The location is perfect, the service was great, the room was fine - but it was the super-express check-in that won our hearts.

On descending from the airport bus at the Westin Chosun Seoul, we were greeted by name by a hotel clerk and bellboy who took our bags, told us we had already been checked in, and led us immediately to our upgraded room (Starwood Preferred) with view of City Hall square and a hundred-year-old pavilion. We were totally charmed!

(How did they do it? The Westin gets tipped off when guests ask for their bus at the airport. Then hotel staff boards the bus and identifies the guests.)

The location is perfect, adjacent to the City Hall central square, Deoksugung Palace park, and the metro, and an easy walk to restaurants, the Namdaemum Gate and Namdaemum Night Market, and the charming new urban promenade along Cheonggye Stream.

The room was comfortable, completely modern, and large enough for our needs. The hotel buffet breakfast was excellent although priced over the top at 33,000 won. (There's a Starbucks on the block.) The service and facilities throughout our stay measured up to our wonderful welcome, and we left Seoul after our whirlwind two-day visit feeling we'd made the best choice in staying at the Westin Chosun Seoul.

We had a simply gorgeous room in this hotel and the service was excellent throughout. I would really recommend it for comfort and style and the location is very convenient for the subway, for the main railway station, and you can walk to many of the main sights from here. Shopping is all around you!
We got a great rate from Opodo but do watch out for all the extras. Our laundry bill was astronomical and this was the only place (on a long trip in north Asia) that charged us for internet access.
Do stay here if you can but if you're on a budget avoid the hotel restaurants, have your laundry done before you arrive, and use an internet cafe!

We recently returned from a quick weekend trip to Seoul and the Westin Chosun. Willing to pay a little extra, we splurged for an executive-level room. While we were slightly disappointed by the size of the room and the daytime construction sounds, overall we had a pleasant stay.

The hotel has all of the restaurants and lounges that the average Western traveler hopes for. (If you’re new to Seoul and hungry, the best Western-style restaurants tend to be in major hotels.) We ate lunch in the Vecchia e Nuovo Restaurant. It wasn’t cheap (about $100 for 2), but the food was about the closest I’ve seen to Italian in Korea. There are lunch specials that are decently priced. The executive lounge evening reception was a little disappointing, mainly because we’ve seen a much larger variety of food and drinks in other hotels. The breakfast offering was much better, and offers about anything you could want. (Beware, late sleepers: it closes at 10.) Finally, O’ Kim’s is one of only two close-to-authentic Irish pubs that I know of in all of Seoul. The atmosphere comes pretty close to the real thing, except for maybe the cheesy lounge singer that sounded like nails on a chalkboard. But if you must have that Guinness on draft, and there aren’t many places to find it in Korea, be ready to shell out $17 US. Yes, you read that right.

The room was a little small but very well designed, with a great flat-screen TV. Unfortunately, just like every other hotel in Korea, the bed was very firm, apparently to suit Korean tastes. Sorry, if you’re looking for the true Westin Heavenly Bed, don’t look in Korea. Our biggest complaint was the construction. There were hammering and drilling noises, apparently from the floor above us (we were on the 11th floor). We were trying to take a nap, so I called the reception to ask if there was anything they could do. The attentive operator assured me that the construction workers refrained from loud noises on the weekends …. and right after I hung up the hammering continued. She had also told me that the construction ended daily at 6PM and began daily at 9AM. Well, they were right on time the next morning!

To boot, there was a “preemptive” apology letter about the construction from the manager on the desk when we checked in. While we really weren’t that bothered by the construction, the principal of the whole thing was a little frustrating. When I’m paying for a $300+ per night room, I don’t expect to hear banging hammers on a Saturday afternoon. While I appreciated the note from the manager, and I also understand that hotels need to be renovated frequently, I don’t agree that I need to pay a large sum of money to listen to construction without any warning. I feel that a discount or a warning on the hotel’s website would be appropriate. As I said, the situation wasn’t bad enough for us to request a different room, especially for our short stay. If I had just gotten off a 12-hour flight, however, I might feel differently.

I believe the manager’s letter said that the construction would be completed at the end of February. If you’re considering staying here, I’d call and check.

Other highlights: the hotel has a great gym and lap pool. If you’re adventurous, try the sauna (included with the executive-level room). Have the attendant show you the ropes if you’ve never been. (Get ready to be naked!) There’s also a wonderful walking path along the stream that runs through central Seoul to Dongdeamun Market. I can’t remember the name, but it’s about two blocks north of the hotel. It’s very popular with couples on dates to take a stroll at night.

Overall, great hotel with friendly staff and good food. The construction was a low note, and left a slight mistrust of this hotel. We might try somewhere else next time.

Very good airport transfer in a very comfortable car. Somewhat disappointing check-in as a Platinum member since they normally treat you special and offer a small welcome gift (not that I really care about the gift). The initial room on the 8th floor was very nice but it was from here that things went wrong.

Due to construction in progress on the 6th and 7th floors there was loud banging and a very strong chemical smell in the hallways and the room itself. I initially thought I could make it go away by opening the window only to find myself with the window handle in my hand and the window not closing properly any longer... A new room was found after a long wait during which I also had to wait 20 minutes for dry cleaning pick up and found out that breakfast on the 9th Executive floor ends abruptly at 10 a.m., a little early for many intercontinental travellers. Getting back to my initial room the windows were now wide open and it was freezing (10 Celsius/50 Fahrenheit). A new room was finally ready on the 19th floor and the smell was better but not gone. Shame about the cheap bright pink scale in an otherwise very nice room and bathroom. Power outlets near the work area would be nice though.

Overall service was OK but definitiely not great. The Irish pub food was good, all prices as mentioned high, too high for the inconveniences. Until the construction is over I would definitively stay elsewhere...

