JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square Seoul — Hotel in Seoul

This is an incredible hotel! We stayed here 6 nights as a leisure traveler. I can't say enough how attentive and friendly the staff are, including the General Manager. We were in the lobby one morning and as we were reviewing our plans for the day, he came up to us and introduced himself inquiring how our stay was and what we had planned. He was kind enough to offer some suggestions. Its that personalized attention not only by him but other staff that made our stay enjoyable.

ROOM The hotel has a modern and elegant design. Our room was a nice size and so was the bathroom. The bathroom has a separate tub an shower. And yes, it has a rain shower! The hotel rooms have a unique feature that I have not seen in other properties. Next to the bed, at least in this room, was a touch screen to operate the lights, air conditioning/heat, drapes and other functions. One challenge I face staying at hotels is that each have a different temperature control. Some of which are difficult to work unless you play with it a few times. The temperature control using the touch screen is simple and easy.

BREAKFAST Breakfast was by far, excellent! Again, the attention is personalized and after a few days of getting to know us, we were seated at the same table near the window each day. Instead of bringing us a cup of coffee each time we requested it, they brought us a pot...brewed fresh. Yes, each cup is freshly brewed. There's a coffee bar that added a classy touch to the restaurant. In addition to the coffee bar, there are a number of different food bars offering a variety of fruit, yogurt, pastries, cereals, juices, omelettes/eggs, french toast, pancakes, cheese, bread, pastries, grilled vegetables, oatmeal, soups and other Asian specialties. If it's still being made, you have to try the pumpkin oatmeal!

FITNESS CENTER The fitness center is one of the largest I've seen. There's a variety of cardio, strength training and free weight machines. Up a few stairs is a separate stretch area with swiss balls. Each cardio machine has a TV monitor with various channels. Headphones, water and a hand towel are provided. There's also a trainer on staff to assist with your workout or to offer suggestions.

LOCATION If you plan to use public transit, Seoul's metro is superb and the hotel sits on top of the Dongdaemun Square station. Take exit 8 which will bring you to the front of the hotel. There's also a direct entry from the station to the hotel without going outside. You'll see the name of the hotel posted on the exit signs after exiting the gate. Separate from the metro, the hotel is located in an area I wouldn't expect to see a JW Marriott. I imagine to see JW's in the financial center of major cities. This is a boutique hotel and maybe thats why this hotel doesn't appear to be in the financial center of Seoul. The area is surrounded by clothing stores and outlets. Also, if you're looking for western style restaurants walkable from the hotel, this will be a problem unless you eat at the hotel or take a taxi or metro to another district.

THE END Check-in/out was efficient. If you haven't used the Marriott app to check-in/out or chat with staff about requests/questions, you're missing out! it's fast and efficient. Please...

Let me say the following in regard to this particular JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square Seoul. I’ve been traveling mostly for my professional work, fortunately in places. My number one choice is the Marriott hotel wherever I go, if possible to find and stay. This hotel is not quite large as the other JW Marriott Hotels; however, it is unique in terms of its location, how neat & clean in the midst of the markets & many shops around the hotel. The hotel is well-designed for its layout. My assigned room is very clean & neat—I got it upgraded from the front desk staff whose name is Jenny (if recalled correctly). Employees seem like all professionals and friendly—Marriott’s way of training its employees; they’re courteous & professionals. The breakfast is pretty good at Tavolo24; it was allowed by Jenny (the front desk staff) for me to have the breakfast. The water pressure in the shower & the bathtub is good. The bathroom’s layout is pretty unique—very simpatico. There is the KAL bus 6702, Incheon International Airport to/from the hotel, in front of the hotel; however, I didn’t get to ride the bus because of the airport KAL Bus’ ticket lady gave me another bus ticket instead of KAL Bus 6702. Do not take KAL Bus 6002; also drop off on the same side road, but 2/3 blocks away from the hotel. If you’re looking for an excellent hotel in the middle of the capital city of Republic of Korea (ROK), this is the hotel. Highly recommended. But by the way, I just checked in yesterday evening. By the way, in the Executive Lounge, on the 10th floor, I met a gentleman whose name is Kevin, who is a manager and speaks English very well, and Kevin is professional and courteous, as well as the other staff—they all speak English & are professional and courteous. The staff who work in the Executive Lounge are very professional and well-mannered to explain tonight's menu because Valentine's Day is near. In terms of communicating with the staff of this hotel, the front desk is mostly speaking English very well. Of course, speaking Korean would be very nice. All the staff who work at JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square Seoul, South Korea, speak English pretty well. Highly recommended for those who are looking for a place to stay comfortably and safely. I had a facial treatment from Provence Spa by L'Occitane on the 8th floor. This is my very first time receiving the treatment, and a lady whose name was Ann, who is excellent and has great skills, has done the massaging on my neck, shoulder, and facial treatment. Ann really took care of my treatment for an hour and a half....

Save your money and use just the basic rooms/service. A list of things that ruined my anniversary (BTW this happened when the Executive staff knew we were guests visiting a second time for our first anniversary a year after our wedding night):

After we were guided to Executive floor, the staff ignored us and refused to let us in after seeing us with luggage in hand. Just sat and watched us as we struggled to get in. We were the only customers and I didn't understand why we were ignored. 

After finally letting us checking in, we asked about a different check out time; but told us we needed a member #. When we asked if they can check our #, they told us we should go to our room and look for it on the app.

I called the customer service on the 1st floor to help find the # because the app wasn't helping. They politely looked it up and gave it to us. Problem: the Executive staff said our number was not correct when we gave it to them. I told them that the first floor gave it to me. They refused to verify it and told me to just enjoy the club lounge and they will try their records.

They came to us while we were getting food in front of other guests and told us they will not extend us because we gave them a bad#. It was so embarrassing and I wished they would have pulled me to the side or AT LEAST call the first floor customer service since it was them that gave me the number.

So I stopped what I was doing so I could call the 1st floor customer service and I told them what happened. They apologized and said the number was correct and asked to speak with the Executive employee. Finally the Executive staff heard it from the first floor and then just simply told me she had a glitch. 

I told the Dept Manager what happened and he said everything will be okay. Except when we checked out the next morning, the same employee used ONLY korean and language with us and refused to look at me the whole time or use English. Pretended I was invisible even though I was the room was registered to me and I checked in with my credit card/id. Basically me and my wife thought she did it out of spite. I told the same dept manager and all he could do was make excuses for their behavior. 

The only people that were nice and polite were the employee at the first floor. If you really really want to stay here, DONT USE THE EXECUTIVE FLOOR. Use any floor serviced by the first floor concierge or...