could transfer our booking - the two hotels are, after all, members of the same organisation; but a particularly unhelpful / reticent member of staff forced us to come to the conclusion that we would have to bite the bullet, do the journey (four suitcases between us!) and head to Guro.||||This is perhaps the only 'con' of the hotel, getting to it in the first place. The Seoul metro is pretty good for providing elevators or escalators, we only came across two sections where we had to just take a deep breath and lug our suitcases up a flight of stairs, but we were lucky to be doing this on a relatively quiet Sunday afternoon; it is not something I would like to attempt on a busy weekday.||||That said, outside the hotel is a stop for the excellent Airport Limousine Bus service so, if you are coming to the hotel from the airport, this would be an option. At the moment, there is only a limited service but, as Covid restrictions ease, the timetable should expand to it's former regular service. It is also only about an hour's journey from the airport and, at the end of our visit, Reception staff called attaxi for us, which was a highly convenient way to travel and very reasonably priced.||||Oh what a difference, walking into the Four Points in Guro - the staff were friendly and so welcoming and, clearly seeing that we were completely drained from our journey, couldn't do enough to make check in quick and simple.||||Guro is a much less urban district, wide open streets, and the hotel opens onto the pavement, set back from the road, with a huge Reception area, a Dunkin' Donuts and a Starbucks to one side and part of the hotel building. An overall feeling of space and light, which we hadn't experienced in their sister hotel.||||We had a spacious room on the 12th floor, where we could watch the traffic and people below, but were not disturbed by any noise. A large, very comfortable bed, with a veritable mountain of pillows, a couple of armchairs and table by the window, desk and chair and wall-mounted TV above. Plenty of charging points for tech and the power points by the bedside were universal and also had USB points within them.||||The shelf for suitcases was welcome. There was also a good sized wardrobe and drawer space, ironing board and iron, room safe and fridge with complimentary water each day. The amenity tray had kettle, cups and glasses and a modest array of tea and coffee - there were also toothbrushes, shower cap, soap etc.||||Having a bath was a real boon, as we had been staying in an apartment for seven weeks with only a shower; and we both took the opportunity to have a good soak and then relax in the complimentary bathrobes and slippers. The bathrobes were a little snug - my other half struggled around the middle and with the length - a couple of towels each, with the bath towel passing the modesty test (I could open the door, wrapped in a towel and maintain my modesty).||||Masses of hot water and a fancy toilet seat which performed all sorts of functions!||||On a day to day basis, the location of the hotel was just ideal, a five minute walk to the metro and we could access anywhere in Seoul, yet coming back at the end of the day, the area was quieter, less rushed and felt more open than the city.||||We didn't eat within the hotel, breakfast seemed a little pricey, and there were plenty of places to eat within a 5 minute walk; there is a particularly good bakery with a stall within the metro station and a number of 'chain' bakeries en route to the metro, burger joints, ice cream parlours and traditional Korean restaurants. There is also a large EMart just up the road from the hotel, a couple of minutes, if that, where you can pick up snacks or sit down at the fried chicken outlet within the store.||||In the end, we were SO pleased that an inadvertent mouse click had brought us to the Four Points in Guro, because we were very happy with the hotel, the location, the facilities and the staff who, throughout our stay, were friendly, welcoming and professional. Their standard of English was really high (much higher than my Korean!) and they were very helpful in giving advice as to the best way to get to the airport and then making arrangements for us, even coming out to the taxi and helping load up our luggage.||||After a day in the city and travelling on the busy metro, it was something of a relief to return to the quieter suburbs of Guru and the space and light of the hotel. We would...

We hadn't planned to stay here, in fact we thought that we had booked the Four Points by Seoul Station but, through a combination of clicking quickly online and not paying attention, we ended up standing in the Reception of the Four Points by Seoul Station, trying to book in, when our booking had actually been made for Guro-gu -some 10 stops and a line change away on the metro!||||Our initial reaction was to ask if we could transfer our booking - the two hotels are, after all, members of the same organisation; but a particularly unhelpful / reticent member of staff forced us to come to the conclusion that we would have to bite the bullet, do the journey (four suitcases between us!) and head to Guro.||||This is perhaps the only 'con' of the hotel, getting to it in the first place. The Seoul metro is pretty good for providing elevators or escalators, we only came across two sections where we had to just take a deep breath and lug our suitcases up a flight of stairs, but we were lucky to be doing this on a relatively quiet Sunday afternoon; it is not something I would like to attempt on a busy weekday.||||That said, outside the hotel is a stop for the excellent Airport Limousine Bus service so, if you are coming to the hotel from the airport, this would be an option. At the moment, there is only a limited service but, as Covid restrictions ease, the timetable should expand to it's former regular service. It is also only about an hour's journey from the airport and, at the end of our visit, Reception staff called attaxi for us, which was a highly convenient way to travel and very reasonably priced.||||Oh what a difference, walking into the Four Points in Guro - the staff were friendly and so welcoming and, clearly seeing that we were completely drained from our journey, couldn't do enough to make check in quick and simple.