This Four Seasons Seoul Review is from our stay in a Premier Room, after a Korean First Class A330 flight into Seoul Incheon. The hotel is one of the newer Four Seasons city hotels, having opened in 2015 near Gwanghwamun Square, in Seoul's Jongho District. Read on for how to get to the hotel, Four Seasons Preferred Partner benefits, photos and video of the Four Seasons Seoul, and our review.
Four Seasons Hotel Seoul Location and Check-in
The Four Seasons Seoul is located at 97 Saemunan-Ro in Jongno-gu, central Seoul. The hotel is a short walk from Gyeongbokgung Palace, which is visible from Palace View Executive Suites, and also not far from Changdeokgung Palace. It's about a 45 minute taxi ride from Seoul Incheon Airport, although it's also possible to take airport bus 6002, which stops just a couple minutes' walk from the hotel (and returning to the airport, the stop is right outside the hotel).
You step inside to a foyer, with lobby lounge seating to the right, under a soaring ceiling and with the sofas centered around a cozy fire.
As we arrived in the morning after a red eye flight, we'd pre-booked the prior night. We did wait a few minutes to check-in, as there were quite a few check-outs occurring at the time we arrived, but fairly soon we were on our way to the 22nd floor, to our upgraded Premier Room.
Four Seasons Preferred Partner Benefits at Four Seasons Seoul for TravelSort Clients include:
- Daily full American breakfast for two people per bedroom, served through In-Room Dining or in the hotel restaurant (including buffets)
- $100 hotel credit ($200 for suites) once during stay
- Upgrade of one category, based on availability at time of check-in (excluding signature suites, villas, and private residences). Four Seasons Preferred Partner reservations enjoy upgrade priority over AMEX FHR, Virtuoso and all other reservations.
- Complimentary basic Internet in all guest rooms; complimentary premium Internet in all suites
Here's my Four Seasons Seoul Video Review:
Four Seasons Seoul Premier Room
Four Seasons Rooms and Suites include Deluxe Rooms (the entry level category), Premier Rooms, Corner Premier Rooms, Club Rooms (with access to the Executive Club Lounge), Studio Suites, City View Executive Suites and Palace View Executive Suites. Executive Suites also include access to the Executive Club Lounge.
We were upgraded from a Deluxe to a Premier Room, which ranges from 484-516 square feet, and can have either 1 King bed or two double beds. Our room was on the 22nd floor, and because of the building's configuration, we were fortunate enough to have a full wall of windows plus a window on the other wall as well; while not quite a full corner room, it was great to have natural light coming in on two sides, in the corner of the room.
As always, a highlight was the Four Seasons bed, which I find the most comfortable of all hotel beds, and can be personalized to your preference with a Signature Plush mattress topper or Signature Firm topper.
The Italian marble bathroom had double sinks, and I liked that, as is typical with luxury hotels in Asia, a full complement of toiletries was provided: dental kits, shaving kit, nail kit, and comb.
There was also a large soaking tub, rain shower, and separate toilet chamber. Italian bath products are by Lorenzo Villoresi of Florence.
In addition to the kiwi fruit welcome amenity (which we didn't touch; neither my son nor I care for kiwi all that much) the hotel had very thoughtfully provided a carafe of hot coffee and breakfast pastries to welcome us.
The Market Kitchen Buffet Breakfast
Notwithstanding the lovely pastries, we couldn't help wanting some savory breakfast, so we ventured downstairs to The Market Kitchen, which serves an extensive buffet breakfast from 6:30-10:30am. Current pricing as of this writing is KRW 50,000 per person (~$45 per person) but it's complimentary for up to two guests per room for TravelSort Clients as a Four Seasons Preferred Partner benefit.
You can view more of the many buffet choices in the above video, but my personal favorite, of the several food stations (noodle soups, eggs cooked to order, etc.) was the bibimbap station. You could help yourself to hot steamed rice, choose your cooked marinated meat and vegetable toppings, then go over to the egg station to request a fried egg. Delicious!
An expertly made cappuccino was the perfect way to cap off this satisfying international breakfast.
The Verdict
While our stay was brief, we really enjoyed the Four Seasons Seoul. Our Premier Room was spacious, immaculate, and enjoyed great natural light from its floor to ceiling windows, plus it benefited from the unique dual exposure aspect of this room. The marble bathroom with its double sinks, soaking bath and separate rain shower had everything we needed, with a full complement of toiletries such as a dental kit, comb, etc.
The breakfast buffet at Market Kitchen was one of the better ones I've enjoyed even in Asia, which is known for its lavish breakfast buffets. Whether you wanted fruit, yogurt and pastries, eggs cooked to order, noodle soups, sushi, dumplings or Korean bibimbap, it had it all.
And the swimming pool had only one other guest during our visit, and no one but us in the Vitality pool, which had jets that were the perfect antidote to tired muscles from travel.
Highly recommended for business and leisure travelers alike who are headed to Seoul.
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I stayed at the FS Seoul last year and I left thinking that it is probably one of their better urban properties. Prior to my stay I had read some less than stellar reviews on Flyer Talk but my experience couldn’t have been better. Service didn’t lag a bit despite the property being at capacity over a Korean holiday. And I completely agree with your assessment of the Market Kitchen Breakfast- fantastic!
Glad you enjoyed your stay at Four Seasons Seoul as well, including the Market Kitchen breakfast!