THE PLAZA Seoul, Autograph Collection — Hotel in Seoul

The Plaza Seoul made my stay in Seoul a wonderful experience. The quality of their service was one of the best I've ever experienced and it started the minute I walked into the hotel. I was greeted right away and they knew who I was as I had told them my expected check-in time. As a Marriott Bonvoy platinum member, I was escorted up to the 5th floor to their concierge lounge instead of checking in at the standard lobby front desk counter. This was nice as I got to sit and relax while going through the check-in process while the staff member who initially greeted us took our luggage to our room. |I had booked the standard room but didn't get upgraded to a suite as a platinum member. And I was fine with that. I did get a room a high floor with a great view of city hall. Some have stated the rooms are small but I found it acceptable. I think maybe the large size of the bed does make the room feel smaller but it wasn't an issue for us. There's a lot of automation built into the hotel, some which I didn't care for. For example, the room requires you insert your room key in the wall slot to turn on the lights. That's fine but that also activated the window curtains to retract open. And then when you leave and take out the card, the curtains automatically closed. Wasn't a big fan of this as I would've preferred to have the curtains remain open the entire time but maybe there's some energy saving benefit with the curtains drawn during the day. There's also a curtain that covers the glass wall of the shower. When you try retracting that one, it engages a motor that automatically retracts it the rest of the way. A neat feature but not necessary. Even the toilet was automated as it flushed 6 seconds after you finished. I did like how all the curtains and temperature control could be handled via the phone console next to the bed but it would have been nice to have electrical outlets and/or USB ports on both sides of the bed instead of just one side.|As a platinum member, I got lounge access and the quality there was the best. This wasn't some sad breakfast layout as we get in the US. The breakfast option included both Korean food and western food along with an omelette station and fresh fruit. We stopped by the lounge in the afternoon to grab a drink to refresh a few times and also returned in the evening for their after hours hor d'oeuvres which was really more of a dinner offering. That included alcohol. Food quality was excellent and the service top notch.|Housekeeping was great too. For the evening turndown service they'd leave a little notecard stating what the weather was going to be the following day along with a couple Kopiko coffee candies.|Check out process was simple and there's an airport limousine bus stop right in front of the hotel which adds to the hotel's appeal. The hotel is also connected to subway lines 1 and 2 underground so when you're out exploring Seoul and using public transit, you can exit the subway and go from the station to the hotel without needing to go above ground. There's also 2 different underground markets connected to the hotel.|While Myeongdong where this hotel is located is considered very touristy, the location was super convenient and made for a great starting point to exploring Seoul. I would definitely...

I didn’t like this hotel at all. I stayed 11 nights here. The worst was the lobby. It reeked like cheap perfume. It was extremely strong, and I always felt I was choking while in there. I had to wear a mask every time I crossed it to get to the elevator, hurrying to get into it. I avoided the lobby as much as possible. I thought the sense of smell of the people at this hotel must be either numb or dead. It gives off a very bad impression as of someone who instead of dabbing a little bit of perfume behind each ear, out of ignorance empties an entire bottle of cheap perfume on himself, all the while thinking it to be a good thing. Then, the room was sooo ugly. The carpet is black. Yuck! The hotel's entire carpet is black. Then the decoration in the room was so ugly and vulgar. Everything black and red with white curtains. There were huge and ugly black foot-lamps standing at each side of the bed. Then, the red lamps, the pink walls, the red stool.... It was so tacky, ugly and sombre. It gives off the impression of being in a witch’s haunt. I hated staying in this hotel, and for so long at that. Plus, the lighting was so poor. Instead of giving better lighting to the guest, they set indirect lighting under the table, which is useless. Overall, it was creepy at best. And on top, given already that the lighting was poor and the room somber, they put the entrance (mini foyer) lights on a timer. So they turn themselves off after about 10 minutes. This was so off-putting. I had to get up every time to turn them back on. How annoying having constantly to get up to turn the lights on. It's like they force this upon you. The only reason I can think of is that they force this so that they can save on electricity. How cheap of them! I mean, this was, supposedly, not some low-brow hotel that they would have to do this. Even so, I don’t think a cheap hotel would even do this. I've been to many, many hotels and I had never, ever seen such a thing before in my life.

Then the room was overall dirty. They surely don’t keep cleaning close to their hearts. Coming to this hotel was a big mistake. Expensive for nothing. I really was disappointed. The pink walls were stained on many parts with scuff marks, grease stains, and smudges. The furniture looked really old, cheap and ugly full of scratches and chips. Then the dripping down marks on the wood (more like plywood ) of the mini bar area where the cups...

Wonderful 8 night stay from 12/11/2018-12/19/2018. Redeemed a 7 night vacation package and am a Platinum member that most likely helped with receiving most of my requests. Check in/out was easy and efficient (Hailey - rep who assisted me was superb) Was upgraded to premier suite room after asking if it was possible to get a larger room with our 2 year old. Premier suite was very nice with a separate living area, bedroom, and large bathroom with separate tub and shower. We were also provided a solid crib. Breakfast buffet at the seven square restaurant on the 2nd floor was pretty good. Smoked salmon, egg and noodle station, short ribs, and fresh fruit were my favorites. But after having had it for about a week, I did crave for some new type of food (only a few items change from day to day). Service was the hallmark of this hotel. Everyone that I asked questions to treated with me a smile and genuinely made sure I was taken care of. The hotel provided with a complimentary cake for our daughter's birthday. Sure was a nice touch, and the cake was very good. You also can't beat the location of this centrally located hotel in City Hall station (시청역). Walking distance to a lot of popular areas such as myeongdong shopping, lotte mall, and many traditional Korean palaces. Complimentary passes to Deoksugung (just ask at the Concierge desk) and free shuttle to 3 palaces about 10 min ride away. Quick tip, if you wear Korean traditional clothing (hanbok), you can get into the palaces free of charge. Airport transportation. The KAL limousine (bus) was an easy and cost efficient way (~$16 each way) to get to Incheon airport. We had 4 bags weighing 50 lbs, 2 carry ons, 2 backpacks, and a stroller. Bellhop from the hotel loaded all the bags from our room to the bus. Seats were very comfy and an overall nice ride. Takes about 90 min to get to Term 2 and 120 min to get to Term 1. Shuttles run 2 or 3 times every hour. Ask the front desk for a copy of the schedule. The only downside was the fitness center was undergoing renovation during our stay so we weren't able to utilize the pool or spa. Overall, I highly recommend this hotel for wonderful service, location, and just an...