Not a bad hotel, but Seoul suffers from not having many excellent hotels that has the effect of allowing places like this to get away with charging some very expensive prices on all things. For instance an average one course room service dinner came to $45 ! Seoul is so big that there is no ideal location for a hotel - everywhere is difficult to get to.

My wife and were married in Seoul this past September and we had our family stay at the Westin Chosun. My mother-in-law lives in Seoul and she was a little worried (before we booked) that this hotel wouldn't be modern enough to give my parents a good impression. She knew that this hotel has a long tradition of hosting Government officials and special visitors but the hotel itself is almost 100 years old! Boy oh boy, were we surprised at how clean, friendly and modern this hotel was. I would highly recommend this hotel to anyone but keep in mind that it is not cheap. We used Starwood reward points to book this hotel stay and we did not have any problems. Being a Starwood Gold member, they even upgraded us (before our arrival!) to a higher floor facing the back (where you can see the city hall and a century's old temple with lovely trees, flowers and grass). We only had one meal at the hotel in the "Ninth Gate" restaurant and it was good (but again, not cheap). If you are here on a budget you will find better food deals outside the hotel but if you are here on business, this is a good place to have dinner meetings. The food is good, the service is top-notch and you get a nice mix of foods at the different restaurants. We didn't get a chance to eat at the Irish pub that is in the hotel but the entertainment sounded great and I'm sure that they'll have a decent pint to go with your meat pie! The staff was on top of everything (or so it seemed). They loaned us a golf-size umbrella with no hesitation when it was raining and everyone was professional. Oh, I almost forgot that in our room we had a desktop computer with Internet access included. Plus, they have a real cellular phone (from KTF) that is connected to your hotel room phone. You pick up your room phone, press one button and all of your room calls are forwarded to the cellular phone (anywhere in Korea, well anywhere in Seoul for sure!). This is a handy way for people to contact you locally and from overseas; just have them call you at the hotel and you will get your calls anywhere in the city.

Stay here 5 or 6 times a year and it is one of my all time favorites. I look forward to business trips to Seoul just to stay here. Superb service. Excellent food. Tremendous location. Everyone smiles. Try O'Kim's for the steak salad and atmosphere. The Italian restaurant is tremendous too. Some of the best Italian I've had in Asia. Wander over to the Myeongdong shopping area to feel decidedly out of fashion if you're over 25. A great place for people watching. The Westin is pricy. But so are all hotels in Seoul. Even with it's price, this place gives excellent value for money. Highly recommended.

We recently returned from a week plus stay at the Westin Chosun ( Sept 13-19th) and can only say its a great hotel.

While I am used to international travel for business and pleasure in the US and Europe, this was my first experience with a Far East property.

The Westin Chosun is a first class hotel with just about every service a traveler from North America could ask for.

For one the hotel property, rooms and bathrooms are spotless .

The rooms are a typical very large USA Westin room with amenities like a 32" plasma tv, mini bar etc. Note, there is a 7-11 store across from the hotel ( yes a seven eleven) . Go there to buy your water and snacks . The equivalent of $6 Us will buy you 5 bottles of water compared to $6.60 a bottle in the convenient mini bar.

A nice touch was the cell phone supplied in each room. Just touch a button on the regular room hotel phone and your calls get forwarded to the cell phone you can carry around outside the hotel.

No need to worry about strange food as the hotel as a French, Italian, Chinese, Sushi and Irish pub besides the regular hotel cafe.

If you really want to travel first class, contact the hotel and ask for the airport limo service. The Westin will have a person greet you at the airport , pre register you in the car and get you straight to the hotel and into your room. Its a bit pricey for some $120 US but it is a 1 hour or so ride from Incheon airport.

On the subject of prices, this hotel charges rates and its reataurants charge prices typical of any major US city. That means $ 28 to $ 30 a person for a big breakfast and dinners are more. Again, this is a big city hotel like New York. or San Francisco. Now you can also skip a big breakfast and try the Starbucks or Krispy Kreme behind the hotel.

The front desk staff and operators speak very good English and they want to provide the best service.

There is an ATM in the hotel but remember that Korean ATM's only work during the hours of 8Am and 5Pm . The hotel is within walking distance of some very sophisticated shopping ( equal to Saks or Blommingdales) as well as some tradtional street markets.

This is a safe place to stay in a very safe city.

We love the Westin Chusun Hotel enough to go and stay 6 times a year.
The location is great, the rooms are spacious considering the central location.
The facilities- the gym, sauna, pool make our stay there very relaxing.
We are platinum members so are always granted a room upgrade and use of the executive lounge suite.
I suppose our major factor in always going back is the staff- they greet us like family. The staff are always willing to help and know how to treat their VIP guests.
I would highly recommend the Westin Chosun Hotel.

I just returned from a one week stay at the Westin Chosun. Hotel class and service is great. I stayed in a Executive Guest Office room, which also provides access to the Executive Club lounge and amenities. The room seemed like a regular size room for a city hotel, but comfortable with a King Bed and sofa. The Club Lounge on the 17th floor was only available, as the 9th floor lounge was under renovation. The breakfast and the evening happy hour in the club lounge was great. The workout facilities on the 2nd floor was good too. The only thing I wish the room had was a sheet identifying the cost of phone calls and other incidentals. Using the landline phone can be expensive, as it cost 4,500 kwon to use a calling card. On the other hand, the room also included a mobile phone free of rental fee, but charging only 600kwon per minute local outcalls and incalls were free. What does sort of help offset the expensive room rate is the hotels convenient location very close to the Meyong-dong and Namdaemun Shopping districts. If you need a taxi, I suggest walking a block away from the hotel to ride a non-black taxi, as the only taxis that pickup from the hotel are the black expensive taxis.