My husband and I booked our room at the Seoul COEX Intercontinental Hotel, South Korea on points that we accumulated on a recent trip to China. I have mixed feelings about the Intercontinental. If you’re looking for a swanky hotel that will cater to your every need in style and include all the modern conveniences you could ever need, than the Seoul COEX Intercontinental is your hotel.
The COEX is part of the World Trade Center Seoul, so you can expect well appointed rooms, impeccable groundskeeping and a polished interior. The lobby is decorated in rich brown and purple tones with giant velvet art-deco sofas in and giant bowed hanging lamps that cast a luminous light on each little nook; it’s an inviting space that naturally welcomes a person to sit and relax. I tested it out one evening when I nabbed one of those sofas to myself and curled up with Kindle, and it was just as relaxing as I thought it would be. A short walk away, guests have access to the COEX Mall, which boasts more than 200 shops, dozens of eateries, an aquarium, and a 16-screen theatre. You could spend an entire weekend completely entertained at the COEX Intercontinental and never find an excuse to leave if you so choose.
On the other hand, there were a number of things that came up during our stay there that were rather surprising to us, especially since the Seoul COEX Intercontinental Hotel, South Korea is supposed to be one of the top hotels in Seoul.
For one, there was a lot of drilling going on in our section of the hotel as well. The noise was certainly noticeable, and neither my husband or I could stand the idea of paying a couple hundred dollars a night for a room and being expected to deal with construction noise. Had I been a paying customer, I would’ve been furious.
Our room was much smaller than we expected, but then again, we live in Asia and we should know that a large hotel room is somewhat of a rarity in cities like Taipei, Japan and Seoul. The hotel bathroom products also weren’t anything special, and I hate to admit that this is something that I take into consideration when I’m staying at a fancy hotel. I tend to remember the hotels that offer nice bath products like L’Occitane and Aveda, especially if I get to take home samples!
We thought the food in the executive lounge lacked flavor and variety, and we were not the only guests who noticed this. The couple sitting next to us one evening complained about the tough, chewy bread that had been served to us. Management dealt with the complaints effectively and brought in fresh bread, but the fact that they had served stale food certainly was a real let-down.
What really upset me about the COEX, however, was their policy on covering tattoos within the gym and pool facilities. No exceptions were made for anyone with a tattoo, although the hotel does provide a cover-up sticker. We weren’t given this information at the time of our booking, nor did we see it on anywhere on the website or on our hotel documentation. I’ve never even stayed at a hotel that requires guests to cover their tattoos, and at first I thought it was some weird Korean law, but I looked and it isn’t. It’s a private rule enforced by the hotel, but to what end, I have no idea. What I do know is that had we known this before we booked our room, we wouldn’t have opted to stay there as John and I are both big fans of hotel spa facilities.
So, we’re back to a rating again, and I’m going to give the COEX a 6 out of 10 for a luxury hotel. It loses big points for being overly expensive. I didn’t feel like the hotel lived up to its price tag and I wouldn’t stay there again.
