We have reviewed hotels in Seoul with the best club or executive lounges to help you decide on the best choice, whether traveling as a couple, a family, or a single business traveler. By reviewing each of these club lounges, I conclude which hotel club lounge comes in at the top and which hotel I would select as having the best club lounge in Seoul.
Ringed by verdant mountains and dotted with grand, historic palaces and modern, glass-and-steel structures, Seoul is a dynamic capital city that is deeply traditional and forward-thinking.
Luxury hotels in Seoul, South Korea, include Four Seasons Hotel Seoul (with a club lounge), Park Hyatt Seoul (no club lounge), Conrad Seoul (with a club lounge), Grand Hyatt Seoul (with club lounge) along with numerous Marriott Bonvoy properties.
I have compiled a list below containing the club lounges available across luxury hotels in Seoul. I list the lounges in Seoul that I consider the best of the best. I will be reviewing each of these hotel club lounges in detail in turn so that you know what you will get if you book a room with club lounge access or get upgraded to a club lounge for free because of your loyalty status.
1. Four Seasons Seoul
The Four Seasons Seoul is conveniently located for the center of Seoul and the traditional tourist sites like Gwangjang Market and the Palaces. The level of luxury at this Four Seasons hotel will spoil you, particularly compared to other, more dated options in the city.
This contemporary Gwanghwamun Hotel brings the Four Seasons experience to Korea, inviting you to indulge in complete serenity at their urban Spa, dip in their year-round indoor pool, or savor Michelin-starred Cantonese cuisine at Yu Yuan. End your day with a drink at Charles H. bar, where Seoul’s bourgeoning craft cocktail scene is at its finest.
The rooms here are excellent, with superbly comfortable beds. Ask for a room facing away from the street, as the floor-to-ceiling windows are large, and passersby can see in!
You can access their club lounge if you book a club room. These can be found on the higher floors, so they do not have the same problem of 2-way seethrough windows as they are so high up. This club lounge is the best in Seoul. It is always peaceful and never packed, unlike some of your other club lounge options in the city, including the Grand Hyatt Seoul and the Conrad Seoul, which both have good but busy lounges.
This Four Seasons club lounge attracts business people on weekdays, but there is a big staycation contingent of locals at weekends. I would guess they keep returning because the lounge is so great!
The food quality in this club lounge is also probably the best of any hotel club lounge in Seoul. The lounge is open from 6:30 am – 10:00 pm, and three meals are served here.
In the evening, expect to dine on a buffet of indulgent salads, nuts, Maki rolls, cold meats, and cheeses with marinated olives and sundried tomatoes, hot Korean beef dishes, cooked salmon, tuna tartare, grilled prawns, pork belly, Chinese stew, vegetables, bread. It’s an enormous spread and will more than fill you up. There is also an impressive selection of wines in this executive club lounge, with excellent red and white wines on offer, along with spirits and local beers. The dishes rotate during the week, so each night will serve up new delights. Oh, and there are plenty of cake and dessert options too.
Breakfast is equally impressive with Asian and Western dishes, including Korean porridge with many sides like seaweed, dishes like seafood dumplings, and things that I am more used to; waffles, roasted tomatoes, mushrooms, sausages, bacon, etc. There is also a big salad buffet with plenty of rocket and all the other usual veggies, plus cold smoked salmon, cereals, fresh muffins, danishes, cinnamon rolls, and bread.
These meals are very high-end buffets with everything you could possibly wish for. You get cookies, tea, coffee, and soft drinks in the lounge for the rest of the day. This is the best hotel with the best club lounge in Seoul.
2. Conrad Seoul
The Conrad Seoul is a gorgeous luxury hotel located in one of the four towers in the heart of Seoul’s renowned International Finance Centre (IFC) in Yeouido Business District. Conveniently attached to Seoul’s subway system and an upmarket International lifestyle Mall with 9 CGV Theaters, Conrad Seoul is the closest luxury hotel to both International Airports.
