Spontaneous Seoul 2019

• Introduction
• Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 3 – SilverKris Lounge
• Singapore Changi Airport Terminal 3 – Marhaba Lounge
• Singapore Airlines SQ608 Boeing 787-10 Singapore to Incheon – Business
• Conrad Seoul
• Fairfield by Marriott Seoul
• JW Marriott Hotel Seoul
• South Korea Incheon Airport Terminal 1 – Asiana Busines Lounge
• Singapore Airlines SQ611 Boeing 777-300ER Incheon to Singapore – Business

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The only Conrad I’ve ever stayed in was in Singapore.

So Conrads have been on my wishlists ever since I got my Diamond. Yays to lounge access and room upgrades! And this fell nicely into my atas trip itenary so I was super psyched to try this at seemingly 50% off during the 100hr flash sale.

Address – 10 Gukjegeumyung-ro Yeouido Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul,07326, South Korea. Website.  

Contact – +82-2-6137-7000. Email: Conrad_Seoul@conradhotels.com.

Price – KWR182,500++ for a night booked during the Hilton 100-hours flash sale in May:  SGD240.19 in the end. This is a never-seen before price for the property and I am really proud to snag that!

Location – Located in the Han river area in Yeouido, with the nearest subway being Yeouido station – lines 5 or line 9, Exit 3. I never did try the subway during this trip but other reviews say it takes about 10mins to walk there and should get you to other stations in a breeze once you get around navigating the subway system. The hotel is also connected to the IFC Mall which offers some shopping and dining options as food in the hotel is expensive. But otherwise, there is not a lot going on around the hotel, save for a park which offers the Yeouido World Night Market on Fridays and Saturdays if weather permits. So not a spot I would recommend for tourists spending a few days in Seoul, and especially not for first time visitors for sure.

Getting There – Airport Bus #6030 From Incheon Airport Terminal 1 gets you straight to the doorstep of the hotel. Bus tickets can be purchased at Gate 4 or 9 – Just tell the attendant where you would like to go and they will issue you the ticket accordingly. Each ticket costs KRW15,000 (SGD18) per pax (KRW13,000 if you have T-money) – then you head to Gate 6B to wait for the bus. The bus stop will come with a more detailed signage indicating which interval your bus is going to come so you know if you have time to run to the toilet.  There will also be an attendant which will help load your luggage and issue you a luggage ticket which you’ll need to keep for reclaiming it at your stop.

 

Total traveling time is 60mins, with intervals of 20-30mins. I ended up waiting for almost 20mins as I just missed the previous one 🙁

Check In – I had emailed the hotel about an early check in prior to arrival and was told checking in at 10am would be difficult so I was prepared to skip out and do my Marriott Bonvoy mattress run in the window. So I was pleasantly surprised my room was ready but disappointingly, there was no welcome for being a Diamond and no proactive room upgrade (boo) even though a lot of room types were still selling on the HH app upon checking. But I didn’t push it as I was only there for one night. The only Diamond acknowledgement came about when I was given the Executive Lounge benefit letter and she highlighted that breakfast is for ‘tomorrow’ even though it was still breakfast timing then. For a top tier member, I find this gesture extremely ungracious especially if I had been paying full price for a room.

Room – Room 3317, was a King Bed Premium River View Room stood at a spacious 48SqM and was super nice! The TV and mini bar design was quite cool, and a large round working desk and a lounge sofa completed the look. The bed was super plush and high quality linens and beddings and were a dream to sleep in. The bathroom was also a big area for 1pax and comes with Shanghai Tang toiletries. The shower and toilet was modern and worked perfectly fine for me too. I also received a box of pralines, presuming my Diamond amenity?

 

The Executive Lounge – located on level 37, the top floor of the hotel, the lounge was designed to be completely a place to chill in. Except it can be chilly at certain spots (haha).

Here’s what the offerings look like:

• 07:00 – 10:30 Breakfast (Mon-Fri)
• 07:00 – 11:00 Breakfast (Sat-Sun)
• 11:00 – 12:00 Weekdays Croissants and Danishes
• 14:30 – 16:00 Weekdays High Tea
• 17:00 –  19:00 Evening Cocktail

I checked it out on my day of arrival just as they were closing breakfast but they didn’t stop me from taking a plate of food – they didn’t ask for my room number as well for some reason. Good that I looked legit, hah! They even offered more pastries if I wanted as well, a nice proactive touch.

 

Hardware wise, it is a big space with plenty of seating but the dark wooden tones makes the place feel a little dated. There were a few areas serving different kinds of food which helped to spread out the crowd especially during evening cocktails time. As with most Hilton properties I have tried, the place gets packed during evening times so come early! I never managed to snag a window seat during my stay there – oh wells.

I was however a little disappointed about the food offerings. I didn’t try their high tea, but came up early for evening cocktails. The food quality and quantity was lacking and may not add up to a proper dinner if you are a big eater. Alcohol wise, I was disappointed they don’t serve champagne and only Cava. Again, for a premium property they could have done a lot better.

 

Other than that, I felt service was mostly clinical and no “warmth” – I guess I expected more for an upmarket property.

Facilities – Pulse8 is their Fitness centre on level 8 which comes complete with an indoor swimming pool and gym. I manage to take one picture of the gym before being frantically stopped and informed of their no-picture policy – supposedly to protect the privacy of guests. But I could take pics of the pool – so its anyone’s guess why this is so.

 

Breakfast – I had the option of having it at Zest on level 2 for the variety and indeed there were a lot of options but coffee was bad so I ended up going to the Lounge for a decent cup thereafter.

 

Service – Nothing to complain about and yet nothing remarkable either. The friendliest staff I met was the bellboy. #firstworldproblem.

Check Out – Swiftly and painlessly done at the front desk.

In summary,

a rather nice property with good hardware but location is nothing to shout about since there is limited sights and shopping in the vicinity. But no regrets about trying this property at 50% for sure!