Grand Mercure Imperial Palace Seoul — Hotel in Seoul

This hotel is an odd experience.

I arrived at the hotel at 2.30pm. As an All Platinum member, I thought there would be a dedicated line for check-in at the front desk. There was not. I had to wait about 25+ minutes before being able to check-in.

Upon check-in (it was almost 3pm, the official check-in time), I was told my room was not ready. Because I had booked a corner suite (1760) with lounge access, I was taken to the lounge to wait. I was told someone would come and get me as soon as the room would be ready.

By 3.45pm, nobody had come to meet me. I went to the check-in desk of the lounge and asked about my room. The agent spent 10 minutes on her computer. When I asked if she was struggling with something, she said, no, no problem, please go back to the lounge and wait.

I asked whether the check-in time was 3pm (it was 4pm by now) and was told it was.

After waiting in the lounge some more, my room was finally ready. It was obvious that cleaning had been made in a haste. As an All platinum member, I usually get a personalised note and a small gift. None of that here. There was not even a directory of the hotel to check out the various services offered. And of course, no upgrade of any sort based on All platinum status.

When I asked for my luggage to be brought up to my room, I was told that my luggage could not be found (!) and that I had to go downstairs and find them by myself (!!). I did find my luggage downstairs, sitting in plain view by the concierge.

The suite was pretty nice. Old fashioned but nice. Comfortable bed. Extremely nice Penhaligon's bath/shower products. Two toilets. A nice living room.

The view was amazing (corner suite). Cleaning every day was rather good.

Breakfast was disappointing. Lots of choices but very bland. I did not use the swimming pool but I visited the bar twice which was extremely nice with a matcha cocktail I highly recommend.

The lounge was nicely decorated like an old Korean village. The food was good. The drinks were good. Service was kind.

The hotel is full of exotic things: tea cups from England, old furniture from France. They have a hard time finding their own style. The concierge was unhelpful.

Overall, an interesting place. I have to say I preferred my stay in this hotel in Seoul rather than at the...

This hotel is an odd experience.||I arrived at the hotel at 2.30pm. As an All Platinum member, I thought there would be a dedicated line for check-in at the front desk. There was not. I had to wait about 20 minutes before being able to check-in.||Upon check-in (it was almost 3pm, the official check-in time), I was told my room was not ready. Because I had booked a corner suite (1760), I was taken to the lounge to wait. I was told someone would come and get me as soon as the room would be ready.||By 3.45pm, nobody had come to meet me. I went to the check-in desk of the lounge and asked about my room. The agent spent 10 minutes on her computer. When I asked if she was struggling with something, she said, no, no problem, please go back and wait.||I asked whether the check-in time was 3pm (it was 4pm by now) and was told it was.||Finally, my room was ready. It was obvious that cleaning had been made in a haste. As an All platinum member, I usually get a personalised note and a small gift. None of that here. There was not even a directory of the hotel to check out the various services offered.||When I asked for my luggage to be brought up to my room, I was told that my luggage could not be found (!) and that I had to go downstairs and find them by myself (!!). I did find my luggage.||The suite was pretty nice. Old fashioned but nice. Comfortable bed. Extremely nice Penhaligon's bath/shower products. Two toilets. A nice living room. ||The view was nice (corner suite). Cleaning every day was good.||Breakfast was disappointing. Lots of choices but very bland. I did not use the swimming pool but I visited the bar twice which was extremely nice with a matcha cocktail I highly recommend. The lounge was nicely decorated like an old Korean village. The food was good. The drinks were good. Service was kind.||The hotel is full of exotic things: tea cups from England, old furniture from France. They have a hard time finding their own style. The concierge was unhelpful.||I did not get the usual follow-up email from Accor about my stay when I left.||Overall, an interesting place. I have to say I preferred my stay in this hotel in Seoul rather than at the...

Poor checkin- Am a platinum member, soon diamond but wasn't offered room upgrade at check in. Hands were also full and didn't get any help to move luggage

Update- they called on the last day 7pm to upgrade my room for only 1 night. There were rooms available and they should've upgraded me on my first night.

Differential treatment: The service staff at the lounge provided different treatment to local Koreans.

Update: when I came to lounge, I needed to get my own table and get my own cutleries while the tables beside me got served. Even when I had a guest with me, it was the same. Perhaps they serve older Koreans better if they seem better dressed. I come by korea quarterly and my direct staff probably visit about 30-40 nights a year at least. I also invest in travel companies and this is definitely not a hotel I'd recommend with the discrimination. Perhaps my staff will test them out again to be fair, but this discrimination made me extremely irritated.

Room air-conditioning was extremely loud. If I were to lower the fan speed, it's rather warm. I'm surprised other reviews says its quiet. Maybe my room is just bad.

My stay at sofitel, even pullman were significantly better in service and room, sofitel lounge was much better with better service albeit different location.

Other update: kept it at 2* instead of downgrading it. Location is soso in gangnam, but is it worth the price(probably not unless I can't find another hotel in short notice). Breakfast ends at 10am and was shooed away on day1 as I reached at 10am~ rudely. Lounge food is decent hence kept at 2. Gym is also decent but then again, most of the 5 accor hotels are as good.

Maybe I'd come by again, and lower this to 1* or increase to 3-5* depending on treatment.

Be mindful of other reviews especially if it's edited or limited reviews count. I'm surprised this rating...