The Seoul subway (which is clearly marked in Korean and English) makes it easy to get around town from the Conrad. You are about 20 mins or so by subway from the business area of Gangnam and about the same distance from Myongdong. Don’t bother taking a taxi, except to and from the airport, as the traffic in Seoul is terrible and you will take double the time to get to where you want to go if you travel by car.
The Conrad Seoul hotel offers 434 super spacious guest rooms with stunning views, Apple-based in-room technology, excellent restaurants, and a luxurious wellness center. This hotel is part of the Hilton group and currently costs 60,000 Hilton Honors loyalty points per room per night. It is the most expensive Hilton in Seoul, both in points and when booking with cash.
If you are specifically looking for a Hilton property in Seoul, your choice is between the Millenium Hilton, Grand Hilton, and the Conrad. The Conrad is a much, much nicer property in a better location. The Grand Hilton is on the outskirts of the city, so not ideal. The Millenium Hilton is a 10 min walk from or to Seoul Station (up a hill) and within walking distance to Namdaemun market, where locals hang out into the night. The lounge serves a full breakfast if you have status or book an executive room. The evening food is decent too, but it can not be compared to the luxury of the Conrad. If you have the budget, Conrad is the Hilton to pick!
From the Conrad, you can admire Seoul’s landscaped parks, such as Yeouido Park, right across the street, and offers an access path to a path along the Han River. Yeouido is a leader in environmental and green technology. The Korean Green Building Council has accredited Conrad Seoul for its eco-friendly facilities.
The Executive Lounge is an exclusive luxury retreat with unique wraparound views on Level 37, which is the highest floor at Conrad Seoul. You get access if you book an executive room with lounge access. All rooms at this hotel are luxurious with decor, in warm earth tones with lots of light brown wood and gorgeous, modern bathrooms with separate deep tubs and a walk-in shower. But the key at this hotel is to choose a room on as high a floor as possible, as the views of the business district and the skyline of Seoul are stunning.
The executive lounge is beautifully designed to exude the feel of a private residence. A cozy fireplace enhances the intimate atmosphere. You can enjoy a vast buffet breakfast, including eggs and other hot dishes at the buffet, snacks, soft drinks, and tea and coffee throughout the day. Lunch and high tea are served Monday to Friday, so you are fed throughout the day during the week (but not during the day at the weekends), and in the evening, there are complimentary cocktails and canapés. It is worth noting that if you are traveling with your family, children under 12 are not allowed in the executive lounge from 4:30 pm onwards.
The biggest problem with the executive lounge at this Conrad is the room’s size. While it has staggering views of the city and the river, undoubtedly some of the best from any club lounge in Seoul, the lounge is large, and many guests have access to it, which means that it can feel impersonal and it can be busy.
The Four Seasons Club lounge reviewed above is much more intimate (and smaller) than the very large Conrad club lounge. While the Conrad aims to emulate a private living room with its fireplace, the Four Seasons achieves this effect with nice decor, smaller dimensions, nice views, and a quiet setting.
Overall, the food and service in the Four Seasons Club Lounge also have the edge over the Conrad, but the Conrad food and ambiance remain excellent in both, so if there is a large price difference unless you are a die-hard Four Seasons fan, it is certainly worth considering the Conrad as an alternative option. You still get great food and surroundings, even though the sheer volume of people may sometimes do your head in. If it were not for the crowds, there would be little to choose between these lounges, and given that room rates at the Conrad are cheaper, the Conrad becomes an appealing option.
Other differentiators between these two lounges are that the Four Seasons is better if you are traveling with kids and want to use the lounge after 4:30 pm. This restriction is a major disadvantage of the Conrad club lounge.
The Four Seasons Seoul (and the Park Hyatt Seoul, for that matter) is also better located for the old and central parts of Seoul. But for value alone, the Conrad wins, with considerably cheaper rooms offering a similar level of luxury.
3. InterContinental Seoul
I am a major fan of InterContinental club lounges. The InterContinental brand offers some of the best club lounges in London and also offers one of the top club lounges in Seoul too.