||||Guro is a much less urban district, wide open streets, and the hotel opens onto the pavement, set back from the road, with a huge Reception area, a Dunkin' Donuts and a Starbucks to one side and part of the hotel building. An overall feeling of space and light, which we hadn't experienced in their sister hotel.||||We had a spacious room on the 12th floor, where we could watch the traffic and people below, but were not disturbed by any noise. A large, very comfortable bed, with a veritable mountain of pillows, a couple of armchairs and table by the window, desk and chair and wall-mounted TV above. Plenty of charging points for tech and the power points by the bedside were universal and also had USB points within them.||||The shelf for suitcases was welcome. There was also a good sized wardrobe and drawer space, ironing board and iron, room safe and fridge with complimentary water each day. The amenity tray had kettle, cups and glasses and a modest array of tea and coffee - there were also toothbrushes, shower cap, soap etc.||||Having a bath was a real boon, as we had been staying in an apartment for seven weeks with only a shower; and we both took the opportunity to have a good soak and then relax in the complimentary bathrobes and slippers. The bathrobes were a little snug - my other half struggled around the middle and with the length - a couple of towels each, with the bath towel passing the modesty test (I could open the door, wrapped in a towel and maintain my modesty).||||Masses of hot water and a fancy toilet seat which performed all sorts of functions!||||On a day to day basis, the location of the hotel was just ideal, a five minute walk to the metro and we could access anywhere in Seoul, yet coming back at the end of the day, the area was quieter, less rushed and felt more open than the city.||||We didn't eat within the hotel, breakfast seemed a little pricey, and there were plenty of places to eat within a 5 minute walk; there is a particularly good bakery with a stall within the metro station and a number of 'chain' bakeries en route to the metro, burger joints, ice cream parlours and traditional Korean restaurants. There is also a large EMart just up the road from the hotel, a couple of minutes, if that, where you can pick up snacks or sit down at the fried chicken outlet within the store.||||In the end, we were SO pleased that an inadvertent mouse click had brought us to the Four Points in Guro, because we were very happy with the hotel, the location, the facilities and the staff who, throughout our stay, were friendly, welcoming and professional. Their standard of English was really high (much higher than my Korean!) and they were very helpful in giving advice as to the best way to get to the airport and then making arrangements for us, even coming out to the taxi and helping load up our luggage.||||After a day in the city and travelling on the busy metro, it was something of a relief to return to the quieter suburbs of Guru and the space and light of the hotel. We would...

My wife and I were looking for a 2-night staycation in Seoul in August 2020, away from our home in Incheon. We chose this Four Points Sheraton Guro, in part because they were having a special deal for Bonvoy members (after discounts and shopping vouchers, about USD $60/night, after taxes); and in part because we were interested in spending a couple days touring nearby in Daelim's Chinatown. ||||This hotel used to be a Best Western. It is still in quite good shape, and is perfectly good as far as Four Points standards go. The hotel's underground parking is free for one car per room, which is great.  (These days, in Seoul, the cheaper Marriott-branded hotels all require a per-day parking fee.)||||The front desk staff is fast yet friendly. As platinum, I was upgraded from a Superior room to a Premium King room (city view). We went to the room and it smelled too smokey for us. We went back downstairs and the staff promptly put us in another room.||||The hotel itself is directly connected on the first floor to a Dunkin Donuts and a Starbucks, so it's very tourist-friendly already.  At the end of the block, there's a Burger King, and right across the street you can find a convenience store. There's also a very cheap Vietnamese noodle place just next to the parking entrance. For lunch after check-in we ate at the hotel's 2nd floor restaurant; it was tasty food but a tiny bit pricey (+15%?) for a 4p. ||||Within a 10-minute walk from the hotel, there's really nothing to talk about.  But a 15-minute walk away, there are a few malls grouped tightly together, a couple km away: W Mall Outlet, Mario Outlet, and Hyundai Outlet.  It is walkable.  During covid, these malls all close at 9pm, but it is possible to spend a full afternoon just walking around those.||||There is indeed an airport bus stop in front of the airport, but it shows a sign indicating that the bus stop is defunct indefinitely. During our 2-night stay we never saw anybody at the bus stop.  It is, however, very near the Metro green line.  So, you can hop on the green line and get to many MANY places in Seoul pretty easily.  Seven stops to Gangnam is not bad!||||Breakfast buffet is served during covid times, on the 2nd floor restaurant.  Usually it costs 28k KRW for adults (but free for plats). There are a couple hot food sections: a Korean side, including bulgogi, a vegetable stir fry, and fried rice; and a Western side, including waffles, hardboiled eggs, french toast, and hashbrowns; a noodle soup station; a salad station; and a baked goods section with maybe 4 different breads and pastries.  There's also some fresh juices on ice, two nice machines making freshly ground coffee (capable of making espresso, americano, cappuccino, etc), Activia yoghurt, and -- during our stay -- two kinds of fruit (pineapple and watermelon).  Anyways, as far as 4p goes, the breakfast is certainly good enough.||||In the grand scheme of hotels, this would be a 4/5 stars.  Regardless of the purpose of your visit -- first time in Seoul, staycation, looking for cheap hotels -- it's also still a 4/5.  No big...