RYSE, Autograph Collection — Hotel in Seoul

Honestly, I think my disappointment is with the Marriott Brand and not just this one hotel. I am a Marriott Rewards credit card member but only silver status because I can’t muster enough brand loyalty to choose a Marriott hotel every time I travel. And our trip to Ryse just solidified that this issue is one with the brand. We were in South Korea on our honeymoon, we stayed at four hotels over the span of two weeks. In four suites. And Ryse by Marriott proved to be the worst of the lot. If I were to make a recommendation, stay at the L7 by Lotte, which is across the street, if you are staying in the Hongdae area in Seoul. We met a couple on a tour, and they were staying in the Ryse as well, and they were also disappointed with the hotel.

For comparison, we stayed in the Lotte Executive Tower (in Myeondong), The Grand Josun Busan and the Banyan Tree Club Spa. All suite level rooms, in the Ryse we stayed in the art gallery suite. The room was beautiful. So were all of the other suites we stayed. South Korea has learned how to treat their guests and the Marriott just hasn’t caught up yet.

For our level of suite, at every other hotel, it included at least breakfast and happy hour. Ryse: only breakfast. And the absolute worst one yet. They had a broken expresso machine, that no one could fix, 4 options for breakfast rivaling your best Sleep Inn, Residence Inn etc and it was all self-service. They did have waiters around to clean up when people left but that is it. Following the other four hotels, this was just sad in comparison. We had to find someone to help with our bags and the worst of all: THE ROOM WAS NOT READY WHEN WE ARRIVED. The room was not ready for at least an hour AFTER check-in time. WHY can’t Marriot get this right? We stayed at a Marriott on the Harbor in Savannah GA last year and the same thing happened. We got there after check-in and were not available to check in until 3 hours AFTER CHECK-IN. It was also a suite level room; and the desk staff acted as if it was OUR fault that we wanted to get into our room (it was also NYE.) But I digress, the desk staff in Hongdae were at least sorry that our room was not ready and again, since this only keeps happening with Marriott brand hotels; I think it is time to cut ties.

Don’t stay at this hotel. There are many better hotels...

We initially found Ryse as we were looking for a hotel in Seoul that accepted pets. And we were so glad that we found this hotel! It is at an amazing part of the city: Hongdae, one block away from the subway exit 9. My work has ended in Korea, and we stayed at Ryse as our last week or so before leaving the country…and it seriously put a cheery on top of our experience in this great country! Upon checkin the staff was amazing and helpful. The 3rd floor checkin was quick, friendly, and super inviting. We are Marriott Platinum members, so we did get a welcome gift and room upgrade. It was very welcome, thanks! The staff on the first floor always greeted us with a smile and we’re super friendly! Very chatting (in a good way), and were super helpful with taxi’s, and since we were leaving the country, finding and coordinating our exit COVID tests and ride to the airport. Thanks for that. They were also super playful with our puppies and had treats on hand, which left a lasting impression.

The upgraded room was delightful, spacious, super clean and perfect for us and our dogs. The cleaning staff were attentive and quick. It felt like a new room and the beddings were fluffy and shower towels were full-size and fluffy as well. Beds in Korea can sometimes be on the hard side- not so in this case. We were comfortable and slept great!

Breakfast- OMG we miss the breakfast! Set menu due to COVID, we especially loved the Eggs Benedict, Avocado Toast, and Yogurt Delight. There were a couple other options but those stood out to us…and the staff was welcoming and great.

The placement in Hongdae is great! Tons of restaurants, pubs, coffee shops, shopping all around and you’re so close to a subway stop if you need to get around. And like I said, the first floor staff hooked us up with Kakao Taxi to get us right where we needed to go (it’s just like Uber). We especially loved an Indian restaurant a block away, and a curry and legit authentic Italian pizza establishment right out the back entrance. So many choices though, it was great!

Again I can’t say enough good things!!! It seriously made a lasting impression as we left the country…thanks so much to all the staff, I wish I had used a little more vacation time to have made our stay even...

I stayed at the Ryse autograph collection hotel from May 17 to May 22, 2025. Below are my views on good (+) and not-good (-) about this hotel.

Good things: I stayed at this hotel the second time, and it still kept the same hospitality and quality. This is an interesting hotel which is kind of upgraded version of Moxy series. They checked me in and provided me with an upgrade to a pretty nice suite. They did the same last time. In the room, they provided a jar of candies and a Korean toy. You can order all the amenities and requests directly from the tablet and they were very quick in providing what you ask for. They provided two bottle of wines, one red and one white plus a little cheese box with grapes. The breakfast at Charr restaurant was nice with variety of choices including the Korean ones. The staff at the restaurant were respectful and friendly, except for the one behind the bread bar. The location is very nice. You can walk out at the back entrance of the hotel to explore the world of restaurants and people (a lot of young people walking along the street and there were a lot of live performance on the street, mostly singing and dancing: K-pop style) as it is surrounded by a few universities close to the Hongik university station, so it is very convenient to almost anywhere in Seoul and beyond.

Not-good things: The gym is tiny with so limited option. No pool No club lounge The airconditioner could be turned off from 1am to 8am, depending on the whether outside. I didn’t know their formula for when that happened, but most of the days I stayed there, they turned it off and I typically woke up in the middle of the night and was hard to get back to the sleep. So if you are person who could only sleep with a bit low temperature, this could be a challenge. Unlike most of the hotel, they have a thin bedsheet under the comforter, which I could have used as a blanket when they turned of the AC, this hotel only has...