The Club InterContinental Lounge in Seoul (pictured above) occupies half of the 26th floor and is classy with great views.
Continental breakfast is a lavish open buffet with eggs to order a la carte, including classics like eggs Florentine, along with a truly impressive breakfast buffet that includes around six hot dishes, cereal, a salad bar, fresh fruit, freshly baked pastries, and bread.
There are snacks and drinks throughout the day and enough food in the evening to make up main-style dishes and fill you up. Each day, the selection changes, so you are unlikely to get bored. There is usually a hot noodle or pasta dish, a hot meat plate, plenty of salad filler items, and bread. There are also some delightfully tasty desserts. The cocktail hour also offers free beers, decent wines, and spirits.
A major disadvantage of this lounge (or advantage, depending on your perspective) is that children aren’t allowed in, so don’t book into this InterContinental lounge with your family. The kids won’t get in! Children over the age of 13 years, if accompanied by a parent, are allowed access to the Club InterContinental lounge (unlike the Conrad lounge above, where kids can use their lounge but only up to 4:30 pm). Hotel guests can pay to access this lounge for KRW 50,000 per person (excl. 10% tax and 10% service charge).
4. Grand Hyatt Seoul
The Grand Hyatt Seoul is in a lovely central location and offers great city views as it is perched on the wooded slopes of Namsan Park above the busy streets of the Itaewon district. The surrounding area of Itaewon is lively, with loads of restaurants and shops. While it feels vibrant, it lacks an authentic Korean feel.
The hotel is huge, with 601 rooms and suites, half of which have views of the city and the Han River, and the other half have park and mountain views. Always try to book the city/river view rooms. The lobby is grand with a triple-height ceiling (if not more), and club rooms are nice with earthy tones, pine furnishings, and a small but functional bathroom, although I wouldn’t call this a luxury bathroom due to its size, basic design, and the fact that there is no walk-in-shower here. Instead, you have to climb into the bath to get under the jet. That said, the views from this hotel are something else. Really incredible, so do be sure to book a room with a city view of the vista.
The elevator opens into the lounge, and it offers great sweeping views of the city. The breakfast spread is good with continental, full American, and Korean items. Loads of smoked salmon, bread cheeses, cold meats, cereals, plus a hot breakfast section included 2 hot western breakfast dishes, an egg dish, plus something else like bacon alongside Korean options like seaweed soup.
There is an afternoon tea service, evening canapés (which are small bites, not enough to fill you up), and cocktails with desserts afterward.
The decor in the lounge is stylish and very “Hyatt” in style, and the views are phenomenal and are a reason to stay here in itself. Plus, the Grand Hyatt hotel has one of the nicest Korean spas in the city, with a huge fitness center offering outdoor swimming pools, tennis courts, a gym, an aerobics room, and even an ice skating rink in winter (December-February). The kid’s play area is an adventure wonderland of slides and climbing frames and is another reason to stay here.
The Grand Hyatt costs 21,000 World Of Hyatt loyalty points per night for a club room or 15,000 World Of Hyatt loyalty points per night for an ordinary room if you want to redeem a stay here.
The more luxurious Park Hyatt is a category six property and 25,000 World of Hyatt points per night. The Park Hyatt is a more luxurious hotel but in a bad location. Getting to tourist spots like Jongno, Myeongdong, Hongdae will take you around 40 minutes on public transport. There is also an Andaz, the Andaz Seoul Gangnam, opening in Seoul, which will be another contender for spending your World Of Hyatt points.
Children 12 years old and younger are not allowed in the Grand Club Lounge at this Grand Hyatt after 6:00 pm.
5. JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square Seoul
JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square Seoul is an excellent hotel that treats its Marriott Bonvoy members particularly well with frequent upgrades for their Gold-level customers to their executive level, including lounge access. This hotel’s location is great in the Dongdaemun area, which is lively and fun. The areas of Insadong (the most happening area in Seoul) and Itaewon are also close by. It is also near Seoul’s touristy areas, like a traditional Korean market and Zaha Hadid-designed Design Plaza.
JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square is considered boutique by some as it only has around 170 rooms (some of which look out over Dongdaemun gate), which is intimate compared to the 601 rooms at the Grand Hyatt above. The pool at the JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square is nice but too small for all paying guests, and they charge for access unless you are an elite Bonvoy member.
JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square has a superb club lounge. In the club lounge, you get the usual breakfast, afternoon tea, evening canapes, cocktails, and all-day refreshments, including coffee, tea, snacks, and non-alcoholic beverages. All the food, including hot options at breakfast and dinner, is more than enough to fill you up and designed by decent chefs with high-end ingredients. There’s a good selection of Western and Asian food at both meals, as well as some a la carte dishes to choose from. Free alcoholic drinks during happy hour include some very decent wines, beer, and spirits.
The look of the lounge is stylish, too, with spacious seating areas with different seating arrangements for groups or singles and fantastic staff. It is the kind of serene, relaxing lounge that you can sit in for hours with a coffee or tea while enjoying the beautiful views. The hotel no longer allows children under the age of 18 in the lounge, nor is anyone under 18 allowed to use the indoor driving range, so bear this in mind if you are traveling as a family. Opening hours are 6:00 am – 10:00 pm.
6. JW Marriott Hotel Seoul
This is the second JW Marriott hotel in Seoul and the first one that was built, but we list it as second because we prefer the more intimate size of the JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square Seoul listed above. This hotel recently reopened after a complete renovation.
The JW Marriott Hotel Seoul is a very large hotel with extensive conferences and events going on. It is also directly connected to a large mall with a high-end department store and the Express Bus Terminal. But it is not your usual bus terminal. There are loads of tasty and affordable Korean and Chinese restaurants here, right on your doorstep, and they are very nice, not like your average bus terminal fast food places. However, the usual US fast-food chains are also represented too, including Shake Shack and See’s Candies.
The JW Marriott Hotel Seoul and the JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square are similarly comfortable, with excellent executive floor lounges. Both hotels also have good access to the subway.
The executive lounge at the JW Marriott Hotel Seoul is outstanding. It is amazingly large, and Bonvoy Platinum members can access the lounge (1 person and a plus one per room) without extra charge.
The breakfast is really great, and they also do a la carte orders for eggs during breakfast. The offerings for evening hors d’oeuvres were excellent, although they lack variety if you stay for any length of time. The variety of food in the evening is a lot better at the Sheraton Gangnam, though the JW Marriott drinks offering is one of the best in Seoul, with lots of spirits, beer, and wine. The beer selection was a Korean beer, Asahi, and Hoegaarden.
The JW Marriott Hotel Seoul comes in at 35,000 Marriott Bonvoy points per night on a redemption booking. Hence, it is a much better and cheaper deal than the JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square Seoul, bearing in mind that these hotels are comparative in luxury.
7. Plaza Seoul
The Plaza and Westin Seoul are both in great tourist locations for exploring the Seoul Palaces and Myeongdong. The club lounge Plaza Seoul (an Autograph Collection hotel) has some advantages over the JWM Dongdaemun reviewed above, but their breakfast and evening hors d’oeuvres offerings are not great considering the caliber of this hotel.
Breakfast doesn’t include any egg orders on demand. The only eggs they have are scrambled and “soft-boiled.” Afternoon tea is also available and consists of cakes and cookies. In the evening, three hot-food dishes are against the back wall, plus bread, cheeses, crackers, and fruit. The beer selection included Hite, Cass, and Budweiser, and there are wines and spirits, including Johnny Black, Jack Daniels, Absolut, Jameson, Kahlua, Bombay Sapphire, etc.
The gym and sauna here are included and are excellent, but are located in a separate building. So you either have to cross the street or go via the subway tunnel in the basement. There is also a golf driving range you have to pay extra for.
