Andaz Seoul is South Korea’s newest Hyatt hotel. It is centrally located in Gangnam, situated within lots of easy to traverse to dining, and best of all right next to a subway station. If you can read hangul, you will have a fantastic time here. Otherwise, maybe go to the Park Hyatt.
Location
The Andaz Seoul is located in the infamous district of Gangnam, yes, that one with the Style named after it. Gangnam is very small on a map, but colossal on foot. The hotel has a reputation for being one of the most expensive and fanciest hotels in the region. You can get here from the Airport in about an hour and a half in a Taxi, double that time for a bus or the subway.
The Room
I actually stayed in two rooms during my stay here, but this review is dedicated to the suite. There may be a separate post dedicated to the King room, If I can get Joely to commit to it.
I stayed in the King bed Suite, located in room 1009. The entrance to the room was well lit, with a nice acrylic badge on the room, this reminded me of the room key. The room itself is very modern and minimalist with no artwork to be seen, just an assortment of discombobulated furniture pieces, of varying shapes and sizes. But it all came together anyway.
When you walk into the room, there is a guest bathroom on your left, and directly in front of you is the living room area. This is the largest distinction from the hotel. From what Joely shared with me, if there are only 2 travelers on your itinerary-pick the room. There is plenty of it here, no need to upgrade to the Suite.
If you have a 3rd or fourth guest, the partition and separate sleeping area, and bathroom really helps. There is a large 60-inch TV in both the bedroom, and in the living room — so entertaining, or having people over, is very doable.
The other large difference in the bathroom. The general makeup is the same between rooms, but the Suite is more elevated. You get a tub, but it’s a freestanding tub. You get a shower, but now it has a Rainfall and a separate hand shower. Dual vanity sinks, and a separate space to use the washroom.
Service
The service was the most inconsistent thing here. It’s not like the people here were rude, quite the opposite-they were very nice, and recognized us when we left and came back every time. They even gave us a welcome gift, I assume to make up for the fact that they couldn’t accommodate our request to stay in the Suite all 3 days.
You see, I spent 40K points, and $500 for 3 nights here. Because I used points for part of my stay, I was unable to combine reward nights with cash nights, so in their system I have 3 separate reservations. One suite upgrade award can be used up to 7 days, but since one of the days in my stay didn’t have any suites available, they moved me to a King room.
So let's get this straight:
| Good | Bad |
|---|---|
| Let us store bags to explore Seoul | Room not ready for early check in |
| Brought a welcome drink | They brought a drink outside my Hyatt preferences |
| Helped move our bags between rooms | Wouldn’t let me stay in the same room all 3 nights |
| Offered Free breakfast for the nights we were in a suite | Called later that night to inform, breakfast was indeed not free. |
It seems like they are stricter about observing rules and optimizing profit even more than the Hyatts in Japan. But I want to believe they are trying their best.
Breakfast
I wouldn’t know. I didn’t pay for it, and it wasn’t included. So we will leave this section as N/A
Overall Score
When I think of my stay here in the Andaz, I can say that the hotel has a great location, if not a bit understated. You really do blend in with the locals here, and you are not siloed and relegated to tourist land. The views from the 10th floor were incredible. The bed was comfortable, and the pillows were plush. I liked the amenities in the pool and gym, but I disliked how you had to pay extra to use them.
If you must choose between the Grand Hyatt, Park Hyatt, and this hotel- I really don’t think you can go wrong. But for the purpose of this review, I will give this hotel a:
4/5