The neighborhood around the Plaza is great and nicer than the area around JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square Seoul, with lots of restaurants, convenience stores, Karaoke rooms, etc., but the rooms, though comfortable, are small.
8. Sheraton Seoul D Cube City Hotel
Sheraton Seoul D Cube City Hotel is definitely located outside of the main action in the city, but it sits on top of two of the busiest subway lines (line#1 and line#2), so you are 30ish minutes away from touristy areas. It is also connected to the mall/department store, where you can find loads of restaurants and coffee shops.
It’s a very nice property in a building that houses a mall/department store and offices. Because of that, the lobby is found on the 41st floor, the highest floor of the building. Dedicated express elevators take you from the first floor to the 41st floor and the club lounge on the 38th floor.
Platinum Bonvoy members tend to be upgraded to deluxe corner rooms here and are invited to take advantage of the club lounge (for free) and the restaurant during the weekdays because the lounge is closed for breakfast during the weekdays, so breakfast is taken at Feast restaurant.
During weekends, breakfast is available in the club lounge. For evening happy hour and cocktails, you can visit anytime during the weekdays, but you must select one of two sessions on the weekends. Either 5:00 – 6:30 pm or 7:00 – 8:15 pm. No pre-reservation is necessary. Whichever session you enter is the one you pick.
The restaurant’s breakfast offerings are excellent, and a full and complete breakfast with Japanese, Western, and Korean style breakfast is available. The breakfast in the lounge is also good, much like the restaurant, but with less variety.
Evening cocktails included a number of hot food dishes available, as well as a wide variety of snacks a light-medium buffet dinner. Spirits, wines, and beer on tap or in cans are all free, although there are no bottles.
The rooms have floor-to-ceiling windows and are nice, if a little small. The pool here isn’t anything special; a regulation-length pool. The pool is much nicer at the JW Marriott Dongdaemun but feels similar to the pool at the Plaza Seoul.
Points-wise, the Sheraton Seoul D Cube costs the same as the Sheraton Gangnam, at 35,000 points, which is in a much better location, but the Sheraton Gangnam has even smaller standard rooms.
9. Sheraton Seoul Palace Gangnam Hotel
The club lounge at the Sheraton Gangnam is very good, with excellent breakfast and evening hors d’oeuvres, but this is a strange lounge as there is no dedicated space for this lounge, which means that, after a certain time, you will get kicked out of the lounge because it turns into a bar.
The evening food at the Sheraton Seoul Palace Gangnam is some of the best club lounge food in the city, more of a light-medium dinner than a club lounge canape-bite type offering. There are a couple of hot food offerings, with plenty of beer and wine.
10. The Westin Chosun Seoul
The Westin Chosun Seoul has a club lounge, but the club rooms are somewhat smaller than other hotel clubrooms even though they are well-appointed. The club serves a very good breakfast with hot and cold dishes and all the usual suspects, along with afternoon nites, evening canapes, and alcoholic drinks. The location of the hotel is great for business downtown, and it is close to the Namdemun open market and department stores for shopping.
11. Courtyard Namdaemun
The lounge at the Courtyard Namdaemun is medium-sized and offers a pretty good selection for a Courtyard hotel, above-average considering the hotel’s branding. Breakfast is the usual stuff you find at most Marriotts, but the main reason to choose this hotel is the price, half that of the Westin, which is around the corner while sharing the same location benefits. The location is absolutely amazing for getting around Seoul.
Le Méridien Seoul, Sinchon will soon be opening in Seoul and will probably have a club lounge, and the Le Méridien Seoul is another option for Marriott Bonvoy members.
Copyright Luxury Travel Diary 2014 - 2024. Duplication outside of luxurytraveldiary.com is forbidden.
Note: Benefits & upgrades subject to availability. Benefits offered correct at the time of writing. Terms & conditions apply. Enquire for more information. Benefits offered correct at the time of writing but may be amended at discretion of the vendor. Posts may be sponsored by the proprietor or brand being appraised. All opinions remain our own & are in no way influenced.
